Shame

Ainsley Booth

Mar 2021 · Ainsley Booth

About this ebook

Grace:

I never thought my husband would cheat on me. I was wrong.

Now I need to pick up the tattered remnants of my life and figure out how to put one foot in front of the other. How to look at myself in the mirror without seeing my own secrets scrawled there in shameful scarlet.

Luke:

I am exactly the asshole you think I am.

I don't deserve her. I should walk away. But I can't let her go without a fight. Too late—too damn late—I'm realizing what I've done and everything that I've lost. 

Everything I want back again, or maybe really to have and to hold properly for the first time. In order to stay with Grace and win her back, I'm going to need to storm through fire, over and over again.

* * *

Shame is a standalone romance about Grace and Luke. There is a companion book about Luke’s brother, Sam, called Tempt. The Secrets and Lies duet is now complete.

Ratings and reviews

An honest look at a marriage in crisis I'll start by saying that as a rule, I don't read books with cheaters and while I believe there are exceptions to the "once a cheater, always a cheater" rule, those are few and far between. However, I have read quite a few of this author's books and trusted her to handle this topic respectfully and honestly. And wow, she did not disappoint. There is no on-page cheating in this book. The story starts with Grace finding out about the affair, which prompts Luke to realize what he's risking. He immediately ends the affair and dedicates himself to repairing himself, his relationship with his wife, and her trust - even when she's not sure that's what she wants. Their long-term marriage was already on the rocks and they both were keeping secrets, though the author is careful to never lay any blame for Luke's affair at Grace's feet. The book chronicles their careful steps toward first identifying then changing the habits, attitudes, and priorities that were slowly killing their marriage long before Luke's infidelity. This is a sometimes heartwarming, sometimes gut-wrenching examination of how couples have to grow with each other and constantly work at making the marriage their top priority. There's a HEA, of course, but the journey to get there is a cathartic process that strips back all their self-protection patterns until they're down to the primal elements of what joined them together in the first place. It's a masterful study of what makes a marriage work, and I was so engrossed I read it in one sitting. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.

This story tackles one of the biggest taboos in romance, cheating. It does it as realistically as can be done in a book, in that, it recognizes that things aren’t always black and white. Life really is lived in the varying shades of grey, and that is where Grace and Luke are for this book. Sometimes, you can feel the darkness enclosing them, and it may be comforting, or it may be overwhelming, but it is that same darkness for both. Other times things are so bright, they are blinding, and again, it is either in happiness or stark pain. The rest of the time, you feel the shadows and the murkiness that is hanging over, and around, our characters, and their story. Sometimes it is heavy and dank, other times it is light and sparkles, but it is always there. I loved Grace and Luke’s story because it didn’t have villains or heroes, it was a story about two people who had flaws. It was a love story that was made over time, fell apart over time, and had a breaking point. I loved Grace and Luke because of their commitment to themselves, their own betterment, and their own wants and needs after that break. That path took them where they needed to be, and that ended up being with each other <3

This is book two in The Secrets and Lies series and it is Grace and Luke's story. Grace and Luke have been through so much during there marriage of twenty years and now Grace has found out that her husband Luke has had an affair and she is devastated, heartbroken and so angry especially after helping and supporting him for so many years and now she doesn't know if she will ever get over his betrayal. Luke can't believe that Grace has found out about his affair and the look on her face has just gutted him and he has asked himself how it has all happened and what has he done to Trace especially as he loves her so much and always will but how can he make things right because he can't live his life without her. How do you come back or to forward from something like this and how do you ever trust that person again, my heart absolutely broke and I cried so much while reading Grace and Luke's story that I was an emotional wreck and in so much pain but I just couldn't put this book down as it kept your attention and on the edge of your seat right from the first page and until the last one and it was so addictive. The characters and storyline pulled you in and just didn't let you go and you had to keep turning the pages to see what would happen and if they would get a second chance and a happy ending or will this be the end of there marriage. Omg this book was absolutely amazing and I loved it so much and Ainsley Booth is an amazing author and writer and I definitely look forward to reading many more of her books in the future. I Voluntarily Reviewed a Arc Copy of this Amazing Book.

About the author

Ainsley Booth a three-time USA Today bestselling author of erotic romance. Between her two pen names (she also writes contemporary romance as two-time New York Times bestseller Zoe York), she has published more than fifty books since 2013. Notable hits include Prime Minister and Hate F*@k.