Vintage Housewife Books, $0.99, ISBN 978-1507091258
Contemporary Romance, 2015

Andee Swift feels that, after ten years of marriage, the magic has fizzled out between her and Buck. 

What she wanted was to be in love again. That heady rush of anticipation before Buck kissed her, the pinpricks of pleasure that followed lovemaking. She knew he missed those things, too, and it was her goal to make them recapture those feelings. Before they were so far gone, they’d never find them again. Before he found them with someone else. Even if they had to go to extremes to get there. No cost was too high to save her marriage.

Oh, I don’t know. According to those relationship experts on TikTok, the best way to bring the magic back into a relationship is to start sleeping with other people. How do they say it again? Open marriage is empowering or something?

Still, perhaps giving one another permanent hall passes is tad far out for these people. Andee is getting frustrated, however.

Dressing up in what she hopes to be sexy clothes from her youth only makes Buck laugh in all the wrong ways. Visiting that BDSM place only makes them realize they’d rather watch TV. Oh dear, is there anything that they can do to save their marriage?

One thing I notice right off the bat is that there is nothing wrong at all with their marriage. Sure, Andee feels that they are in a rut, but these two don’t act like they are stuck in a dark place. They still enjoy one another’s company, there is no ennui or boredom tempting any of them to stray, and they certainly aren’t fighting or giving one another silent treatments. I end up feeling that perhaps Andee is just bored and mistakes that boredom for a sign that her marriage is in serious jeopardy.

Nonetheless, the story turns out to be a cute little tale of how one should pause now and then to appreciate those little moments that make a relationship so special and how these moments can add up to become something magical. There is just the right amount of humor to keep things light and bouncy in spite of the gravity of the emotions experienced by Andee and Buck.

In the end, I like this story. Sure, it doesn’t have that much gravitas to it as the marriage never appears to be in any genuine trouble in the first place, but still, it has ample heart. It also has a pretty reasonable take home message about how relationship counseling, whether with someone affiliated with one’s religious establishment or with a more secular marriage counselor, can be good for a couple.

All in all, it’s an adorable breezy tale to pass the time with.