Secret Lives of Cheating Wives

by Curtis Bunn

Delve into the minds of several frisky women who are willing to risk it all in the pursuit of pleasure from bestselling author Curtis Bunn.With sensual language and a unique understanding of women, The Secret Lives of Cheating Wives by Curtis Bunn is a gripping novel that reveals the lengths today’s women will go to indulge their deepest desires. The most unlikely of women—God-fearing, child-raising, career-driven, soft-spoken women—are taking risks outside their marriages unlike any time before, a state of affairs that has become an underground movement. They may appear happy and content in their marriages from the outside, but inside they feel something is missing. Refusing to boast about their extramarital affairs like men, these women keep quiet and yet, the more they engage, the more daring they become—and the more at risk their marriages become, too. With relatable and complex characters, The Secret Lives of Cheating Wives, is more than your typical it strives to explore the psyche of these women and challenges you into understanding their actions, all while enjoying a tense, steamy ride filled with edge-of-your-seat drama.

238 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 6, 2016

About the author

Curtis Bunn, a Washington, D.C. native and graduate of Norfolk State University, is an Essence No. 1 best-selling author whose ability to expose the mind, thoughts, motivations and vulnerabilities of his characters has made him a reader’s favorite.

In his latest offering, “A Cold Piece of Work” (July 2011, Strebor Books), Curtis again delivers an engaging work in an original story that takes the reader on a thought-provoking journey. Solomon Singletary is an ideal catch — except that he finds it more satisfying to leave women than to please them — and sometimes after pleasing them. Years later, he encounters one of his “victims,” and immediately realizes he made a serious mistake. His mission then is to recapture Michele Williams’ heart, thinking reuniting with her would turn his cold heart warm. The odyessy features surprising subplots and twists that keeps the pages turning.

In 2001, Curtis crafted his first novel, “Baggage Check” and watched in amazement as it became a word-of-mouth national success. The audacious, moving and funny story of Greg, Larry and Julian blossomed into a must-read for women and book clubs who sought a genuine peak into the psyche of men. Significantly, men embraced the book as an accurate depiction of their mindset, motivations and conflicts. It debuted as No. 2 on the Essence best-sellers list and It was on the list for five months, including ascending to No. 1 in August of 2001.

In 2009, Curtis self-published “That Was Then This Is Now,” the much-anticipated followup to “Baggage Check” and it is another literary achievement, a virtual tour inside the minds of men. Amid the realistic and engaging plots and subplots, you discover the motivations of the male characters as they contend with true-life relationship issues; their innermost thoughts about women and how to deal with them; and insightful male personality idiosyncrasies – vantage points that educate and entertain at once. As you go on this riveting odyssey with Larry, Julian and Greg, you will laugh, you will cry and . . . you will learn. And you will definitely want more.

Just as with its predecessor, this sequel is written with deft prose and and honest, raw insight. It is a triumph that begs for another follow up entry.

Meeting with book clubs to discuss “Baggage Check” inspired Curtis to create the National Book Club Conference in 2003. It became such a strong coming together of readers and authors that he was named to the “Power List” by Black Issues Book Review Magazine. Now, the NBCC is the must-attend literary event of the year.

Curtis also contributed the short story, “Home Alone” in the anthology, “After Hours: Black Men Writing On Erotica.”

The Journalist: As a sports journalist, Curtis worked for The Washington Times, New York Newsday, New York Daily News and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, covering the New Jersey Nets for three years, the New York Knicks for eight years, two Olympics (Seoul, Korea in 1988 and Sydney, Australia 200), 17 NBA Finals, five Super Bowls, four NCAA Final Fours, four World Series, championship boxing, college football bowl games, six Masters golf championships and so much more. He has been awarded for his writing by the Professional Basketball Writers Association, The Associated Press Sportswriters Association and the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists numerous times.

The Professor: Since 2008, Curtis has served as an adjunct professor/guest lecturer at Morehouse College in the Sports Reporting class, which is part of the Journalism and Sports Program founded by film director Spike Lee and the late, great journalist Ralph WIley.

