Book Review – Arouse (A Spiral of Bliss #1) by Nina Lane

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4.5+ stars

“No,” I murmur against her hair… “We are not freakishly happy. We are not freakishly anything. We’re two people who love each other. We had a tough time. We worked it out because we want to be together. Because we can’t imagine being with anyone else. Because we don’t want to be.”

Arouse is a beautifully detailed, thoughtful, and introspective story that truly makes you feel for the strength and resilience of a marriage based on true love. It takes you through the struggles, through the pain and the heartache and then brings you through to the other side.

We’ve all read the stories of first love and second-chance love… but few stories are actually about a marriage.

This is a spoiler-free review.

I’m always on the lookout for “different” reads and what made AROUSE stand out and grab my attention was that it was about an already married couple. It seemed to almost start after the point where most books would end. It was almost like the post-epilogue book. So often the books we read are about a couple who meets and falls in love and then their story ends with them ready to forge a life together, but we rarely see a story (that isn’t in the middle of a series) start out with an already established couple.

Arouse was the literal continuation of a happily ever after, and while most books end there, after the couple has made their connection, fallen in love, and cemented their relationship, this one actually began several years into Dean and Liv’s marriage. Theirs was a marriage built on love, trust, desire, and a strong sense of security in each other… But this book explored what happens when something as little (and as big) as one tiny question lead to a ripple effect that could threaten their happily ever after? What happens when no matter how hard they tried to fix their relationship, things continue to spiral out of control?

I fell in love with Dean and Liv. As a couple, they stole my heart. I loved them, individually and together. They were the ideal couple – crazy about each other, supportive, understanding, passionate, and yet neither of them were perfect. They had insecurities, jealousies, misunderstandings… and secrets.

Every part of this story felt real, believable, and understandable. The drama came from such things you’d expect any couple to deal with and while there were some things that I felt both Dean and Liv over reacted to, I always could understand where their feelings came from.

There was angst, but it wasn’t the rip-your-heart-out kind, but rather it was the quiet kind that you feel subtly throughout the whole book.

When they first met, Dean could tell Liv was different. She was strong, and yet damaged and scarred from a childhood’s worth of trauma. He understood that about her. He knew that her heart needed protecting and he wanted to give that to her.

“I don’t want you to walk away,” I said.

“Good.” The lines between his eyes eased with relief.

I gripped his wrists, a knot of fear binding my throat. “But you… you might want to go,” I warned.

Darkness flashed in his expression. “Why?”

My eyes stung. I swallowed hard.

“Here be monsters,” I whispered.

A heartbeat of silence, brewing with danger, filled the space between us. Then Dean tightened his hold on me and, with his thumbs, brushed away the tears that spilled down my cheeks.

“Liv,” he said, his voice rough with tenderness, “you don’t have to be afraid.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’ll slay monsters for you.”

Because I’ll slay monsters for you. **MELT**

But after they got married, they moved for his work. Liv wanted to support him and was happy to move – at first content with being Professor Dean West’s wife. But she thought she’d find a little something of her own, something to work towards for herself. A few years and many closed doors later, she finds herself feeling a little lost despite loving her husband dearly.

I fell hard for Dean. He was described as a cross between a hot hunk and a brilliant professor at the university (though, NOT her professor) and my sweet heaven was he SWOONY. He calls Liv “beauty”… in a deep voice.

“Come here, beauty,” he says, “You need to be kissed.”

I don’t know why but with his character, I could so clearly hear his voice in my head when I was reading which rare. I usually visualize, but with him, I heard. He was just so protective and yet gentle with her. You could just feel how much he loved his wife – completely, with all his heart. There was no room for anyone else in there and I loved that about him. Throughout all their ups and downs, all their struggles, the one thing I never doubted about him was that Liv was it for him.

“Since the day we met, I haven’t wanted anyone but you… Never looked at another woman… Never thought about one. It’s always been you, Olivia.”

“Don’t you want to touch me?” I whispered.
“More than I want to breathe… One day I’m going to touch you in a thousand different ways and show you how to touch me,” Dean slid his hand over the back of my neck. “But right now, were just going to make out.”

The imagery is very vivid. And there was this undercurrent throughout the story… something that you couldn’t put your finger on at first. Something hidden that would change things for them.

I watched them fall apart but I didn’t understand why at first. There are natural consequences to miss-communication and to a lack of communication. However, its also human nature to hide things. And sometimes we’re trying so hard to do what’s right for the other person that it’s easy to forget that it should be their choice.

Secrets have a way of always coming out. And when you’re in a relationship with someone who is supposed to know all of them, finding out there is still something your partner is hiding from you can be potentially devastating. So when the secrets come out, it puts the strength of their marriage to the test.

 “Don’t leave me, beauty.” His voice is a rough whisper.
“Never.”

This is a very real story. I don’t know a single couple who has a perfect marriage. And that’s because no one is perfect. Dean and Liv were no different. They loved each other, that was undeniable. But it didn’t stop them from hurting each other – however unintentionlally.

Mostly, the story is told primarily from Liv’s POV although, around 60% in, we start to get Dean’s POV which was a very welcome switch at the time because I felt I had a really strong handle on Liv and her thoughts, opinions etc but I needed to get inside Dean’s head to complete the picture.

This book is definitely adult. The title does not lie – The sex scenes are beautifully erotic. They weren’t just hot, but were also emotional which I loved.

“Easy, beauty,” He presses his mouth to the tears that have slipped from the corners of my eyes and down my temples. His breath rasps against my ear. “Come first, and then I’ll fuck you.”

I will say that there were a few slow points in the story for me, but in a realistic way I guess. In real life, issues aren’t always resolved overnight and this book reflected that well. And it didn’t stop me from crying when they worked it all out. *sniff* I was so emotional at their resolution point. I just needed that relief after all the heart ache.

“His hands tighten on mine. “You’re so damn strong, Liv, and you don’t even realize it… And you… You’re the first person whose ever… Christ, Liv, sometimes the way you look at me makes me feel like I can hang the fucking moon.”

The ending was what I’d call a ‘happy-for-now’ ending. No brutal cliffhanger, but something happened at the end (a good something) that has me wanting the next book like now!

I started the review with this quote and I’m going to end it with this quote, because of all of them, I feel this one represents the story the most:

“No,” I murmur against her hair… “We are not freakishly happy. We are not freakishly anything. We’re two people who love each other. We had a tough time. We worked it out because we want to be together. Because we can’t imagine being with anyone else. Because we don’t want to be.”

♥

4.5+ stars

CASTING

• Dean
• Olivia