4.5/5 stars - rounded to 5

This was an intense and beautiful book with layers of drama and trauma woven throughout (there are trigger warnings at the end of this post). I absolutely loathed Senator Cleveland. He has not one redeeming quality. But his atrocious character is part of what makes Catharine’s story so powerful. Catharine is the reason her husband has had any success in life, and is a highly successful CEO herself. But she is still very much under his control. It takes a near drowning experience when her boat capsizes and an unlikely rescuer to help her see this arrangement with her husband must finally come to an end. Enter Alex Grey!

For all the confidence Alex has on the field playing soccer, she is anything but confident off the field. But after rescuing Catharine, she finds herself continually drawn to this enigmatic woman. Not just to the polished Senator’s wife that the world gets to see…but to the woman Alex begins to see glimpses of beneath her masked exterior.

With Catharine’s arrangement with her husband and his aspiring political career, and Alex’s sports career taking off in strides, even their friendship feels taboo and dangerous, let alone more. But they keep finding their way into each other’s lives. Finding excuses to see each other and be near one another. Taking trips and sneaking away for private moments.

They both have troubles and trauma in their past and seem to face a never ending barrage of horrible experiences as the story goes on. Will their love and desire to be with one another be enough to withstand all the trials that lie ahead? Only time will tell. We will find out when the story continues…

⚠️TW: physical violence/assault, emotional/physical abuse and manipulation, blatant misogyny/sexism by secondary characters