"Seen by Candlelight" is the story of Karen and Paul.
When Karen's 17 year old sister Sandra decides to get involved with a much older married man, her unsympathetic mother decides to include her in the matter. Reason: the man is non other than Simon, brother to Karen's ex husband Paul!
Paul and Karen were married for five years until they started drifting apart. Things worsened, as passion receded, until two years ago, Paul had divorced Karen after after accusing her of adultery, citing her friendship with her current boss Lewis.
Blackmailed by her uncaring mother, Karen reluctantly calls Paul, who has been engaged to Ruth. Initially reticent, he then decides to meet her, and both come up with a plan to separate their immature siblings.
But as their new interactions remind them of a love that they thought was long forgotten, they also encounter crazy jealousies from their fiance and boss respectively. Was Paul wrong about Karen all along?
This was a really captivating read. The relationship between Paul and Karen is complicated, but in the present they were never deliberately hurtful to one another.
Karen came off as rather naive, not seeing through Lewis and his diabolical obsession, but I did admire her devotion to her family, especially the insane and spoiled mother and sibling (both of whom I wanted to slap). I also like how cordial she was with Paul.
Paul was caring, and a nice beta hero. Despite the divorce, he was not mean to Karen or her family, going as far as paying for their vacation and chastising them for being assholes to Karen. He did not cheat on Ruth, and broke off at the right moment IMO.
The OW/OM served their purpose, and the book ended in a neat HEA.
Enjoyed it!
Safe?
4/5
P.S. One star is deduced for the chain smoking, which I absolutely detest in my H and hs