Review: Turning Up the Heat by Laura Florand

Top chef Daniel Laurier might not know what is wrong with his marriage or his wife, but he knows one thing for sure. He’s not losing her. So when he comes home to find his wife has run off to a remote Pacific Island, he decides it’s time to turn up the heat. ~ Goodreads

Review:

This book could have been titled The Anatomy of a Broken Marriage. It's so rare that you get to read about after the happily ever after.

Lea and Daniel have been married for 10 years and although they love each other as much as they did when they first met, they each find themselves suffocated by the pressures of life and unrealistic expectations.

Turning Up the Heat is a short ebook (just over 100 pages) but it packs quite the emotional punch.
It was fascinating to me to read about a couple who have been through so much and stood by each other steadfastly throughout the worst of times but still flounder in miscommunications and self doubt. As they spend time alone - away from all responsibilities, they learn a few harsh truths and struggle to rebuild their marriage.

Where Lea feels lost and left behind by Daniel's ambitious career tract, Daniel feels pressured to take on more work to fulfill and please Lea. Really it's just crossed signals. I can totally see this happening. I've been married for 25 years now. Things go unsaid or it's just easier to go with the flow to make each other happy, time passes and routines are established. Their interactions feel honest.

This is the second book by Laura Florand that I've read. (You can read my review for The Chocolate Kiss here) I've noticed that she writes her female leads as women who have lost their sense of self to the more powerful men in their life. It's a great to explore that all too common feeling but what's interesting is that I seem to relate more to the men and get frustrated by the women. Florand writes in alternating POV's so we get to see the man's side and these are good men. What the women see as dominance is really their desire to please. In fact the men are just as insecure and I find myself rooting for them and a little frustrated with the women for not seeing how lucky they are.

Even so, I love Florand's writing and the raw emotions she evokes. She heightens the romance (& sex) of course but I always feel like these are real people and relationships that I can relate to.

Rating: 3.5 out of 4 Another great story by Florand. I was happy to read about a relationship long after the honeymoon is over. We don't get to see that very often.

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