An Affair to Remember.....Again and Again
922650
Without a doubt, this book is fascinating.  Well written and worth several reads, my only disappointment was the sadness of their passions being coerced when each married another.

We can only presume that MGM icons feared great financial losses at the box office if the two had married. Their magic on screen, maybe, was threatened if they'd validated their love in private matrimony.

The book is tenderly poignant, a vicarious experience. Each died too young - in their 60s. We appreciate the drama of two talented beautiful people living a fantasy. Only in 1930/1940 Hollywood could it be so compelling.....
4517027
More popularly known as "Camille", this wonderous romance continues to enthrall 150 years after its publication.  It's all about an affair between playboy Armand and beautiful courtesan Marguerite; Armand is  torn by jealousy over Marguerite's relationships with other men and is  prepared to throw his life away to have her.  But Marguerite sacrifices her  one chance for happiness to ensure that Armand not lose face within  society.  Dumas based this on one of his own love affairs, and the  passionate prose betrays this.  It's a magnificent, exquisite love story, a  tale to be cherished.
4005953
Wow...an excellent read with Jane Sillee & Aedan MacKinnon, a union of soul mates with her given only thirty days to make him remember their inseparable tie or lose him forever to Unseelie King as Vengeance. Sometimes a short, humorous, cleaver story of the best romance is all we have time for in this busy world. I, for one, inquired as to how any pages to expect when I purchased it...no surprise there. This is a well written story of a fantastic time and place. I highly recommend this and all Karen Marie Moning. I will, no doubt, read this one a dozen more times.
3787594
The Affair is an enjoyable, quick read but with lots of layers that really makes the reader think.  I loved the characters and loved the way we learned the same events from each person's point of view (and how I was totally with Kathy, until the book switches to Robert and then I could sort of see his view too!). Fun, attention-getting and thought-provoking...a real winner.
1833183
This movie depicts an affair that evolves and becomes something more for each of the participants. It is not for those that want fantasy, for it portrays two seemingly normal people committing adultery for his and her own reasons.  What served the plot is showcasing each persons life within their marriages, and the decision to betray their spouses.  It is not a happy movie, and it is not a morality tale, but I found it real and well acted.
1386679
Earl Sewell has a knack for creating memorable characters and scenes in his novels that stay with the reader long after they've read the last page.  In Taken for Granted (TFG) he gave us his most memorable character, Rubylee, and also the infamous ski jet sex scene.  Well, fans of Sewell have no reason to fret.  He's created yet another character whom readers will love to hate, while introducing even more original love scenes that are sure to heat up things.  I know I'll never look at a dental chair the same again.  Throw all that around a storyline celebrating and challenging the sanctity of marriage, and you're left with another wonderful read that not only entertains, but educates.

THROUGH THICK AND THIN, the sequel to TFG, brings back Richard and Nina; happily married and getting through the issues of their past.  They're living a lovey-dovey day-to-day adventure:  great sex, communication, and appreciation for one another.  Richard has become quite successful and with the help of Nina has started his own dental clinic and spa.  With the intention of incorporating a special theme in which patients would love to visit the dentist, they embark on a partnership, both in business and in marriage that shows the beauty of true love.

Of course, when things seem to be perfect, there has to be something or someone thrown into the mix to snap things back into perspective.  That's where Dr. Charlene Hayward steps into the scene.  Beautiful, smart, and as vindictive as they come, Charlene is all about Charlene and doing whatever she has to do to get what she wants, personally and professionally.  After her involvement with a wealthy politician goes askew, she almost destroys her status as a dentist and isn't sure where to turn to find a job.  A bell goes off and she decides to go to Richard for a job; remembering her past involvement with him', she's sure she can finagle her way into a partnership and possibly his bed.  Can Richard's marriage and business stand up to the emergence of Charlene or will she end up on top as she usually does?

THROUGH THICK AND THIN was an exciting, fast-paced read, which I read in one sitting.  While the relationship with Nina and Richard was sickeningly sweet at times, I loved that Sewell balanced the book out with Charlene.  She is one bad woman...a character that readers will definitely add to the list of those they love to hate.  Through this story, Sewell has clearly shown the conflicts that can arise in a marriage or relationship and the skill of separating deception, lies, and evil from the truth.

