Chained By SK. Fordham

Contains sexual references. 18+.
Stella is a recently widowed 34 year old mother of two; she struggles to move forward in her life, until she meets the sexy Doctor Dean. Sexual desire brings Stella back to the present, but will Dean be able to capture Stella’s heart and keep her? Or will Stella remain chained to the past? Stella is going to have the ride of her life, chance encounters may just have you trying to guess, where she is heading and who is trying to stop her.

This was a short but very sexy read.

Stella is a widow and struggles to move forward in her life.  She is really struggling to let go of her dead husband Jack, as we view their relationship through a series of flashbacks you understand why she’s having such a hard time letting go.  Jack was a wonderful man.  But, she must go on as she raises their sons. She returns to her job as a nurse at the hospital.  Enter the sexy Dr. Dean.  He becomes her boys’ new soccer coach. She feels guilty being attracted to another man, but Dr. Dean is pretty hard to get out of your mind. Plus, it becomes rather obvious the good doctor is interested and has been for some time.  Struggling with her past, things start to get strange surrounding her relationship with Dean.  It finally comes down to if they both can get over their pasts in order to move forward together.

This was a really uplifting story, I found.  I think with the subject matter you expect it to be really sad.  While it does have intense emotions connected with it in the themes of love and loss, it’s still a story that makes you feel good as you read it.  My one complaint is that it’s a 155 page book with a cliffhanger.  I agree the story needs to be continued, but it really felt to me like it could have all been in one 300 page or longer book.

I will say that this book is sufficiently sexy and steamy.  The chemistry between Dean and Stella is pretty hot, and I really enjoyed watching their relationship bloom.  Dean is totally dreamy (yeah, I said dreamy).  

Overall, I enjoyed this book and will read the next.  3.5 Stars.

During the first half of this book I struggled to connect to Stella.  It was clear that she was a new widow with two young boys, leaving the home her and Jack had built together for a fresh start without the memories, but still I couldn’t grasp what was driving her because the first half was drowning in her sexual need and her grief over her husband’s death.  For me those two things are hard to mingle and weave together so I struggled understanding her during this part. Once I was half way through and the grieving widow took a few steps back and the woman Stella was becoming started to emerge, I was on board with the story and began enjoying it more.   

Stella had few things in life, husband, two boys, their best friends, a hobby farm and a nursing degree.  Now that the main force in life is gone due she is taking what she has left and starting a new life for her and her boys.  This is when she meets the handsome and mega rich doctor, Dean.  He can give her everything in life, he loves her, showers her with gifts and adventures and he adores her sons, but she doesn’t know if she loves him.  I did have a hard time figuring out Dean, not sure if he is just a controlling man who could turn ugly if he didn’t get his way, or if he was just a confident alpha man who would always put her security first and foremost in every choice he made.  He is still a mystery to me, but for right now I agree with her giving him a chance to see what he is about.

We read how Stella struggles with being in love with her husband who died a few months ago and this new found feeling she is having for Dean.  Strange things start to happen like little notes and other events that leave her wondering who would want to hurt her.  As if that wasn’t enough she loses a few other things that have been a stable force in her life.  This will either push her closer to Dean or make her build thicker walls to protect what she has left.  Just when she has decided how she feels, the lights go out in her world and we are left with a cliff hanger. 

The story moves smoothly and rather quickly after the midway point in the book, or at least that I how I felt.  I only have one complaint and that was once again, I had a hard time coming out of the gate with her contrasting feelings of losing her husband, not thinking anyone could ever fill that void but feeling the need for a sexual experience again.  I look forward to reading the next book in the series.  

        

 SK is a mother, a wife, a friend, a nurse and now an author. SK loves good stories and escaping into the worlds and places that they can take you.
SK probably eats too much chocolate. Loves dancing and has a soft spot for a hot drink; hot tea, hot chocolate, hot coffee, if there is one to be had SK will be up for it.

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