Book Review(s): Come Undone & Come Alive by Jessica Hawkins

Come Undone
The Cityscapes Series #1
Author: Jessica Hawkins
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Erotica
Released: January 1st 2013
Review Source: Author
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Olivia Germaine has already found love. Devoted wife, loyal friend, determined career woman - she’s created the life she always envisioned.

But when Olivia locks eyes with a handsome stranger across a crowded room, he peers a little too closely and sees emotions she thought she’d buried long ago.

David Dylan, alleged playboy and eternal bachelor, challenges Olivia to confront the life she’s built and to make decisions that could either lead to happiness . . . or regret.

Will Olivia be able to draw the line between lust and love?

And can David respect that line? 

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Come Alive
The Cityscape Series #2
Author: Jessica Hawkins
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Contemporary Romance/Erotica
Released: January 1st 2013
Review Source: Author
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Determined to move on with her life, Olivia Germaine has vowed to forget David Dylan. Struggling to keep her head above water, she focuses on her new promotion and refuses to drown in the memory of their night together.

But when Olivia realizes what life without David means, she must decide if she is willing to risk everything for him . . . and if she is ready to reopen the wounds of her past.

Can Olivia move forward with her marriage despite her feelings for David?

And can David stay away like he promised?

Ever catch the gaze of a stranger from across the room, feel some kind of connection and wonder who they are? Well that's the life of Olivia Germaine in Come Undone. Olivia (Liv for short) and Bill have been married for three years. They live a comfortable life in Chicago and both work hard in their career paths. Bill is a lawyer who works long hours and Liv works at a magazine as an Assistant Editor. They have a seemingly happy marriage.

There is a promotion on the horizon for Liv at the magazine and she is handed the honors of working with her competition for the position on the big Eligible Bachelors/Bachelorette's issue. David Dylan happens to be the biggest and hardest to catch Bachelor in Chicago. The magazine has been trying to get him to commit to the article for years but he always declines. It isn't until he finds out that Liv is working on the article at the magazine that he decides to accept their offer. David and Liv seem to keep bumping into each other. First at the ballet having caught the other persons attention from across a crowded room. Then David magically appears at Liv's best friend's engagement party and demands to know her name. 

Even though David and Liv are drawn to one another like a moth to a flame, Liv fights David's advances in a marginal way. She keeps him at just about arms reach and wars with herself on whether or not she would take it any further and what that would mean to her marriage. David can read her though and can sense what she needs and how to make her happy. He's got her spilling secrets that she's never even told her husband about, not that he'd ever dare trying to uncover the uncomfortable bits from her past. After trying to deny the heat that is obvious between them they finally give in and have that hot, sweaty, pulse pounding one night stand. 

In Come Alive, Liv has to deal with the aftermath of having an affair, even if it was just a one time thing. She stormed out on David that night and told him that it was over. But why then can't Liv seem to pull herself from her nearly catatonic routine existence now that he is gone? Bill is getting frustrated that they aren't moving forward in their life together. Liv keeps stalling on buying a house, she still hasn't changed her last name after three years of marriage and is fighting Bill on whether she is or will ever be ready to have children. Being with David forced her to look inside herself to figure out who she is and what she really wants out of life. 

I was given both books within a week or so of one another through NetGalley to review. I don't want to give too much of Come Alive away that is why I decided to review them together. I love Jessica Hawkins writing style. It is smart and edgy. She has the ability with words to evoke serious emotions from the reader, or at least that was the case with me. I felt the confliction in Liv like it were my own emotional turmoil bubbling inside me. I felt her anxiety and fear at the prospect of being with another man. Finally I felt the raw emotion and pain of having betrayed her husband even though this other man who has completely undone her sexually and emotionally is a far better match for her. 

I was conflicted while reading this story. I'm a very devoted wife and I personally don't believe any person should ever cheat on their spouse but if you feel so compelled, in my opinion, communication with that person is probably best. So to me, it felt wrong to be reading a book like this but that is what made it such an amazing story. Jessica Hawkins takes you on a journey with Liv as she tests these very dangerous waters and continues on as she tries to navigate her emotions after realizing that the life she has been living may in fact not be the one she was meant to live all along. 

The Cityscape series is raw, highly emotional and may even have you thinking about your own life as you go along. However the book makes you feel, it is exhilarating and heart pumping and definitely worth the read!