Megan Hart, Broken

Broken

Megan Hart

Spice, May 2007, $13.95

ISBN: 0373605153

Every month over the past year, psychologist Sadie Danning and mediator Joe Wilder meet for lunch on a public bench where he tells her his latest sexual escapades. Sadie misses what Joe has as her spouse Adam, whom she met in college, has since become a quadriplegic due to an accident. Adam hides his feelings from Sadie. Although he teaches online literature classes at Penn State, he stopped writing poetry. However she remains faithful to him physically, but in her dreams she is Joe's flavor of the month. Thus she lives precariously fantasizing that she is the star of Joe's tales of sexual conquest. This month she is Mary of quite contrary fame.

She does not need to be a shrink to know she craves the real thing as memories of her love life with her husband and hearing Joe's encounters only help so far. She also realizes how attracted she is to Joe, but hides even from herself how deep inside her heart he truly is. Fantasy and reality suddenly merge as desire supersedes all else between Sadie and Joe, but what happens afterward if they succumb to the heated spice they both covet?

This is a deep character study that takes the readers inside the heads of the lead triangle. Fans will ironically know more of what Sadie and Adam feel than each does of the other as both hides their concerns and fears. The audience also learns why Joe has different women each month as the female he loves is a martyr out of reach though he shares his exploits with her every month. Megan Hart provides a powerful, contemporary tale that, although the climax is too convenient, fans will feel immense empathy with the trio.

Harriet Klausner