A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

This book contains spoilers for LETTING GO and GIVING IN, the first two books in the Surrender trilogy. You might be able to read TAKING IT ALL as a standalone, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
Finally, after all the buildup in the first two Surrender trilogy books, we get Chessy and Tate’s story here in TAKING IT ALL. After Carson Breckenridge died too soon in a tragic car accident, it was more than a year before both his widow Josslyn and his sister Kylie were able to find love and happiness with the two men who were already present in their lives. Now that all their good friends are settled and happy, it’s the already-married Tate and Chessy who are forced to confront their own growing isolation from each other, one that threatens to end their marriage if something isn’t done soon. 

Tate and Chessy had always been one of the golden couples in their immediate group of friends and family, even as everyone was still in mourning for the loss of Carson. But Tate has been spending too many nights and weekends trying to build up his business and it’s Chessy who has paid the price. She’s put on a brave face for him and everyone else, not wanting to seem ungrateful for all his hard work even as she dies a little more inside each day. It’s only when they make arrangements for a rare night out alone together to celebrate their wedding anniversary that everything comes to a head. When Chessy spells out to Tate exactly why she is so angry with him, he seems to get the message and immediately starts trying to mend the breach before it becomes irreparable. Yet it will still take one more mind-boggling mistake on Tate’s part before he realizes exactly how much he’s failed Chessy, and what he must to do prove himself worthy as both her husband and Dominant once more.

TAKING IT ALL was the perfect mix of nearly everything I love: marriage in trouble, a D/s couple in love, and the steady hand of Maya Banks to make sure it all played out exactly as it should. Add to that another appearance of Damon Roche, my all-time favorite Maya Banks character, and it’s no surprise that I loved this book so much. Chessy suffered silently for much too long, hoping every day that the man to whom she had given her love and submission would come to his senses and return to her. Tate was genuinely clueless about how much he’d been hurting his wife as he believed he was helping them both by devoting every waking hour to running his company. Even when their initial showdown appeared to have set things right, it was clear that their reconciliation was a tenuous one, and I was just as worried as Chessy that Tate could slip up again. When he did so at the absolutely worst possible moment, I knew that a hero screw-up of this magnitude demanded an equally epic hero grovel, and Maya Banks did not disappoint. This realistic portrayal of a loving D/s couple’s painful falling out and hard-won reconciliation was the heart and soul of TAKING IT ALL, and it’s what made this final book in the uniformly excellent Surrender trilogy the very best one of them all.


Ratings:

Overall: 5
Sensuality level: 4

Nick and Paula DeCello are getting divorced in seven days, even though they love each other dearly. His overprotectiveness has finally become too much for her, and there's something painful locked deep inside him. Desperate, Nick takes the advice of a quirky, old fortune teller to find his wife's "heart craving." To Nick, that means sexual fantasies.

Armed with a hilarious collection of advice books, he embarks on a wild, funny seduction of Paula that proves there's nothing wrong with their relationship in the bedroom. When it comes to giving her what her heart really craves--soul-sharing communication--he'll have to take a big step outside his comfort zone

Review

Originally part of the anthology Lovescape, this charming novella is a winner. If you love a hero in pursuit, you couldn't ask for more out of a man than this one gives in order to win back his wife.

This quick and lovely read will brighten your day and touch your heart with laughter and tenderness.

A copy of this book was provided to me by the publisher for an honest review at Seductive Musings.

This review may contain spoilers for DISARM, the first book in this series. You should not try to read ARREST as a standalone, as it assumes you are already familiar with events of the previous book that are not always fully explained in this one.

I enjoyed reading June Gray’s DISARM romance novelettes after they were released as a full length book back in 2013, so when that book was acquired by a major publisher, I was happy that there would be two more books in the series. ARREST picks up where DISARM left off, with Henry and Elsie newly married and embarking on the rest of their Happily Ever After together. But just because they got past all their previous obstacles doesn’t mean that there aren’t new ones now that they are finally married. The primary source of their problems now is Henry’s new career as a law enforcement officer. It was bad enough when he was still in the US military and being sent into a war zone for months on end. Now Elsie has to worry about him every day and night, forever dreading a future where he doesn’t come home safely at the end of his scheduled shift. Their shared adjustment to this new reality, combined with his reaction to Elsie’s independent career as a web designer and the usual dips and bumps that happen in a marriage, constantly threaten their happiness even as they both know that they could never survive away from each other. The story of ARREST is how each crisis in Henry and Elsie’s marriage ultimately makes them stronger together, and better able to deal with whatever life throws at them next. But the journey isn’t easy and when Henry begins to rely on his old destructive coping mechanisms, it will take both of them working as hard as they can to get to the true happy ending they’d thought they already had on their wedding day.

