Reviewed by Desere
Every person has their own set of relationship demons. Be it from your parents own relationships not working out, or seeing what a in too deep relationship did to a best friend or a secret you might be hiding.
No matter the reason there is always something that to the outside world seems can easily be fixed, but until you find yourself in that person's shoes you really cannot judge.
In this read from Andrea Laurence she tells of the magical and entrancing world of Annie. Annie has what most woman want, she is famous for her card playing magic and thus makes her the ultimate barracuda to most card players, beautiful and powerful, but she is also married to the very sexy I want you forever Nate.
But their marriage is not on track as it should be, for Nate it's all roses and sunshine but for Annie it's run as fast as you can before he sucks you in too deep.You see Annie has a fear of commitment and when she married Nate it was more a spur of the moment "I am in Vegas" reaction rather then " I want to spend the rest of my life with man ".
So when it gets too much she takes off. Only Nate is not ready to let her go and holds her in place with a "never will you get a divorce" clause. Until he sees no other way and decides to let her have what she wants but at a price.
As any woman in Annie's position would she takes the deal, but as she steps back into Nate's world her emotions start flying and soon she is left between walking away again or facing her fears.
The characters in this read were so, so, so fabulous I fell in love with them both from the start of the read. Nate is this perfect to die for hero, that yes with his never divorce come blackmail attitude makes him a bit of a " I am going to hit this hero with a something very soon" character. But his intentions are good and that is what made me love him. Through this character the author showed that when we care about someone to the point of distraction we will do anything we can to prove it and to hold onto them, even it means letting them go in order to gain them back.
The character of Annie was totally amazing! I loved this woman's feisty-ness and let's face it being a barracuda in any field when your female is awesome! I did feel very sorry for her and her relationship commitment issues as most woman would want to get lost in the world of a sexy loves me with all his heart man, but as the author dug into Annnie's background it made perfect sense that she is who she is because of her past. Through this character the author showed that our fears truly do run our lives. We don't always have the courage to take that step into the unknown and playing it safe just seems better.
The backdrop settings were thrilling and so exciting ! I could hear the cards being dealt, felt the anticipation of the win and the adrenalin pumping. Not to mention the amazing action that goes down at a later stage in the book, that was so awesome it let me leap from my reading seat and yell out" Yes in there, go in there go get him! "
I am taking away a message of fear can hold us back from some of the most important things in life, but when facing it we need to try and remember that on the other side of fear there is trust. Trust can build the steps to getting to the very point where fear no longer exists, all you need to do it take that first step. If we don't then we might lose the only step that can get us up to the top where we need to be.
I highly recommend this read for all fans of romance. A thrilling, captivating, passionate reunion story that will stay with you for many years to come!
" The cards have been dealt , the question is how will she play them?"
