Review: A Very Complex Romance
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 16, 2012
The book is actually three complete stories, His Story, Her Story, and Training Sessions.  All the same tale, but from three different perspectives.  It begins with His Story, which concerns Mark, a bachelor.  He has a spotty record with women.  As a handsome man, he has no problem getting first dates.  He does have problems getting second dates.  He just can't seem to connect with women.  So he starts using an Internet dating website to find women.The first one he meets is Tanya.  They go on a date, and Mark thinks they hit it off really well.  But Tanya never contacts him again.  She won't answer phone calls, messages, or email.  So Mark writes her off, but he still thinks about her.  A lot.  The next one he meets is Cheryl.  They go on a date and get along well.  But Cheryl mostly talks about Richard, a man she loves.  But Richard doesn't love her.  And Mark talks about Tanya in the same way.So Cheryl proposes a deal.  If Mark talks to Richard and gets him talking again with her, she'll talk to Tanya, and get her talking to Mark.  Then they will go their own way, and remain friends.  But they will not have a romantic relationship.  Seems like a fair deal to Mark, and he accepts it. Cheryl does talk to Tanya, and Tanya does start to respond to Mark.But a hitch develops.  Mark and Cheryl start to fall in love.  So we have a complicated love situation.  Mark loves Tanya and Cheryl, and Cheryl loves Richard and Mark.  And Cheryl gives lessons to Mark about how to properly make love to a woman.  So they are now lovers.  And Cheryl's sister Akiko starts trying to seduce Mark.  Furthermore, Amber, the waitress at the cafe Mark frequents, has made it very clear she is interested in Mark, and she is available.So in about a week Mark has gone from a man with no girlfriend to a man with potentially four of them.  Can Mark resolve this in a satisfactory way?Her Story is the tale as told by Cheryl.  We find out right off the bat that Cheryl and Tanya are good friends.  And we also learn that although Mark thinks he has been talking to Cheryl on the dating website, he has actually been talking to Akiko, using Cheryl's account.  That's why Akiko has been trying to seduce him.We also find out that Akiko has been giving Cheryl lessons on how to properly make love to a man, much the same as the lessons Cheryl gave Mark.  Furthermore, we learn Tanya hasn't dismissed Mark at all.  She's just playing a little hard to get.  Cheryl learns that Mark and Tanya went on another date, and she is not happy about that.  We also learn that Cheryl falls in love with Mark long before she admits it to him.  Richard is pretty much out of the picture.  Cheryl only has to compete with Tanya, Akiko, and the waitress (she knows about her) for Mark's affections.Akiko tries to get Cheryl involved in the lifestyle she enjoys.  That would distract Cheryl from Mark.  The lifestyle Akiko likes could be called very "loose."  She picks up strange men in bars, and has sex with them.  If she can convert Cheryl then Cheryl may not be as interested in Mark.But Cheryl learns that Mark has been sleeping with Tanya, and he now refers to her as his girlfriend.  This only strengthens Cheryl's resolve to win Mark.  But she hasn't been 100% honest with him.  She has been playing him between herself and Akiko to force him to make a choice.  And he does make a choice - Tanya.  But Tanya tells Cheryl she is thinking about moving to England.  That would take her out of the picture.  But if even if Tanya leaves can Cheryl win Mark from Akiko?The third story is Training Sessions.  The story begins by revealing what the real relationship between Mark and Akiko was.  It was more than Cheryl knew about, or even suspected.  The story also wraps up all the loose ends left by the previous two stories.  I'm not going to reveal what happens, or even hint at it.  I will say there is a bit of a surprise ending.Two Stories is a pretty straightforward romance.  Although a complex one.  At the end we have six people caught up in a web love and trust.  And some people are serious, and some are just playing games.  The characters and plot are well developed, and the stories move fast.  The book carries a warning that it has explicit sex scenes.  There are sex scenes, but they aren't explicit in my book.  In fact, they are pretty tame by today's standards.  Reccommended.