Review- Arouse 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 sex might not be enough to save them.

Review-

I picked up Arouse pretty randomly, expecting a steamy romance which I could enjoy for a while. But I was completely blown away by how good the book turned out to be. It brought out a varying range of emotions that stayed with me long after the book was over. It was a completely unique romance which is hard to say with so many romance novels which are out there.

Arouse starts off with Olivia Winter living with her husband, Dean West. They have been happily married for three years and have known each other for five. Olivia has had a horrible past to deal with but it all changed when she met Dean. He made her believe in her happy ending. With him. But when a little incident happens, there seems to be a chasm opened between Dean and Olivia pulling them apart.

I really liked Olivia. She was sweet and sensible. She truly loved Dean and was willing to do anything for him. She had laid herself bare for him since their marriage and she expects the same from him. But when Dean's secrets come out they threaten the foundation of their relationship. I loved Dean as well. He was clearly in love with his wife. He had a strong, determined way about him which was perfect for Olivia. All his geekiness with medieval history was endearing.

Though Dean was not very expressive with his words, his actions were a whole different story. Dean and Olivia had chemistry but they both had emotional baggage as well. I loved seeing how they both were so willing to work towards their marriage for each other. There were plenty of steamy scenes to keep you occupied but there were a ton of emotions behind them too.

The book primarily moves from Olivia's point of view but we do get a glimpse into Dean's head which helped in so many ways in understanding him better. Marriage is hard work and this book showed so well what happens after the honeymoon period when you get back to reality. Nina Lane is an amazing writer and I'm extremely glad to have read Arouse. Fans of romance should give it a try. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series.