Curtis, who lives near Atlanta, has a son, Curt, and a daughter, Gwen (Bunny), www.gwenbunn.com.

Reviews

[BobbyH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three women, three affairs..why did they do it? How did it end for them all? This was an enjoyable read with nicely written stories about wives playing away so to speak. All different endings, lot's of twists and turns, excellent book.
On second thoughts..I've bumped up this book to 5 stars from 4. A really excellent read on why people have affairs, I think I'd better up my game ,!!

[Ebony Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know that read that you want to hurry up and finish but you really don't want it to end? WELL, HERE IT IS!

With well developed characters and real life relationship issues…“Secret Lives of Cheating Wives” is a very realistic portrayal of three women who seemingly have EVERYTHING. EVERYTHING but happy and fulfilling marriages! Rather than communicate and work with their spouses to improve what’s lacking, they all resolve to extra marital affairs.

There’s most definitely a lesson to be learned here! So do yourself a solid, 1-CLICK and read on as Curtis Bunn​ gives a detailed account of comfortable husbands, wives who cheat and the men they cheat with.

Bravo! That twisted ending was EVERYTHING!

Ebony

EyeCU Reading Approved & Recommended

[Renee Bailey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where do I begin...Juanita, Stephanie and Rhonda all had one thing in common, they were bored, seeking and looking for whatever they were missing in their marriages in the wrong place. Grass is not always greener on the other side and these three women surely experienced this. I loved Juanita's story as it was a classic case of reversed roles, usually the husband is the one complaining about his wife gaining weight and not taking care of herself but Mr. Bunn did an awesome job showing his readers what it felt like from a woman's point of view, to deal with a husband who has lost interest in taking care of himself.

[KAREN Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read about true to life issues that married couples go thru.

[Byron Washington · Rating 3 out of 5]

I Guess...👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

A decent novel about infidelity. I found the justifications silly and juvenile. One of the women attempted to monkey bar from one relationship into a fresher, newer, more exciting one and was unceremoniously rebuffed. That was funny. Yes ladies, men will say 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 to get the drawz!!😄😄😄

Not bad, but just okay..buy it, read it and enjoy.👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥👍🏾🔥

[Donna Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

I liked fhe suspense, kept you wanting to read more and more. Grass on the other side aint always greener.

[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Secret Lives of Cheating Wives takes us into the lives of Stephanie, Rhonda and Juanita. Each is unfulfilled in their marriage . This book was a page turner and I could not put it down. Curtis Bunn has done it again.The characters are very relatable and not just to cheaters lol. Although I don't condone this behavior, I can see how these women felt and what led them to go astray. You never truly know what is going on in someone else's home and life. Is the grass greener on the other side? or should you stay with what you know and work at standing by those vows you made? This book made me look at my marriage and ask myself are you doing all that you can do to make your marriage last forever?  Bravo.
EyeCU Reading approved and recommended

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really good insight on how people get caught up cheating while married. In all 3 of the women lives, they were in need of something that their husband's had provided for them at the beginning of their relationships-not to put everything off on the spouse. In all three views, we are provided the details of how something starts off being innocent then turns into a web of lies. This was the first book that I have read from this author and I look forward to reading more.

[Melanin Seduction · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book i could relate to this book because some of the events in the book I have been going through and & I have been through but i feel like this always pay attention to your woman if not someone else will

[Zane Nixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is such an easy read that has characters that any one of us could relate to or could be or may have been in some point in our lives. This is definitely a page- turner. The 3 different stories are all intriguing. I enjoyed it.

[Samantha N. Morales · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anticlimactic (no pun intended)
Save yourself the time and energy of reading this book. Basically, the plot is this:

Couple 1: Wife is seen as perfect by her family/community. She’s unhappy in her marriage and unfulfilled sexually. Reconnects with an ex boyfriend. Cheats (obviously). Goes to couples counseling. And decides to make it work with her husband. The author fails to go into detail about the husbands infidelity! No drama in this story line.

Couple 2: Wife cheats on husband because she’s not attracted to her husband. Gets caught. (Not as delicious of a drama filled story line as you think) Husband leaves her and so does her side piece.

