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Ten Thousand Hours
Weddings are Ivy Miller’s business, but when an ex proposes out of the blue, she flees to a tropical paradise rather than walk down the aisle. There, she discovers the passion missing from her sensible existence in the arms of a handsome stranger. She returns home, where no one suspects sweet, practical Ivy possesses a secret wild side — no one except the one-night stand standing in her parents’ dining room.
Semi-reformed bad boy Griffin Dunleavy barely recognizes this cautious woman as the brazen temptress who left an impression on his flesh a week ago, but there’s no mistaking the sensual nature hidden behind her prim and proper façade. He makes an indecent a fling in which Ivy plays all the parts too untamed for her everyday life, which might supply enough variety to keep him intrigued for more than a day or two. The offer is too enticing to resist — and too good to last.
When reality demands full-time responsibility, Ivy can’t neglect family duty for a selfish fantasy. To keep his place in the life of the woman he loves, Griff must prove they can have forever… one hour at a time.
Semi-reformed bad boy Griffin Dunleavy barely recognizes this cautious woman as the brazen temptress who left an impression on his flesh a week ago, but there’s no mistaking the sensual nature hidden behind her prim and proper façade. He makes an indecent a fling in which Ivy plays all the parts too untamed for her everyday life, which might supply enough variety to keep him intrigued for more than a day or two. The offer is too enticing to resist — and too good to last.
When reality demands full-time responsibility, Ivy can’t neglect family duty for a selfish fantasy. To keep his place in the life of the woman he loves, Griff must prove they can have forever… one hour at a time.
424 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2016
328 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
About the author
Ren Benton
3 books11 followersRen Benton's talent for perceiving disaster in every situation is most productively applied to tormenting the characters she writes. She began devouring romance novels at an inappropriately young age because she was a voracious reader, the nearest library was far, and a quarter at any yard sale bought a brown paper bag stuffed with Harlequins and Silhouettes. She currently writes contemporary romance in which the protagonists are the greatest obstacle to their own happiness. Visit renbenton.com for book information and new-release notification.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
December 21, 2016
I’m going to do something I rarely do when reviewing a book: start with the bad. But PLEASE - promise me you’ll keep reading to the end of my review!
Ten Thousand Hours started out amusing. Which is why I downloaded the book. The banter between the heroine, Ivy, and her friends Jen and Camille was funny, and Ivy’s conversations with the hero, Griff, were hilarious! The story moved along, but somewhere around the 30 percent point of the book, I began to think “this book should be called Ten Thousand Pages” because good grief, I kept reading and reading and it didn’t seem like I was getting anywhere.
This 400+ page book took me four nights to read – which is unusual because I read a lot, and I read fast. And then I realized the reason why it was taking me so long. This author has mastered the art of using big, complicated words when a simpler one would probably work just fine. For example, when Griff and Ivy are going out on a date, they are quiet in the car, and instead of just saying Ivy doesn’t have a whole lot of things to chat about, we get this:
Her warehouse of scintillating chitchat echoed from low inventory.
And because of this writing style, I found myself reading slowly because I really had to pay close attention to what I was reading. I’m not saying it’s completely a bad thing – because the author did a good job of writing things in a unique way. But it did make the book seem LONG, especially in the middle 50 percent of the book.
Here’s what I loved about this book: the hero and the heroine, the side-cast of characters, all the dimensions of the story!
Ivy Miller is a doormat of epic proportions. Between her employer and her sister, she lives just trying to juggle a multitude of balls that are thrown at her, and does her hardest to keep them all from smacking her in the head. She’s Boring Old Ivy (her self-description…not mine), and has a heaping pile of self-imposed responsibilities.
Ivy had been born in a cell made of well-mannered expectations.
She was the jailer of the cage she couldn’t escape.
When she meets Griff two-thousand miles away from home, she does the unthinkable and has a fling, creating a whole new alter-ego for herself. It’s fun and exciting, and she liked how she was with him. She heads home, sad to see the fling end, but knows there’s no way she can behave like that back in her real life. Shortly after returning home, Ivy walks into her parents’ house, and finds Griff standing there.
