Review: HOW *DO* YOU MAKE IT LAST?
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 19, 2013
"Making It Last" by Ruthie Knox is the latest installment in the Camelot, Ohio series.  This novella focuses once more on Tony & Amber, and the state of their marriage, ten years & three sons after the events in "How to Misbehave - A Novella (Camelot Series): A Loveswept Contemporary Romance".  I love this Camelot series, but I had a REALLY HARD TIME getting through this novella.  If it were any longer than its 151 pages I don't know what I would have done.  I actually had to stop several times & read some other things, then go back to it.  Did I do this because of the writing?  N.O.  I did it because of the STORY.  It was PAINFUL.  P.A.I.N.F.U.L.  Ruthie Knox just got right into this story, and into my heart as a reader, and TWISTED.  (I have to admit that I'm writing this first part before I have even finished the book, because, like I said - PAINFUL.  I needed a bit of a break.)  Anyone who has been in any sort of long term relationship can relate to this story... and as a Mom, I can REALLY relate.Amber finds herself getting "lost" -- Tony is working long, hard hours and she is the consummate Mom (in the prior books she's mentioned driving kids to soccer practices, etc...) and spends all her energies on her husband and her kids.  Now that the youngest son is in school all day, she's starting to wonder - WHO AM I?!!!???  What happened to me?  Conversely, Tony is overwhelmed with fears about the home construction business in this economic downturn; not being able to cover payroll or his own mortgage payment; and concerns for his marriage, wife & children.  THIS IS REAL LIFE.  THIS is what Ruthie Knox does right.  While reading is escapism, and we all want the happy ending with the bluebirds singing at the end, some times it is just plain REFRESHING to know that other folks face the same fears; the same challenges; and that there can be a good resolution to it all.  If you're not in the mood for some reality with your romance, you might want to skip this one.  It can easily be read as a standalone - you don't need to have read the prior books, and it really does not have any "tie up loose ends" impact to it.  But man oh man - it is a STRONG read.  (Yes, I cried.  And I cried while I explained to The Man while I was crying.)Well worth the price of admission.  Go check it out.