Review: An absolute treat of a book! :-)
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 19, 2013
I am kind of berating myself for not having read "Temporary Bliss" until now, but better late than never, I suppose. ;-) This is a very fun, lighthearted book, albeit with serious issues as well.It is always difficult to read about abusive relationships, but I think the author was very good at describing certain scenes without making them too explicit, meaning that the fainthearted should have no problem with this book.The way Mac describes her life with Beau in Ohio made me very angry and very sad. I cannot really fault Mac for moving with him, though - she was, after all, very much in love with him and thought that they would be together always. What 20-year-old-girl in love is not a bit nave when it comes to her first love? Sadly, it is not until a certain event occurs that Mac has had enough, calls her friend, Kate, and leaves Ohio for good."Walking away from this life, I make a vow to myself: never again will my life be dictated by a man, and never again will I let love lead me astray."Fast forward 4 years and we see a completely different Mac: she is now a confident young woman who enjoys her life without making plans for the future. She is sticking to her vow and has not only 1, but 3 different lovers - each bring her something she needs sexually and they all know about each other so nobody will get hurt. While reading the book, I could not help but smile and even laugh many times - the voice of our heroine, Makenna (Mac) Lewis is very endearing: she is smart, sassy, and not afraid to own up to the fact that she is a woman in a modern age, meaning: she likes sex and she likes it A LOT. I did, however, also want to knock some sense into her once in a while, but I will get to that later.But then...we meet Daniel - Delicious Daniel or Superman, as Mac instantly calls him. Can I just say: WOW! Seriously hot! And I have to agree with Mac on this:"He smirks, and wouldn't you know it, out come the dimples. Freaking adorable, cute as all hell divots on either side of his cheeks, dimples. They're going to be my downfall."I mean, who does not love a man with dimples? ;-) Daniel really is the perfect guy for Mac: he is just as confident as she is, enjoys sex as much as she does (but then again, what guy does not?) and it is such fun to read how Mac gets all flustered whenever she thinks about him:"For the first time in four years, a man has my heart beating faster, my eyes shining brighter, and my brain turning to mush."I have highlighted so many scenes in this book, but I will not give too many details about what happens - as you ought to know about me by now: I refuse to give too many spoilers and ruin the reading experience for you - but suffice it to say, a bit of drama, soul-searching and plenty of funny moments take place before we get to the HEA.I love the way Daniel handles Mac - with care, but determined to show her that she does not need more than him in her life, both emotionally and sexually. And this is where I wanted to knock some sense into her: her refusal to set her fears aside and simply trust Daniel sooner than she does was making me a bit frustrated. Having said that,  it did not ruin the reading experience for me at all which is the reason it gets such a high rating from me.Oh, and I have to mention the steam factor in this book, right? ;-) Scorching hot! I mean, seriously well written, and not over the top at all. And I have to agree with the disclaimer above... ;-)I cannot write this review without mentioning the secondary characters: there is Kate, of course, Mac's best friend, who I absolutely love! She is smart, funny and loyal. You can really feel how close they are, that they have that certain bond only very close friends share. I really love their "freak-out-phone-calls"! They are truly hilarious!We also get small glimpses of all 3 of Mac's friends-with-benefits: Zander, the stripper, Noah, the doctor, and Seth, the dominant, and I seriously cannot wait to get to know all these characters some more! Miss Harvey has wet my appetite, leaving me anxiously waiting for the next book in the series, "True Bliss", which will be Kate and Zander's story.If you want a book that is not too intense, with plenty of sexy moments, and which is great fun as well, I definitely recommend picking up "Temporary Bliss".