Despite Ivy’s misgivings, Griff is able to convince Ivy to continue what they began on the island vacation. As they continue their relationship, Ivy is torn. She enjoys her time with Griff, but two things are causing her to hesitate. First, Griff is pretty much the poster boy for wild and exciting.
“In my misspent youth, I had delusions of daredevilry out of proportion to my coordination, that’s all.”
And second, Ivy doesn’t believe Griff is serious boyfriend material. When she begins proceedings to get full legal custody of her sister’s four children, her life gets real serious, real fast.
“There is no fair. Only what needs to be done.” Therein was the trap. Someone had to do what needed to be done, and no one else volunteered.
And as much as she enjoys her time with Griff, she doesn’t believe he’ll be up for dealing with everything that is her life for the long haul. But Griff is determined not to let Ivy lose who he believes she really is, and wants to be with her.
“This is my life.” This being babysitting Holly and the kids, with occasional extra kids thrown in for what passed as excitement around here. “I’m not fun or interesting or sexy, and pretending to be only leads to disappointment when reality intrudes.”
“You’re not imaginary. You’re beautiful and clever and warm every time I see you, none of which is disappointing.”
“He could fulfill the hell out of an obligation now, but his resistance to fun remained as weak as ever.”
When Ivy pushes Griff away, he spends some time thinking about what it would mean to be with her, and decides to go all in.
There would be no dipping his toe in the shallows to test the water. Her life was all deep end now, and the only choices were swim or stay dry.
“I don’t know how to make this work, Griff.” And that failure made her eyes sting.
“Neither do I.”
Her hope that he had a brilliant solution had been holding back the tears. When he put an end to it, her eyes overflowed. He thumbed a tear from her cheek.
“I don’t know how we work, but when I want something, I figure out a way. I want you. Give me a little more time, and I will find a way for us.”
So Griff does his best to step into Ivy’s world. Spending time with her nieces and nephews, getting to know her real life. Seeing the parts of her that she tries to hide from everyone.
Her mess filled the sink, and for what? Nobody ever turned down a pancake because it was an eighth of an inch flatter than one of hers. She made more work for herself so she could feel superior about something that didn’t matter in a feeble attempt to make up for feeling inferior when it counted.
Ivy does her best to push Griff away, but he can’t seem to let her go.
It all started the same with Ivy, two thousand miles from home. No name. No thought of a future. Bumping into yet another one-night stand should have been a passing this-is-awkward moment, laughed off, forgotten. But she clung like her namesake. Crept over him. He’d tried to prune her and been left bare, ugly, and cold – exactly as he’d been before but unbearable now that he knew how it felt to be covered by her. Now all he wanted was to nurture her until she grew all over him.
Ten Thousand Hours is a really good story about two people finding happiness with people they weren’t expecting to, when they didn’t believe they deserved it. The main characters are multi-layered, likable, believable, and very well written. Side-characters add a lot to the story. The dialog throughout the book is superb – there were SO many laugh-out-loud moments! Reading the synopsis for the book, I thought I knew what I was getting, but this story had so much going on, and so many dimensions that I was surprised by how compelling it is. If it weren’t for the wordiness that made a good majority of the book seem to drag (however I would like to point out that I wasn’t ever bored), this would have been a solid five star read for me.
Ten Thousand Hours started out amusing. Which is why I downloaded the book. The banter between the heroine, Ivy, and her friends Jen and Camille was funny, and Ivy’s conversations with the hero, Griff, were hilarious! The story moved along, but somewhere around the 30 percent point of the book, I began to think “this book should be called Ten Thousand Pages” because good grief, I kept reading and reading and it didn’t seem like I was getting anywhere.
