Review: What a wonderful, romantic, & tragic story.......
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 18, 2013
There is something very endearing and poetic about this story.  It's sad, yet parts of it feel uplifting.  Those parts are definitely due to the character Carrie West and the way she has decided to live her life - that is with an attitude that her glass is FULL because she is content.  She's a woman on the other side of thirty and proud to be in a place of her choosing.  When the sad man named Brian Newburgh and his extreme baggage come into her life; she blossoms into a woman who ends-up fulfilled, and HAPPY.I loved Carrie because so many women in today's world are strong in their convictions and content in their single-dom.  She is an intelligent woman living within her means and wanting for nothing beyond what she's created in her close-knit sphere.  I admire her fortitude.  Yet; seeing that singles-ad for a Wednesdays-kissing-only partner.....changes her life and she becomes brave in an area she never thought to go.Brian Newburgh for his part is a man who has never become what he might have been; due to a sense of responsibility that he alone has borne.  He's given up everything for a purpose beyond what most people can handle and is chivalrous - no question about it.  His character is strong, yet weakened because what his life centers around is on the constant decline and the battle to keep status quo is sucking the very life out him.When Carrie and Brian meet on their Wednesdays only (kissing ONLY) they both know it is more than mere Wednesdays.  This is the crux of their conflicts and both Carrie and Brian need to come to terms with what they can allow into their lives - what they can handle.  This is where Carrie shines.  This is where Brian practically falls apart before Carrie's eyes.I can't say enough about this book.  I wish it'd been lendable (due to publisher restriction it is not).  It's a book that MUST BE READ.  It's everything about triumph of human spirit and loss of hope.  It's the blossoming of new hope in the wake of helplessness and utter loneliness.  What starts as a weekly meeting ends in a way that leaves the reader hoping that man who had so little emotional nurturing, now has all he'd ever need because he was brave enough to open up his very soul and take a leap of faith because he found something that nurtured him.We also got a few sensual scenes - yes....kissing is sensual the way this author has written it.  I'm glad Mary Ann Rivers did not back-off from the hot scenes, as I feel they needed to be part of this story.  What I would hope for however, is another book about these two people.  What this book does is scratch the surface of a battle that can never be won; yet parts of it can be conquered.  There is much that can happen for Brian and Carrie.  I'm very pleased how it ends yet there is some big question marks about what is ahead for them and the romance that has blossomed.  What I'm left with is that Brian can share his burden - within reason.  He also now has loving support from a woman who has chosen HIM and his situation in its entirety.  If this story ends here, I'm happy because my imagination can write all kinds of scenarios where Carrie and Brian will be together in a HEA type of way.Thank you, dear authoress.  This book is a gem and likely one I'll reread for years to come.  Thank you for being brave, thoughtful, and daring.  You're also quite a writer and this reader is grateful.