Sandra's Book Club

SWORN TO COLLIDE

by Maria Imbalzano

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GENRE: Women’s Fiction

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BLURB:

After devoting eleven years of marriage to Ben, her high school sweetheart, and stepping off the corporate ladder to raise their three children, Denise is ready to seize the reins of the career she always dreamed of. But as soon as she commits to step back into the professional world, Ben drops a bombshell that disrupts everything. Suddenly, this once rock-solid couple finds themselves in a battle over ambition, identity, and whose turn it is to shine. As personal choices draw them further and further apart, they must confront their widening rift—a threat to the love they thought was unshakeable. Can they rediscover the passion they once shared, or will their divergent paths pull them apart for good?

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Excerpt Three:

As Ben headed into the living room, the two younger kids shrieked and ran downstairs to greet him before jumping into his arms and giving him huge hugs. Bobby followed at a more reserved pace, but he joined in a hug as well. The noise was raucous as Ben tickled Jennifer and Johnny, riling them up, which was never a good thing when it came to Johnny. He was a cyclone all on his own.

I looked at my happy family while holding a basket of laundry. I couldn’t help but smile at this familiar scene from the past. A lifetime ago.

“Hi,” I said as I passed, heading for the laundry room. No kiss, no hug. Just hi. We had become adversaries who now each had an attorney to help us navigate through the issues inherent in the breakup of a marriage.

He stopped roughhousing with Johnny for a second and caught my eye. “I thought we could all go to the park. Feed the ducks, kick the soccer ball around. It’s a great day.”

Was he extending the proverbial olive branch or just trying to act normal in front of the kids, hoping I would follow his lead? But I couldn’t possibly carry on as if he hadn’t slapped me with his attorney’s letter.

“I can’t. I have laundry to do, and I’m meeting Alyssa for lunch.”

Disappointment curved his shoulders, but I was hurting too. I didn’t want to be reminded about our family life and how happy we’d been. It just made my heart ache more.

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Review: Denise was a stay-at-home mom ready to jump back into the workforce. But her husband’s new promotion in Boston might hinder that plan. This time Denise was going to hold her ground and insist that Ben move to Boston without them. Now they were living separate lives with 300 miles between them. Could they make it work?

For a while, it seemed okay. Ben and Denise lived separately with sporadic visits in between while scenes from their past play in Denise’s head.

“Would they get through this rough patch in the relationship? Or would it all fall apart?”

This was a nice and easy read. The two were clearly on a collision course especially with Ben’s beautiful neighbor making eyes at him. Would they crash and burn?

When her best friends—the Sworn Sisters—suggest separating for a year while their son finishes high school, what will the outcome be for their marriage? An interesting marital dilemma that was enticing to the reader. And what will happen when another man shows interest in Denise?

A heartfelt and captivating story about a woman redefining herself and going for what she wants. Sweet and lovely! A good read!

Rating: 4 stars

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Maria Imbalzano is an award-winning contemporary author who writes about strong, independent women and the men who fall in love with them. She recently retired from the practice of law, but legal issues have a way of showing up in many of her novels. When not writing, she loves to travel both abroad and in the states. Maria lives in central New Jersey with her husband--not far from her two daughters. For more information about her books, please visit her website at http://mariaimbalzano.com where you can also sign up for her newsletter.

Awards

Maria is a member of New Jersey Romance Writers and has received many honors and awards for her work including the ACRA Readers’ Choice Heart of Excellence Award, the Wisconsin Romance Writers Write Touch Readers Award, The NEST (National Excellence In Story Telling) Award, the Carolyn Award, Book Buyers Best Award, The Stiletto Reader’s Choice Award, Long & Short Reviews Book of the Month Award (3rd Place for Book of the Year), and Still Moments Magazine Reader’s Choice Award.

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