Title: Swelter
Author: Nina G. Jones
Genre: Erotic Romance
Release Date: October 1, 2015
I married the right brother.
At least that's what I tell myself at night, when I stare at the ceiling and listen to the rhythm of the grandfather clock down the hall. It never feels like the mere passage of time, but a countdown towards something inevitable. Bobby Lightly is selfish, irresponsible, and careless. I haven't seen him since the day I married his brother. He slipped out during the wedding reception without a word. A year later, I heard Bobby was drafted to Korea. He never said goodbye to anyone. Never sent a letter. We had all come to terms with the fact that he was probably dead somewhere, either a victim of the war or its aftermath. That is, until in the midst of an unrelenting heatwave, he showed up at the doorstep of the house I lived in with his brother. Everyone thinks I'm cruel. Everyone thinks I should be easy on him. They think I don't understand him. They all think I hate him. But what no one understands is that it was Bobby who broke my heart. And I think he’s back to do it again.
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I snickered to myself. "He never had a chance. Rory never had a chance." I shook my head in pity for the man I had grown to begrudge. "From the first day of our marriage, he couldn't win because he wasn't you." I spun around, looking to the black forest for a way out, an exit from my tragic dilemma. "I don't know how to fix this. He'll never be you. It's not his fault or our fault. It just is. And for years I resented him for that. I loved you. I loved hating you. I loved loving you. And when you left, I blamed him. It's not fair. None of it is fair. For him. For us." My shouts vanished into the dark night. Just like all my efforts, they meant nothing. "We tried so hard to do the right thing. We sacrificed us for him. And I think it just made things worse. Look at him."
"Stop," Bobby said firmly.
"I was so cold to him. I pushed him away so much. I created that man you see today. Do you think that was the right thing?"
"Stop," Bobby repeated.
My emotions erupted out of me, explosive from years of being crammed into a secret space. Years of secrets I couldn't tell. Of unrequited love. Of a life unfulfilled. Of dreams demolished. I pounded my fist to my chest. "It hurts. It physically hurts to see you every day. You are the first person I think about when I wake up. When I thought you died, I died. Rory was with a corpse."
Bobby stepped closer to me. "Stop it, Lil."
"And you keeping being you and I am trying so hard not to love you." I didn't care anymore about pretending. The threads were ripped and I felt as raw as the festering wound I had dealt with for the past seven years.
"And then you take me dancing and you tell me how you wrote me letters that you never sent and you bring me here. You make it impossible not to love you, dammit.” I thrust a finger in his direction and scowled. “And I hate you for that."
Swelter was a unique story that honestly I was not expecting, I normally don't read stories that are set in the past because I can't seem to relate to there relationships or anything about that time frame because I didn't grow up in that era.. but I have to say Nina Jones did a great job with this story and I did get pretty intrigued as I flipped the pages. I would give this book a 3.5 stars and would recommend to others. This story didn't blow me away but it was a good story so give it a chance!
I will say that even though I didn't grow up in this era I definitely felt like it was portrayed well. This book is quite the heartbreaking tale towards the end so you will need some tissues if you decide to give this story a chance. If you like stories with a forbidden romance and a bitter sweet ending then this book is definitely for you.. so get to one clickin' asap!
Well, Nina G. Jones literally ripped my heart out, shattered it into a million pieces and when I thought it was over, it miraculously started a slow beat by the end. This book will give you the feels.
You will want to Nancy Kerrigan"WHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYY?!" numerous times, I kid you not.
This story was beautifully written bringing you back to a time of a bygone era and the complexities, and also the simplicity, of the late 1950's. This is an honest real look on how things aren't always so simple and easy. This is a harsh peek into real life and the things people accept as fate.
If I start to give brief snippets other than the book synopsis I am afraid I will ruin it. I'll run down the basics for ya:
Bobby and Rory Lightly are brothers and have been friends and inseparable from Lily since they were kids. As the years passed they matured and relationships formed. But what happens when you miss the signs of something unexpected? Something different? Do you take that chance or do you stay with what you know? What you believe is right?
That was what Lily did and Bobby left, never to return, leaving them to think he had died. But seven years later he shows back up on their doorstep.
What happens when the past comes to the future?
Seriously, you need to go one click this now. And there is NO cliff.
Get ready with a glass of wine and a box of tissues when you read Swelter by Nina G. Jones. This story will take you on an emotional rollercoaster that at times will have you wanting to shake the characters to hopefully knock some sense into them and then have you grabbing a tissue at the tragedy that has rained on their lives. This book was a 3.5 star read for me and I would recommend it to others.
Bobby and Lilly Lightly have a tragic romance that was hidden away for so long that they have almost become numb to love. With Lilly marrying Bobby's brother Rory, Bobby is unable to watch the love of his life with another man, even if that man is his own flesh and blood, so he leaves for years. Lilly thought she made the right choice in choosing Rory, but once Bobby returns every decision she has made becomes a question of if it was the right one and how her life came to be what it is. Almost miserable in her marriage, when given the opportunity to spend alone time with Bobby, Lilly takes the chance, thinking that maybe a week is all they have together. When Bobby decides he wants to be with her for good, despite her marriage to his brother, all bets are off. And while wishing for their happy ending, I will warn readers that the ending to the triangle of Bobby, Lilly and Rory is anything but gift wrapped with a bow, but instead filled with heartache.
Nina G. Jones is the author of the bestselling novel DEBT, the Strapped Series and the erotic romance, Gorgeous Rotten Scoundrel. Her next novel, Swelter, releases on October 1st, 2015. Nina LOVES connecting with readers. You can connect with her via Facebook, Twitter, or through this site.