Couple 3: Wife cheats on husband. Husband knew all along but doesn’t say anything because he felt he deserved it for cheating on her a decade earlier. They decided to work on their marriage.

There you have it folks. 285 pages summarized in 3 paragraphs.

Also, biggest pet peeve were all the spelling errors I found while reading! Ugh!

[Shone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ladies from different walks of life all have the same problem, unhappy in their marriage as well as with their spouses. Juanita, Rhonda, and Stephanie each attempted to solve their problem. Only creating more problems that they bargain for. A well written very entertaining story, Curtis dealt with the soul and spirit of a woman.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome


I would recommend this book to my friends. It's one of those books that get you so excited and you just can't stop and put it down, knowing it's late and you have to get up for work early. Laughing to myself because this was another good reading material by an awesome author. Thank you Curtis Bunn.

[Kaylynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

What's done in the dark.....

This book was entertaining. I struggled at first to get into it. The characters though real, didn't pull me in. However, the pace picked up & drama ensued. We all have to be assure of potential outcomes of our actions.

[Ellison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three wives are bored with their stable marriages so they break their vows to go out and get some strange, swearing.

[Anna London · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was ok just wish it end a little better

[Mystley_24 · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an answer of what women are capable of when they're not fulfilled. It tells a lot about their will to fight for what they feel even if it is against what is reasonable.

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Secret Lives of Cheating Wives by Curtis Bunn was very entertaining. It is the story of three married women who are all, as the title implies, having extra-marital affairs. Each woman has a different set of circumstances, but ultimately, they are all risking the same thing: the sanctity of their marriages. All three women seem to have it all together with wonderful husbands, unwavering support systems, and fulfilling careers, yet are left feeling unsatisfied in one aspect or another. Juanita is tired of trying to maintain her goody-two shoes stature, especially with her husband. Stephanie is neglected and tired of coming second to her husband's demanding career. Rhonda feels as though her husband doesn't take her needs and desires seriously after all their years of marriage. Given their emotional states and finding themselves in precarious circumstances, each woman makes a fateful decision to step outside their marriages.

This novel takes a deep look into the relationships of each woman, including marital, extra-marital, and familial. We are able to get an understanding of her thoughts, desires, and regrets as the story unfolds. The characters are well-developed and the plot is intriguing. There are plenty of twists and turns throughout. Mr. Bunn did an excellent job of portraying what is certainly a new spin on the cheating spouse story line.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Secrets

The books was interesting. The characters (Juanita, Stephanie, and Rhonda) were well developed and their stories believable. The endings were unexpected.

[Jounay · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Donna Scoggins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three married women leading different lifestyles play the cheating game. Curtis Bunn takes you into their lives, the reasons they cheat, and the men they cheat with. There is a lesson in this. I hope you read it to find out!

[Vanetia Singleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and how the author weaved the stories of Juanita, Stephanie and Rhonda. All three of these women cheated for their various reasons but the most common factor in all cases was failure to honestly communicate to their spouses what they were lacking.

Curtis Bunn did a great job telling their stories and I look forward to more from this author.

[Keesha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this up in the library yesterday and stayed up last night reading til the end. I was able to keep up with the three story lines with only a small amount of "which one is this again?"
Interesting to read about women not being fulfilled for different reasons, though their actions/reactions were the same. I also liked the resolutions/endings. Good effort!

[Janice H. Moore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three women began cheating on their husbands in this novel which deals with each woman— Juanita, Rhonda and Stephanie chapter by chapter. The women learn a lot about themselves as they face the truth about themselves and the affairs that they are each having.

[KAREN Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book about real life marriage situations

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

My book club had one of our best discussion around the topic explored in this book.

[Tonya Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book so much and will be reading more from this author.

[Rhena Deshaun · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book. It was a great read that delved into the infidelity of women and their reasonings.

[⚠️🎇TriggerWarningEnthusiast🔖📚👸🏾]

This was a good book, Bunn is a new author for me. I'll check out more of his books in the future. 😃

[Erica L · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dug it. Am a HUGE Curtis Bunn Fan!