Losing Us

by Gloria Davidson Marlow

In a single day, Olivia Carson learns she's finally pregnant, her husband is having an affair, and her parents aren't really her parents. Her life in shambles, she flees to Key West, to the home of her aunt, an eccentric former movie star. Devastated by his mistakes, Daniel Carson spirals into the mire of self-loathing and regret. After learning Olivia plans to open an art gallery in Florida, he goes there hoping to reconcile, only to find his wife, glowing with happiness, on the arm of a handsome stranger. Brought home by a family emergency, Olivia can no longer hide her pregnancy from her husband. And neither of them can hide their longing for what they once had together. Dare they give their love a second chance?

202 pages, Paperback

Published October 24, 2022

Reviews

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author tells a beautiful story of a woman’s strength in the face of heartbreak, and allows us to come along for the ride.

Read full review in the 2022 November issue of InD'tale Magazine.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a second chance romance and it is Olivia and Daniel's story. When Olivia goes to her husband Daniel's office to tell him that she is pregnant she finds him in a compromising position with his secretary completely devastating and breaking Olivia's heart especially after all that they had both gone through together so then she goes to her parent's house only to receive another devastating blow leaving her absolutely reeling and not knowing what to do next but she then decided that she needed to be away from the situation and went to Miami to spend some time with her aunt Junie hoping to find some answers and he able to move forward and recover from everything that has happened. Daniel is disgusted with himself and devastated by what he did to Olivia and how she looked when she walked into his office but now he doesn't know how to make it right as he never stopped loving Olivia and doesn't want to lose her and he knows that it is his fault even though it meant nothing to him. Will Olivia and Daniel be able to come back from that type of betrayal and get a second chance or is there no chance of forgiveness after everything that has happened only time will tell what the outcome would be for them. Wow this book takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions and I couldn't put it down and had to keep turning the pages wondering what would happen next and it was so emotional with everything going on that it had me in tears. This is the first book that I have read by this author but definitely not the last as it was so well written and worth reading and I look forward to reading more book's in the future.

[E. Guinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Losing Us is a quick beach-read and tells the story of a woman piecing her life back together after it all fell apart in a single day. It reads like a soap opera, and I enjoyed that about it. Dramatic and emotional, it has a compelling premise and a satisfying end.

It focuses on two tropes that I typically don't enjoy reading: a cheating spouse/second chance romance, and surprise pregnancy. It's not a surprise since it states in the synopsis and the first chapter that the main character is pregnant, but it does surprise several characters. The reason the pregnancy trope works? The main conflict is built on that pregnancy, or at least the desire for pregnancy. By making it a key component of the conflict rather than the solution, it works.

I would have rated it 5 stars had it not been for the constant miscommunication. If the characters had just talked plainly to one another, everything would have cleared up so much sooner. However, it doesn't detract from the book too much because the reasons for their miscommunications are character driven rather than a convenient plot device (hurt feelings, pride, etc.).