Lauren's Review of Arouse (Spiral of Bliss #1) by Nina Lane

Summary:  "One day I'm going to touch you in a thousand different ways and show you how to touch me," he said. And he did.

Struggling with a tormented past, undergraduate Olivia Winter once led a practical but isolated life. Then she met Professor Dean West, a brilliant scholar of medieval history who melted Liv's inhibitions and taught her the meaning of both love and erotic pleasure. But after three years of a blissful, lusty marriage, Liv and Dean now face a crisis that threatens everything they believe about each other. And when dark secrets and temptations rise to the surface, the fallout might break them apart forever.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Anyone wanna make a souffle?

What I Liked:  This story is real.  The characters are believable people who you can relate to and you feel you could be friends with anyone of them.  I think it is safe to say we have all had similar relationship issues like Liv and Dean.  I also liked the flashbacks that gave us a glimpse into their past and how they fell in love with each other.  By far, my favorite character was Kelsey.  Everyone needs a Kelsey in their life. A true friend that’s not afraid to be blunt and tell you like it is.

Favorite Line: “Maybe this was meant to

happen, this discovery of cracks where now a different, new light can shine through.”

Not So Much: Ahhh Liv! That girl was not for me.  First of all, she was all about INDEPENDENCE. Growing up with a mother who relied on men for everything, you would think she would have stayed on path and developed a way for her to support herself first.  Instead, she took a step back from her dreams to let Dean pursue his.  What the F!!! Find your own way first.  This is one of the main reasons I felt that Liv kept looking for reasons to be mad at Dean; like she wanted a reason for the relationship to fail.  Sneaking around and going through his things like she can’t trust him when she is the one who can’t be trusted. If Liv had stayed on course and became who she wanted to be, I don’t think the relationship would have been so rocky.

Because the story focuses so much on their troubles and it really dives into the depths of their relationship, it loses the thrill and can drag.  Sometimes I like to write my review while I’m reading so I don’t forget to include certain points I want to make but the whole time I was reading, I had no idea where I was going to go with this review. Some parts keep you eager to keep going and other parts my eyes wandered over the text. To me, the book was eh.  Nothing to write home about.




Overall:  If you are looking for something real world – pick this one.