Sadie Hunt isn’t perfect—but her husband is. Nathan Hunt has her coffee waiting every morning. He holds her hand until the last second. He worships the Manhattan sidewalk she walks on. Until one day, he just…stops. And Sadie finds herself in the last place she ever expected to be. Lonely in her marriage.
When rugged and sexy Finn Cohen moves into the apartment across the hall, he and Sadie share an immediate spark. Finn reveals dreams for a different life. Sadie wants to save her marriage. Their secrets should keep them apart, not ignite a blistering affair. But while Sadie’s marriage runs colder by the day, she and Finn burn hotter.
Her husband doesn’t want her anymore. The man next door would give up everything to have her.
EXCERPT
In his dimly-lit kitchen, Finn lays a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I have to tell you something.”
My hairline prickles. I can sense whatever he says will be heavy, and I’m not sure I want to hear it. I force a crooked smile that probably looks as awkward as I feel. Since I just fed Ginger, I joke, “What? I smell like dog food?”
“I want to kiss you,” he says without missing a beat. “I won’t, but I just thought you should know.”
My stomach drops as if I’m in free fall. I bite my lip involuntarily, then release it, afraid it’ll look like an invitation. Can he really come out and say that? Without prompting, without wavering? You can want to kiss someone and not say it. Should I be angry he confessed that? I’m not. I’m curious. Stirred, even. And because we’re being honest, I ask what I want to ask. “Why?”
“Why do I want to kiss you? Or why did I tell you?”
My heart rate picks up. I lose my nerve. “The second one. That’s not the kind of thing you just come out and say to a stranger. A married stranger.”
“I like you.” He absentmindedly caresses the nape of my neck with his fingertip. “So I want to be honest.”
I put my hand over his wrist, and he stops. Now, and for the last hour, it’s as if we’re the only two people on the planet. The Bad Wife and the Stranger. If I let him kiss me, nobody would ever know. After all, Nathan might be kissing someone else too. Why else would he have lipstick on his tie? Finn doesn’t wear lipstick. Neither do I. It would be our secret.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” he asks.
Am I? I have to. I don’t trust myself to stay, and I don’t trust myself to speak, so I nod. I don’t have to pull his hand away. He takes it back willingly. And he walks me to his door.
MELISSA'S REVIEW: 4.5 STARS
An emotional and thought provoking tale of what happens when you keep secrets in one of the most intimate and delicate arenas, a marriage. Jessica Hawkins examines themes of honesty, trust, love languages, guilt, and fate in Slip of the Tongue, her latest forbidden romance. Reviewing this book is very risky. It would be easy to unintentionally spoil the story. So in light of that, even though this review might feel underwhelming compared to my true reactions, it is done so that readers can have their own experience with it. When I first read the blurb I was immediately intrigued by this one. Being my first Jessica Hawkins book, I wasn't sure what to expect in terms of her writing style, her strength in character development and her storytelling skills, traits I covet when it comes to my favorite authors. Let me tell you, I am wholly satisfied. The writing was fluid and beautiful and the characters well developed. While I did come to expect some of the twists in the story, she managed to surprise me quite a few times and kept me on edge until the very end. I will say that many times I felt confused and sad. Confused by the characters actions, motives and reactions and sad for the same reasons. Stories like these stir up so many emotions in readers because I think that we all try to find ourselves in these characters. Would you react the same way? Would you have said the same thing? Acted the same way? Can you relate to anything they're experiencing? And while I haven't been in the same situation as these characters, I was able to draw parallels to my own marriage. This story is achingly relatable, broadly so and in every examined detail. Most of my reading was done with my stomach in knots and my heart racing, wondering what would happen next and how it would play out in the end. It was enthralling and damn, was it sexy as hell. While this is my first, it will most assuredly not be my last Jessica Hawkins novel. I would recommend Slip of the Tongue to anyone who enjoys forbidden romances, believes in fate and enjoys examining their own principles and morals.
ABOUT JESSICA HAWKINS
Jessica Hawkins grew up between the purple mountains and under the endless sun of Palm Springs, California. She studied international business at Arizona State University and has also lived in Costa Rica and New York City. To her, the most intriguing fiction is forbidden, and that's what you'll find in her stories. Currently, she resides wherever her head lands, which is often the unexpected (but warm) keyboard of her trusty MacBook.
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