Review: Ambitious and hot, hot, hot!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 11, 2014
Essence by Mackenzie Lucas is a classically plotted romance with an unexpectedly ambitious set of emotional issues. It is also very explicit and well-done, with the sexual encounters adding much to the characterizations as well as the progression of the plot. The main character, Haven, is hurting from a precarious childhood, and is further punished throughout the course of the novel to discover she has been treated unjustly by many people she trusted. When she meets hero Pace, a sexy pro golfer with demons of his own, she is instantly attracted to him, but the wedges between them seem too tall to ever scale. He's a competitor who could ruin her business, he's in cohoots with a villainous woman who seems intent on ruining Haven's life, and he's an expert at no strings attached one night stands. There is a little bit too much repetition of internal thought about what the issues are with both Haven and Pace, but through many refreshingly honest conversations, these two characters get to know the internal reasons for their external actions. Add in well-drawn and equally angsty secondary characters including her best friend Sally, and Pace's brother, Jason, and Essence will give you a big, juicy fulfilling read about just what it takes to make love work the second time around.