Apparently a plan of battle never survives contact with the enemy, and in this amusing but all too true book we see that a planned holiday doesn't survive contact with children. Amber and her husband haven't been away since their third son was born six years ago, and with building in a slump, they're broke. A family wedding has brought them to Jamaica where they intended to relax and enjoy themselves for once. But with a trio of lively nuisances, including a lactose-intolerant boy teased into eating chocolate, Amber and Tony are more worn out than when they arrived.

MAKING IT LAST is all Tony has in mind when he persuades Amber to take up the offer of a few extra days at the resort after the others leave. She's scared - has he got someone else? She's lost weight but has no energy to be a good companion to him, physically or mentally. Is he tired of her? Will the boys survive without her? And does she even know who she is anymore?

I liked that Amber, who didn't even have time to think at home, pretty quickly decides on some changes once left in peace. Her long, heavy, high-maintenance hair becomes the latest short style and she buys the kind of classy dress she never gets to wear. Mind you, she leaves on her wedding ring. She's not a siren. That of course doesn't stop smiling men from coming to stand with her at the bar or poolside. And when one particular guest makes it clear he's very interested in the lovely lady... well I'll leave you to see how it turns out.

This is an erotic romance novella for adult women. Ruthie Knox's earlier book Along Came Trouble was more of a light-hearted romance and while I enjoyed that one, MAKING IT LAST has an intense focus on a marriage facing problems bigger than the family, yet needing to survive its internal difficulties. While a short read it makes its point effortlessly and is a good addition to the Camelot series.

Book Summary

A hotel bar. A sexy stranger. A night of passion. There's a part of Amber Mazzara that wants those things, wants to have a moment—just one—when life isn't a complicated tangle of house and husband and kids and careers. Then, after a long, exhausting "vacation" with her family, her husband surprises her with a gift: a few days on the beach . . . alone. Only she won't be alone for long, because a handsome man just bought her a drink. He's cool, he's confident, and he wants to take Amber to bed and keep her there for days. Lucky for them both, he's her husband. He's got only a few days in Jamaica to make her wildest desires come true, but if he can pull it off, there's reason to believe that this fantasy can last a lifetime.

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