Reviewed by Tee C. Royal

of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers
3535302
I first saw this film years ago, and was immediately amazed at not only it's intensity, but where it deliberately dared to go, both with its storyline and dialogue.  When I saw it again years later, I was even more  impressed than previously thought.  At it's essence, the movie is a love  story, set in Paris, between Oscar (Peter Coyote) and Mimi, played by the  stunningly beautifull Emmanuelle Seigner.  Yet this ititial passion,  escalates to a such a lust, that any true feelings they have for each other  are overwhelmed by the desire to repeat that initial exeburance.  Soon  Oscar gets bored with the isolation that Mimi brings, and begins to resent  their relationship.  While Mimi, despite her threats to the contrary, can  no longer live without Oscar, having become too drained emotionally to find  love outside of their now passionless affair.  What begins next, is the  true mettle of this film, and takes it on a different course, one filled  with chauvanistic cruelty, and female revenge.
All the while, this  story is not being played out in real time, but retold, on a cruise ship,  to stodgy British pip Hugh Grant, whose uneasiness during the more absurdly  erotic scenes extends to the viewer as well.  Grant, is on his honeymoon,  with his wife Fiona, but due to his immediate attraction to Mimi, spends  his days not with his wife, but in the cabin of Oscar.  It is there, where  he listens, like a voyeur, to the story of Oscar and Mimi in an effort to  learn more about his new object of desire, and to parlay that into getting  her into bed.  What culminates at the end is both shocking and sad, and yet  a resolution to the extreme passions of all involved.
It is not Roman  Polanski's best film, but unlike Chinatown, his most entertaining.  This  movie does not lose it's luster after a couple of viewings.  Recommend it  to your friends, and go buy yourself a copy.  Not to be missed, by any  standard.
1950664
Don't be misled by the word "Romance" in the title of this book -- "Possession" is no bodice-ripper.
An acquaintance of mine, seeing the word on the cover, asked me if the book was about a man with  strong arms carrying someone up a flight of stairs. I told him the book was  "nothing like".
Before mass-market paperbacks appeared ad  nauseum in supermarket carosels, there was an entire literary tradition  known as the "Romantic." Into this literary tradition, A.S. Byatt  has created and inserted two fictitious poets, Randolph Henry Ash and  Christabel LaMotte.
Two present day scholars, Roland Mitchell and Maud  Bailey, uncover documents suggesting that the two poets knew each other.  Eventually drawn together by their individual research, Roland and Maud  trace the movements, uncover the correspondence and piece together the  relationship of Ash and LaMotte. During this time, their own love story  unfolds, offering an intriguing parallel to the love that now exists only  in relics from the past.
A word, if I may, about one of the supporting  characters, Val. Roland is not at first free to pursue a relationship with  Maud, because he is already romantically entangled with Val. For the sake  of the plot, it is obvious that he must, of course, become unentangled.
I have never understood the justification behind making the hero's  original romantic interest abominably loathsome for no other reason than to  manipulate readers/viewers into rejoicing when she is sent packing like the  literal and symbolic baggage she is. This always seemed to me, a very weak  form of plot.
I hope I do not give too much away when I say that I was  very pleased to see that Val is NOT treated in this cavilier way. Instead,  she is given a happiness that she is surprised to find but in fact richly  deserves. Everyone deserves to be happy, and the chance to make someone  else happy, right?
Byatt's book is not just the story of two love  affairs, but the story of a love affair with reading itself. If you have  any doubts, just peruse the following passage, taken from pages 510-512 of  the trade paperback edition:
"It is possible for a writer to make,  or remake at least, for a reader, the primary pleasures of eating, or  drinking, or looking on, or sex. Novels have their obligatory  tour-de-force, the green-flecked gold omllette aux fines herbes, melting  into buttery formlessness and tasting of summer, or the creamy human  haunch, firm and warm, curved back to reveal a hot hollow, a crisping hair  or two, the glimpsed sex. They do not habitually elaborate on the equally  intense pleasure of reading ... Now and then there are readings that make  the hairs on the neck, the non-existant pelt, stand on end and tremble,  when every word burns and shines hard and clear and infinite and exact,  like stones of fire, like points of stars in the dark -- readings when the  knowledge that we shall know the writing differently or better or  satisfactorily, runs ahead of any capacity to say what we know, or how. In  these readings, a sense that the text has appeared to be wholly new, never  before seen, is followed, almost immediately, by the sense that it was  always there, that we the readers, knew it was always there, and have  always known it as it was, though we have now for the first time  recognized, become fully cognizant of, our knowledge."
At once  mystery and romance in both the common and literary senses, Byatt's  multi-faceted epic is full of breathtaking prose like the passage above.  The revelation at the end of the book is not unpredictable, but nonetheless  gives a nice feeling of closure to the relationship of Ash and LaMotte and  is a vivid reminder of how similar these long-dead poets are to the living,  breathing Roland and Maud.
For an engaging read that can be enjoyed on a  variety of levels, I strongly recommend "Possession" by A.S.  Byatt.
1969882
This is a surprisingly powerful, honest, and insightful story of an extended affair between two people who are already in long term, committed relationships. It shows both the good and ill effects on the participants and their partners.

