Review

The second story in the Volakis Duet is a wild ride; gut-wrenching and romantic.

Sander and Tally are estranged. The loss of their child spilt them apart and divorce is imminent. Tally knows what it's like to be on her own now. She has a business and a budding friendship with her partner and friend Robert Martin. She’s fully prepared to be on her own, believing that Sander never truly loved her or their stillborn baby. Yet thanks to her mother’s indiscretions and money mismanagement, Tally is coerced by her father to attempt to salvage her marriage in return for his help.  She agrees reluctantly, determined to keep her feelings in check and the coercion a secret at all costs.

Sander wants his wife back, any way he can get her.  If that means planning a tryst at their old home in France under false pretense, he’ll do it. Something in him snapped when Tally left over a year ago, and now he’s bound and determined to reclaim what’s his. He regrets the death of their child, regrets his ill-fated actions during their brief marriage. Now he’s grown up, but a nasty secret may prevent their reunion.

Bride For Real is the continuing story of Sander and Tally. Now apart, this tale tells of the reunion, which at first is forced by Tally’s father. Sander has his own reasons for wanting his wife back, including the fact that he really doesn’t know how to live without her. Tally and Sander are both extremely passionate people in bed and out of it.  I love the fact that nothing inspires Sander, except the idea of his wife by his side; romance at its finest as the hero longs to be reunited with the one person that makes him whole. Tally is stubborn though, and one of the frustrating parts for me in this story is how easily she decides not to communicate and rush to conclusions. Assumptions are the main thing that keeps these two at odds, and both seem to face similar problems in communication that they did in the first book.

Surprisingly things get worse before they get better and Sander’s secret is one he doesn’t even suspect. Plus the whole sticky situation put me at a loss for words, but I found myself much more forgiving then Tally. I honestly had a difficult time, as I did with the first book, believing that Tally and Sander would end with an HEA. I think that is why I enjoyed this book and the previous one so much.  Graham does a phenomenal job at showing how easily relationships and understandings get bungled by words. She is also fantastic at throwing in surprises that I would never expect. When reading Bride For Real you quickly learn to take nothing at face value, and that Murphy’s Law is ever present.

Honestly, this book is a must read for those who long to see a marriage on the rocks recover, and form a solid foundation. As I said in the first review, Graham knows exactly how to portray human emotion, and you immediately understand how Sander and Tally feel. Bride For Real is a sure win.

Reviewed by Landra