Review: Break Even by Lisa De Jong
Note: This ARC was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.
Break Even is a the newest standalone contemporary romance from and my very first read by author Lisa De Jong. Marley Mason's love story is one she shares with not just one man but two of them. Now, that may sound like something that you've come across at least once if you're as voracious a reader as I am, but nothing about her story is simple or easy. While she's still married to the same man she's loved for eleven years, she's finding it more difficult to see why they continue to stay together. Her husband Cole isn't abusive or uncaring, but what he is is unavailable, especially when she needs him most. It's at the point where she wavers about the future of said marriage that she meets her latest client, River Holtz, who has no qualms whatsoever when it comes to crossing the line separating professional and downright personal.
Marley is a woman who holds on tight to her marriage vows, even in the face of a temptation as devastating as River, but she is human, after all. Her dilemma is one that countless other women who are married to spouses who seem to have time for everyone but them may be familiar with, and while I'm not an advocate of cheating, I can empathize with that feeling of surrender when the wrong choice feels like the right one at that moment. There is never a good enough excuse for cheating on a significant other when you're in a committed relationship, but I'm also not the type of person who's going to sit on my high horse and declare all cheaters as evildoers or get on my soapbox and spout off lectures about morality. Again, Marley is human and her circumstances led her to make choices that she did take responsibility for.
There's a twist to this story that shocked the heck out of me and in the name of women everywhere, I seriously wanted to smack some random guy just to get back at their sex in general. Cole and River are in Marley's life for their own self-serving reasons and while she does the whole back and forth thing more than once in the story, coming to grips with being played for a fool and learning about the lies and deceit rained upon her, she does prove to be a female lead character with stronger mettle than most. She does what she believes is necessary for her at whatever point she is in her life. Yes, sometimes she makes excuses for her mistakes and bad behavior, but in the end, she owns up to them. This was definitely one of the better reads I've come across this year and it's put Lisa De Jong on my radar. Break Even gets 4.5 stars. ♥
Date Read: 28 December 2015
Learn more about Lisa De Jong.
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