Caffeinated Reviewer

Sophia Rose is on the blog today with a review of the contemporary romance novel, Sunk in Love by Heather McBreen. Check out her thoughts on this realistic, fake-marriage, tug at your heartstrings romance.

A second chance at love sets sail when a couple on the verge of divorce pretend they’re still together for one last family trip, from the author of Wedding Dashers.

Roslyn and Liam met nine years ago and have been the perfect couple ever since. Through every up and down, every milestone—from Liam’s residency to the publication of Roslyn’s debut romance—they’ve been each other’s rocks. Until now.

Pulled apart by the untimely death of Roslyn’s mom and the undertow of grief, they’re now navigating the final wave in their divorce.

Heartbroken and unsure how to tell her family she’s called it quits with everyone’s favorite son-in-law, Roslyn keeps the impending split a secret. But when Roslyn’s grandparents ask if Liam can officiate their vow renewal ceremony aboard a Hawaiian cruise during their annual vacation, Roslyn needs to tell the truth or figure out a way to keep her secret. A week trapped at sea with her ex isn’t ideal, but neither Roslyn nor Liam want to rock the boat, so they concoct a plan—they’ll fake it.

After five years of marriage, they can figure out how to pretend for jungle hikes and mai tais, right? But when reality and make believe starts to blur, and old feelings begin to resurface, Roslyn and Liam have to decide whether it’s sink or swim for their marriage.

Sophia Rose’s Review

When her grandparents want all their family about them for their anniversary including Roslyn’s soon-to-be ex, she can’t bring herself to disappoint them so finds herself in a fake marriage, stuck on a ship together, and a painfully emotional, startling journey together that might lead them to the unexpected.  Heather McBreen is a new-to-me author, but in spite of my wariness about the angst level, I couldn’t resist trying her second chance romance set in the beautiful tropics of Hawaii.

Sunk in Love is a deeply moving story of a great love deteriorated by grief, ongoing struggles with their individual pasts, and a broken line of communication.  Rosalyn was working on her medical degree like every other kid in her family- that’s where she met Liam, after all, pursuing his own medical career.  She left medicine behind to write and Liam finished his residency.  The tragedy for her of her mother’s death and Liam’s silence and inability to comfort drove the wedge and five years later living with silence and separation, she’s ready to officially call it quits.

But, right when she’s ready for the formal divorce papers to be signed, her beloved grandparents, who love Liam like one of their own grandkids want him there for the renewing of their vows.  Rosalyn can’t let them or the rest of her family know of her relationship failure so gets Liam to act the part with her like they’re still a happy marriage.  Hawaiian excursions and shared space aboard the cruise lead to Rosalyn and Liam realizing love is still strong, they are still strong, and fighting for their marriage might be painful, but maybe worth it?

I knew going in that Sunk in Love was going to be tough on my emotions.  It was.  There were tears and chest-rubbing heart pains because Heather McBreen didn’t write a warm fuzzy, easy romance, but a hard-fought, realistic one of what marriage can be like after the happily ever after.

  Told in a ‘then’ and ‘now’ dual timeline, as reader I got to see their romance take shape and come alive only to wither and start dying.  Liam came from a tough family background of abandonment and separation and she came from the uncertainness of she and her siblings all having different dads and feeling pressure of family expectation.  Liam was stoic during her grief and she interpreted this in her own way just like Rosalyn gets down to that moment of epiphany that love- for all its highs and lows- comes down to a choice- not to love, that was always there, but whether to feed the new hope or not.  Work at it or don’t?

High angst and soaring and crashing emotions, gorgeous Hawaii and excursions, fully developed characters and a relationship-driven romance plot in this torchy second-chance contemporary romance I recommend to those who like them hard-fought, with depth.

Amazon | Audible | Libro.fm

About Heather McBreen

Heather McBreen currently lives in Seattle, WA, but spent the best year of her life living in London where she completed an MA degree in arts and cultural management. When she’s not writing or reading books about kissing, she can be found surfing the web for travel deals and plotting her next adventure. Wedding Dashers is her debut novel.

Instagram

About Sophia Rose

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, and gardening. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

Goodreads

About Kimberly

Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. BlueSky | Facebook | Instagram

Related Posts

• Same Genre