A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing

 

Hello everyone.  I hope you're having a great day.

My mom used to tell the story of her office romance that wasn't.  Before she had children, she was the receptionist at a major corporation, she would deal with visitors and salespeople.  My mother was quite beautiful, so I'm not surprised they put her out front.  Now stop rolling your eyes.  I know all moms have to say their children are attractive but not the other way around, so just stop moving your eyes like that or they'll stick that way.  She really was stunning (making me question why I was so short sheeted...oh my gosh, if you don't understand that term you need to go to summer camp).  Anyway, Mom caused a scandal.  Seems she was seen often having lunch with an older man, a respected employee that was also a politician...and very married.  When her boss finally gathered his nerve to broach the topic, he explained why that it was not proper behavior.  He demanded she stop meeting with the man, and most definitely having lunch in the corporate cafeteria.  My mother stood her ground and steadfastly refused.  Her now irate boss wanted to know how she could possibly refuse his order; she calmly told him it was easy.  She was well aware that the man she was eating lunch with was married, and she didn't care, she didn't care because he was married to her mother.  My mother was eating lunch with my grandfather, her dad.  Oh to have been a fly on the wall that day!

I recently read A Twisted Love Story by Samantha Downing.  This is the fourth book I've read by Downing and I have enjoyed and reviewed them all.  This is the story of Wes and Ivy.  They have been a couple, on and off, for years.  They have a passionate relationship where they can't stand to be apart, but then once together for a while they burn each other out and break up.  They are like two cogs, trying repeatedly to fit together correctly to make each other spin but they keep missing the perfect alignment.  Because of this constant cycle, they find ways to test each other, often resulting in trouble.  Despite their issues, they will never be far apart because they share a secret.  When the police suddenly become interested in them both, they realize that making their relationship work is the only way to survive what lies ahead.

If you've never had your heart broken, wondered about someone in your past, held a flame for someone longer than you should, or found the person you were meant to be with...well, you might interpret this story as two people dating who can't get it together.  If you've had your fair share of romantic experiences, you will quickly realize that Wes and Ivy's feelings and actions are much more complicated.  The secret they hold, and are being pursued for, drives the story and their relationship forward.

A Twisted Love Story started out slower than the author's other books but once you understand what is going on, the couple's dynamics make it interesting.  When more about the dreaded secret comes out, the book moves quickly towards an unusual but satisfying resolution.  A different type of story for Downing but still very enjoyable.