As much as I enjoyed the previous book, the way Henry was always retreating from Elsie when he was upset did get to be tiring after a while, so I was worried that I might not be as sympathetic to him when all the new bad things started happening to them both in ARREST. However, I was quite happy to be proven wrong in my concern, as it appeared that Henry has indeed grown emotionally since then. The love he and Elsie have for each other is never questioned, and it never wavers. But as they and we already learned before, love isn’t enough to keep them together if they can’t communicate and compromise, and in ARREST, Henry and Elsie must both relearn those painful lessons if they’re going to stay married and happy together. 

ARREST also has the advantage of hanging together better as an complete story from the start, as opposed to the previous title. We are shown once again how their past continues to affect their present, but also how they are aware of how easily they could fall back into a vicious cycle of hurting each other, however inadvertently. Being able to see Henry and Elsie take real steps toward a fully reciprocal relationship made reading through all their pain and sadness worth it for the true happy ending awaiting them both. ARREST is an excellent example of how the “marriage in trouble” trope can be realistic without being too depressing. But I’m relieved that the next story in the series will be about someone else, so I can be content in the knowledge that Elsie and Henry have finally earned their HEA and won’t have to suffer any longer.


Ratings:

Overall: 4
Sensuality level: 3.5

This kind of romance always makes me ache and even though I know there will be a happily ever after again and love that has been tested is sweeter. 

This list goes out all loving partnerships that bend and cradle. 

Marriages in Trouble Historical Romances

1. Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas 

2. An Affair Before Christmas by Eloisa James

3. The Marriage Bed  by Laura Lee Guhrke

4. The Book of Scandal by Julia London 

5. Trial by Desire by Courtney Milan 

6. Lord and Lady Spy by Shana Galen

7. Seducing the Duchess by Ashley March 

8. The Slightest Provocation by Pam Rosenthal

9. Lady Isabella's Scandalous Marriage by Jennifer Ashley 

10. Colorado Dawn by Kaki Warner 

Marriages in Trouble Contemporary Romances

1. Turning Up the Heat and Snow-Kissed by Laura Florand

2. Suburban Renewal by Pamela Morsi 

3. A Summer in Sonoma by Robyn Carr

4. Reason to Believe by Kathleen Eagle 

5. Love in a Small Town by Curtiss Ann Matlock 

6. Forget Me Not by Marliss Melton 

7. Always in My Heart by Catherine Anderson 

8. Home Front: A Novel by Kristin Hannah 

9. On Target by Catherine Mann

10. One Fine Day by Theresa Weir 

Marriages in Trouble Category Romances

1. The Santangeli Marriage by Sara Craven 

2. The Fourth Child by C. J. Carmichael 

3. Stranded With Her Ex by Jill Sorenson 

4. A Marriage Worth Fighting For by Lilian Darcy

5. A Perfect Marriage by Laurey Bright 

6. Once a Ferrara Wife... by Sarah Morgan 

7. Mr. and Mrs. Wrong by Fay Robinson

8. Becca's Baby by Tara Taylor Quinn

9. The Second Mrs Adams by Sandra Marton 

10. The Greek's Christmas Baby by Lucy Monroe 

11. Making It Last by Ruthie Knox (forgot this one is a Loveswept--an utterly wonderful read)

These list are especially for some very fine women on Twitter who just love these kinds of romances. @JenniferRNN @mharvey816 @PennyRomance @SOSchmieg @LauraFlorand (threw a few amnesia ones in there for your pleasure)

If you want to vote for the Marriage in Trouble Romance, go to the Goodreads list: Trouble: Marriage on the Rocks Romance. 

Documentary photographer is finally giving up on her remote 5-year marriage to busy Italian businessman Hero.

Her last failed attempt to revive their marriage and almost losing their young daughter solidifies her plans to put an end to their marriage. In the meantime, Hero has now resolved to spend more time with their daughter due to almost losing her and frees up 6 weeks of his work schedule. Their rare time together gave heroine the opportunity to confront Hero of his neglect of her and their daughter. Hero tells her the big secrets he’s been withholding from her.** It scrapes at her deep wounds while it frees him to consider their marriage in a way he never has before. Can he convince her to give him a second chance?

My rating is mixed for this book. It’s my 1st Blake book so I don’t know how typical of her writing this book was. I loved how my emotions and attention were gripped at the very start of the book. The characters were simmering with their intense emotions and the heavy drama of their dying marriage. I was hooked. But the unveiling of Hero’s secrets dampened the emotional pull of the book for me. A big part was due to how his secrets affected his romance choices with heroine confused me.** I didn’t get it. And it made his past responses to heroine look even worse. It made it more evident that love wasn't his driving force for marrying her. The good news, though, is that he began to change and started becoming a loving and concerned husband and father. I would’ve liked to see him grovel but his genuine character improvement was good enough for me to believe that they might have a chance at a good and lasting marriage now.

Moderately recommended.

**A more detailed review with SPOILERS is on my blog. Click here.