Release Date: March 24, 2014
Purchase Links: Amazon | iTunes | Smashwords | Barnes & Noble
My Thoughts
Shelly and Cal have been married for six years when Cal suddenly finds himself in a position that can ruin his marriage. During a quick guy’s trip to Las Vegas for his best friend’s bachelor party, he wakes up in bed with a woman he’s never met. When he comes home and admits his mistake to his wife, she immediately leaves him and intends to file for divorce. However, Cal convinces Shelly to give him eight weeks (one week for each of the years they’ve known each other) to prove she could come to trust him again and make their marriage work.
First off, my biggest concern in this story was, why didn’t anyone care what happened to Cal in Vegas? He was slap ass drunk and shoved in a cab on his way to his hotel room with the intention of sleeping off his drunken stupor when all of a sudden, he’s in bed with a woman and he has no recollection of what happened that night? Am I naïve by worrying about foul play? If that happened to my husband, I would be freaked out… after I made him take a STD test of course! That whole situation just felt strange, and I can’t believe how it was completely ignored!
If Shelly and Cal were so tight and completely in love with each other, I guess I don’t understand why she didn’t give him the chance to fully explain what happened that weekend. I wish Shelly would have taken more of an opportunity to listen and communicate with Cal during this entire ordeal. They both needed a serious discussion… clearly. Also, I don’t think it was fair of Shelly to lead Cal on during two of their dates by seducing him. For some reason it felt punitive and I wish Cal would have called her on it more than he did.
Cal was absolute perfection! Grant it, he made a terrible mistake. I get it. But, he can’t recall any of the events that night and that was sort of scary. I would have hoped one of his friends, or many his wife would have cared a bit more to explore what happened. It was clear how torn up he was about it and it was quite sad because all he was trying to do was get back to his room and recover a bit. Also, I feel he deserved better from Shelly. There were parts in the story where I wanted him to just walk away and call it quits. He tried so hard to win her back and it felt like the effort to repairing the marriage went only one way. When it came out how much he was vested in his marriage and all the little things he’d do for Shelly to make her life easier, it really pulled at my heart. At the core, Cal was a sweetheart that deserved so much more.
I really enjoyed how the secondary characters added depth to the story. There were all crafted perfectly and I might just enjoy reading their stories. The only secondary character that I feel could have been axed was Melody. She kept popping up for no necessary reason and I felt her space was wasted.
Overall, I can’t deny I enjoyed 8 Weeks, I read it in one sitting, but for some reason I feel there was an opportunity for better character development in some areas and plot substance in others.
About Bethany:
Is eight weeks enough time to earn back the love of someone you've betrayed...the only one you've ever loved?
Shelly has been in love with Cal since they started dating in eleventh grade. Despite everyone saying that the odds were against them, they got married after graduation and built a life together. Now, six years later, she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. Devastated, her first instinct is to call it quits…
After a drunken binge at his best friends’ bachelor party, Cal betrays the one person who has always been there for him, his wife, Shelly. Terrified and realizing she might divorce him, Cal must come up with a way to prove to her that his love is true…
Cal asks Shelly for eight weeks. Eight weeks to convince her that their marriage is worth the fight. Will Shelly be able to trust him again, or will their marriage end the way many others do when faced with opposition… In divorce?
8 Weeks is book 1 in the Time for Love series, but can be read as a stand alone.
My Thoughts
Shelly and Cal have been married for six years when Cal suddenly finds himself in a position that can ruin his marriage. During a quick guy’s trip to Las Vegas for his best friend’s bachelor party, he wakes up in bed with a woman he’s never met. When he comes home and admits his mistake to his wife, she immediately leaves him and intends to file for divorce. However, Cal convinces Shelly to give him eight weeks (one week for each of the years they’ve known each other) to prove she could come to trust him again and make their marriage work.
First off, my biggest concern in this story was, why didn’t anyone care what happened to Cal in Vegas? He was slap ass drunk and shoved in a cab on his way to his hotel room with the intention of sleeping off his drunken stupor when all of a sudden, he’s in bed with a woman and he has no recollection of what happened that night? Am I naïve by worrying about foul play? If that happened to my husband, I would be freaked out… after I made him take a STD test of course! That whole situation just felt strange, and I can’t believe how it was completely ignored!
If Shelly and Cal were so tight and completely in love with each other, I guess I don’t understand why she didn’t give him the chance to fully explain what happened that weekend. I wish Shelly would have taken more of an opportunity to listen and communicate with Cal during this entire ordeal. They both needed a serious discussion… clearly. Also, I don’t think it was fair of Shelly to lead Cal on during two of their dates by seducing him. For some reason it felt punitive and I wish Cal would have called her on it more than he did.
Cal was absolute perfection! Grant it, he made a terrible mistake. I get it. But, he can’t recall any of the events that night and that was sort of scary. I would have hoped one of his friends, or many his wife would have cared a bit more to explore what happened. It was clear how torn up he was about it and it was quite sad because all he was trying to do was get back to his room and recover a bit. Also, I feel he deserved better from Shelly. There were parts in the story where I wanted him to just walk away and call it quits. He tried so hard to win her back and it felt like the effort to repairing the marriage went only one way. When it came out how much he was vested in his marriage and all the little things he’d do for Shelly to make her life easier, it really pulled at my heart. At the core, Cal was a sweetheart that deserved so much more.
I really enjoyed how the secondary characters added depth to the story. There were all crafted perfectly and I might just enjoy reading their stories. The only secondary character that I feel could have been axed was Melody. She kept popping up for no necessary reason and I felt her space was wasted.
Overall, I can’t deny I enjoyed 8 Weeks, I read it in one sitting, but for some reason I feel there was an opportunity for better character development in some areas and plot substance in others.
3.5 Suns
About Bethany:
Award-Winning Author Bethany Lopez began self-publishing in June 2011. Since then she has published various YA and NA books. She is a lover of romance, family, and friends, and enjoys incorporating those things in what she writes. When she isn't reading or writing, she loves spending time with her husband and children, traveling whenever possible.
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