SPOILER ALERT

The three principal characters are extremely well drawn. The narrator, Tax accountant  Kathy, has an outspoken and direct attitude about her need for sex, which is clearly a real turn on for the men around her. But shes also very concerned about the approach of middle age and all that it brings. Also, she cant stop thinking about Michael, the new guy shes met and how cute he is, but she isn't willing to give up what she knows will be a wonderful, long term relationship with Tom.

Michael is witty, clever, attractive, and interesting. Hes very devoted to his wife and three kids. The wife however has basically shut down all sex in their relationship. So Michael seems to have a very legitimate reason to start looking around. Michael and Kathy have fun together, share adventures together, rent apartments together, and meet at least weekly for over four years.

Dont think this doesnt go unnoticed by Tom, Kathys main man, who figures out pretty early on whats happening and decides to suffer in silence. Tom knows that what he wants most is to be with Kathy when all the dust settles and that being with her is even be more important than Kathys short term infidelity. Neither Tom nor Kathy want to be married, though theres not doubt that they are looking for all the commitments of marriage without the paperwork or the religious imprimatur. Toms patience and understanding nature, not to mention his good looks and sexual appetite wins out in the end.

Theres a lot of humor in this book, also a whole lot about beer  (a metaphor for brewing up an interesting life, I guess). There are reflections on marriage, relationships, parenting, and the universe.  And in the end for the insights into relationships, the character studies, the humor, and the sex My Life With Michael is a very worthwhile and important read.
4934121
Anna Manning intends to be free from her unfaithful husband, Edward Manning, but he is stalling to avoid granting her a divorce. Their four children are grown and all Anna wants is to move on with her life and pick up with her dream to move to Paris and continue her study of the art treasures of Rome, Greece, and Northern Africa and the masterpieces housed in the Louvre and other museums and around Europe. That dream had died when fresh out of college she met and married Edward in order to escape her mother's cruel assessment of her. To do so, Anna needs to sell the house that served as living quarters for her and the kids while Edward was away on business and carousing with other women during their thirty four years of marriage.

While the book focuses on the lives of an African-American family, it brings a common message to every reader regardless of background--we all have emotional stuff to deal with, and until we deal with it, healing cannot occur. How we deal with our baggage sometimes defies logic. When Anna learns that Edward is dying of cancer, her plans change drastically. She puts her dream on hold again and asks Inman, her new lover, to give her some time to sort things out. She takes her sick husband under her wing and moves back into the house with him to care for him in the few months he has left to live.

An intriguing plot and surprises that make the reader gasp, The House is a story that touches the heart with believable, true-to-life characters that you will either fall in love with or feel anger toward. One of the best novels I've ever read.
4911349
Love and loss and sexual imagery ... a classic!
1953519
This story is about a woman who is certain her husband is having an affair.......but is he? A  storyline with twists and turns every step of the way. Recommend it! WARNING: Some explicit sexual content.
4952843
From the first time I discovered that Graham Greene was a Catholic author, I wanted to check out his work. This was years and years ago, but it wasn't until The End of the Affair was marked down on Audible.com that I finally took the plunge. What a waste of years! The End of the Affair is one of the best books I've ever read.

