Cover done by: Mae I Design
Synopsis
Mia Murphy may be married to the man of her dreams. But the man in her dreams is the one that got away—her high school crush.
Mia’s stuck in a rut, just like every other stay-at-home mom, and the only thing saving her from her monotonous routine is her perfect husband, Declan. He’s gorgeous, he adores her, and the man stole her heart with his sexy singing voice. Mia feels like the luckiest girl in the world, until she discovers that Mr. Perfect is not Mr. Faithful. Mia is devastated. Everything she once believed about Declan and their marriage is now covered in a big cloud of doubt and regret. On impulse, she kicks the cheating bastard out, pushing them into a separation that could mean the end of the picture-perfect couple.
But when Mia receives an invitation to her high school reunion, she finds herself abandoning the present for the oh-so-alluring pull of the past. Although her heart still belongs to her husband, inescapable thoughts of her crush, Noah, resurface. And ten years later, Noah isn’t afraid to make his move. When the build-up of fantasies and ‘what ifs' comes to a head, sparks fly and it’s Mia’s turn to question if her marriage is everything she wants out of life. Searching for answers, Mia dives head first into dating Noah, falling further away from her husband and closer to her old flame.
But Declan’s not giving up so easily. Mia is his one and only and he’s not about to let another man win her heart.
Excerpt
“Stop staring at
her, bro. You look ridiculous.”
“Oh shut up, Carl.
Like you don’t look ridiculous kicking around that fucking hacky sack, waiting
for someone to come over and play with you.”
Carl continues
bouncing the bead-filled ball off his foot. It’s so goddamn irritating. In ten
seconds I’m going to chuck it across the lawn and into the huge fountain next
to that gorgeous blonde. Maybe that’ll get her attention.
“You just want that chick to play with you. Finally get that tiny
pecker of yours some action.”
My jaw tightens and
my hands squeeze into fists. I hate being reminded of my lame sexual status.
Status as in, there is none. “Gimme that fucking thing. You’re such a prick,
you know that?”
He kicks the ball
up and catches it in his hands before pulling it close to him, like I’m about
to steal his fucking beloved blankie or something. “I have a better chance of
getting someone to kick this little ball around with me than you do of getting your balls played with.”
I’m starting to
regret agreeing to have Carl as my dorm mate. This guy’s supposed to be my
friend, my wingman. Not the one making jabs at my manhood, or lack thereof.
“Douche. You’re a
real douche.” I shake my head, ignoring Carl’s smug look and dragging my hands
through my hair to remove the strands that have fallen in front of my face.
Damn floppy hair is obstructing my view of Blondie.
“She is pretty
cute, Dec. Let’s go over to her. See which one of us she picks.”
That’s it—fucking
ball’s mine. While Carl is busy musing over my new obsession I swipe the hacky
sack from him and toss it over to a bunch of stoner-looking freshmen. The
pattern on the ball resembles Bob Marley’s Rasta hat—they’ll like that. One
Love and all that free spirited shit.
“Hey. What the
fuck, man. Why’d you do that?”
“Eyes off my girl.”
“Your girl?” he
laughs so hard it’s almost maniacal. “You’re delusional, bro. And I’m willing
to bet my fake ID that she’ll never be your girl.”
Lesley's Review
Real. Relatable. Honest. Just a few words that float
around when I think about Man of My Dreams. This story had me at:
“The
monotony of reality will suck the glamour right out of any desperate
housewife’s life.”
Or how about:
“I
envisioned June Cleaver-with edge. Everything would be perfect; I would be
perfect….Yeah, not so much. Life got in the way and instead of June Cleaver
there are days I swear I’m more like Peg Bundy.”
Does that sound close to some of your lives? Some days
it’s the story of my life. Seriously. That’s where we find Mia.
Mia and Declan met in college and are now married with
two wonderful little girls. Life is however not all sunshine and chocolate. Mia
is a stay at home mom. While Declan is an accountant, often times traveling
more than not. Most days Mia doesn’t have time to take a shower let alone find
time for her and Declan.Or just time for herself. Their story didn’t go as they
planned but Mia has faith in her relationship with Declan. Until Mia hears that
Declan cheated on her. The whole perfectly imperfect world comes crashing down.
Shattering everything Mia believed in. Gut-wrenching. How do you deal with
that? I mean …wow.
“I
want my husband to be with me because he loves me and can’t live without me.”
I think we all get lost and caught up in life and we
lose ourselves from time to time. We struggle to maintain the firm grasp
causing us to do things out of character. Declan lost his grip first and it
spiraled into a chain reaction, affecting everything. Mia takes a trip to the
past wondering what could have been. Feeling underappreciated and betrayed she
gets lost in the nostalgia with a man she dreams about.
I really love how the story was told. Parts told in the
past and then brought to the future, weaving together an emotional tale. Nothing seemed out of place. I truly fell in
love with Mia and Declan. I was angry for them. Desperately sad when things
were not going very well. I even cheered Mia on when she had to step out and do
her own thing. Yet, I felt bad all at the same time. I was just as confused as
Mia. I didn’t know if I wanted to punch or kiss Delcan. Or better yet, forget
him altogether and run away with Noah. There were many
hearts being torn open. But in the end …all is where it should be.
“I’m
here to fight for what’s mine. For my wife. I want her back and you’re
obviously in the way.”
Often times we read books to escape the monotony of our
lives. We seek to experience adventures and magical things that are nothing but
a beautiful fantasy. This story drew me in because I could relate. And let’s be
honest…..the 90’s music throw backs in here are some of the best. I mean even
the cool water cologne mention….mmm….. It’s like a time warp. Sigh…nostalgia
“And
I’m the Corey to your Topanga, now enough with the 90’s trivia shit…”
I give this book 5
stars. It was genuine and honest. It evoked emotions and kept me glued the
whole way through. For those of you who don’t read books with cheating, I have
to say it’s not that bad and there’s more to the story. Just remember we are
all human.
About the Author
Faith Andrews lives in New York where she is happily married to her high school sweetheart. They have two beautiful daughters and a furry Yorkie son, Rocco. If she isn’t listening to Mumford and Sons or busy being a Dance Mom, her nose is in a book or her laptop. She’s a sucker for a happily ever after and believes her characters are out there living one somewhere . . .
Connect with Faith
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