The story of Bendrix's affair with Sarah and its aftermath are so perfect, so true. Bendrix is never quite certain if his story is about love or hate, despair or hope. It is always one extreme or the other. When he believes his competition for Sarah's love is her husband or another man, he hates Sarah in his despair and wants to destroy her. He cannot bare not knowing what took her away. It stifles his art and eats him alive. When he ultimately learns the truth about the ending of their relationship, he is elated and at once certain that he can overcome it all.

Michael Kitchen narrated the audio version of this novel and he was no less than superb. This may sound odd (I think it's odd, but I'll share anyway), but the way Kitchen used his breath, particularly in exhaling, made it seem like Bendrix was in my car with me. We were having an intimate conversation. I could almost smell his tobacco. The effect was fantastic and could not have happened had Kitchen not been paired with such a gifted author. It was a wonderful way to first experience Graham Greene. If you've read The End of the Affair before and are hankering for a reread, I cannot recommend this audio version enough.

Even though I loved the audio, I found that I had to possess the book as well. A Kindle version just wouldn't do. I immediately turned around and bought the Penguin Classics Deluxe edition of both The End of the Affair and, on Rebecca from The Book Lady's Blog's suggestion, The Quiet American. As soon as they arrived, I hugged them to my chest. It felt so good and was nearly impossible for me to not start rereading The End of the Affair.

When I began reading The End of the Affair, I didn't know what to expect. What really surprised me was the ending would have a similar affect on me as Gone With the Wind. It was so open ended and I loved every possibility. I cannot rave about it enough. The End of the Affair has got to be the best book I've read since I started blogging. More Graham Greene, please. Wow!
290356
Wonderfully written book that demonstrates the life of a sex addict. A great plot that gives insight not only with the struggles of man, but with our world culture. Yes, it does have it's share of romance scenes, but it also is very suspenseful which keeps the reader in tune from start to end. I deffinitely recommend this book and the others in the "Affair" series.
656253
The passage of time has not diminished this classic foreign intrigue....I simply love this novel, in fact I love all of Ambler's tight, well-structured, and tense novels...Check out his Coffin for Demetrious, Cause for Alarm, and The Light of Day, all classic intrigue with well-developed characters, interesting locales with historical notations, and an underlying tug of danger....

The novel follows the passage of an arms cache discovered and hidden by a man that dreams of starting a transportation service in a backward country that has none...His patient intelligence is challenged as he negotiates the world of arms dealers that would provide him with the funds necessary to realize his dream...enough said, just read this novel and discover one of the original masters of literary intrigue and suspense...I envy you, you have a wealth of Ambler yet to enjoy.
4494821
It's not often I'm pulled into a novel I can't put down.  This story stayed on my mind from the moment I started until I read the last word.  I was pulled into the emotions of the characters and was involved in their daily lives as they ventured further into a secret world of lies and deceit, and very powerful physical attraction.  It's a must read for men who feel this attraction to other men, for women who may be involved with them, or anyone who appreciates the many forms of love and human emotion.

David is a contractor.  His best friend, James, is also his lawyer.  They're happily married and have been best friends for fifteen years.  When David, after reaching wits-end with the demons inside, decides to confide in James, he learns his feelings for James are mutual.  Their lives are forever changed.  After intially resisting the temptation of their mutual attraction, they give in to it, and eventually get involved with three other married men.  Over the course of the summer, five successful, masculine, happily married men form a secret life apart from their careers and marriages, all the while trying to convince themselves they can live down the guilt.  I kept turning the pages to find out if they really could.

Though I'm a "straight" male, and though I was at odds with David and James when they deceived their wives, I found myself caught up in their feelings for each other.  Obviously love can manifest in many forms, and must be expressed.  When two men love each other this much, despite their love for a woman and the need for a traditional married life, David and James caused me to recognize the breadth and many facets of the human condition.

I highly recommend Five Married Men for anyone who appreciates thoughtfully written, character driven stories about the power of love.  This book had an affect on me.  While reflecting on my past relationships with other men, I wondered if somewhere in my subconscious there might have been unrecognized motives.  No . . . it was just the book.  Let's have more, Mr. Brant.
1036832
He may have taken her prisoner but she captures him body and soul ...A beautiful island and a love affaire gone wild ...they can't be separated even by death ...A worthy read ...He gives 50 a run for his money in the obsession department....