This 400+ page book took me four nights to read – which is unusual because I read a lot, and I read fast. And then I realized the reason why it was taking me so long. This author has mastered the art of using big, complicated words when a simpler one would probably work just fine. For example, when Griff and Ivy are going out on a date, they are quiet in the car, and instead of just saying Ivy doesn’t have a whole lot of things to chat about, we get this:
Her warehouse of scintillating chitchat echoed from low inventory.
And because of this writing style, I found myself reading slowly because I really had to pay close attention to what I was reading. I’m not saying it’s completely a bad thing – because the author did a good job of writing things in a unique way. But it did make the book seem LONG, especially in the middle 50 percent of the book.
Here’s what I loved about this book: the hero and the heroine, the side-cast of characters, all the dimensions of the story!
Ivy Miller is a doormat of epic proportions. Between her employer and her sister, she lives just trying to juggle a multitude of balls that are thrown at her, and does her hardest to keep them all from smacking her in the head. She’s Boring Old Ivy (her self-description…not mine), and has a heaping pile of self-imposed responsibilities.
Ivy had been born in a cell made of well-mannered expectations.
She was the jailer of the cage she couldn’t escape.
When she meets Griff two-thousand miles away from home, she does the unthinkable and has a fling, creating a whole new alter-ego for herself. It’s fun and exciting, and she liked how she was with him. She heads home, sad to see the fling end, but knows there’s no way she can behave like that back in her real life. Shortly after returning home, Ivy walks into her parents’ house, and finds Griff standing there.
Despite Ivy’s misgivings, Griff is able to convince Ivy to continue what they began on the island vacation. As they continue their relationship, Ivy is torn. She enjoys her time with Griff, but two things are causing her to hesitate. First, Griff is pretty much the poster boy for wild and exciting.
“In my misspent youth, I had delusions of daredevilry out of proportion to my coordination, that’s all.”
And second, Ivy doesn’t believe Griff is serious boyfriend material. When she begins proceedings to get full legal custody of her sister’s four children, her life gets real serious, real fast.
“There is no fair. Only what needs to be done.” Therein was the trap. Someone had to do what needed to be done, and no one else volunteered.
And as much as she enjoys her time with Griff, she doesn’t believe he’ll be up for dealing with everything that is her life for the long haul. But Griff is determined not to let Ivy lose who he believes she really is, and wants to be with her.
“This is my life.” This being babysitting Holly and the kids, with occasional extra kids thrown in for what passed as excitement around here. “I’m not fun or interesting or sexy, and pretending to be only leads to disappointment when reality intrudes.”
“You’re not imaginary. You’re beautiful and clever and warm every time I see you, none of which is disappointing.”
“He could fulfill the hell out of an obligation now, but his resistance to fun remained as weak as ever.”
When Ivy pushes Griff away, he spends some time thinking about what it would mean to be with her, and decides to go all in.
There would be no dipping his toe in the shallows to test the water. Her life was all deep end now, and the only choices were swim or stay dry.
“I don’t know how to make this work, Griff.” And that failure made her eyes sting.
“Neither do I.”
Her hope that he had a brilliant solution had been holding back the tears. When he put an end to it, her eyes overflowed. He thumbed a tear from her cheek.
“I don’t know how we work, but when I want something, I figure out a way. I want you. Give me a little more time, and I will find a way for us.”
So Griff does his best to step into Ivy’s world. Spending time with her nieces and nephews, getting to know her real life. Seeing the parts of her that she tries to hide from everyone.
Her mess filled the sink, and for what? Nobody ever turned down a pancake because it was an eighth of an inch flatter than one of hers. She made more work for herself so she could feel superior about something that didn’t matter in a feeble attempt to make up for feeling inferior when it counted.
Ivy does her best to push Griff away, but he can’t seem to let her go.
It all started the same with Ivy, two thousand miles from home. No name. No thought of a future. Bumping into yet another one-night stand should have been a passing this-is-awkward moment, laughed off, forgotten. But she clung like her namesake. Crept over him. He’d tried to prune her and been left bare, ugly, and cold – exactly as he’d been before but unbearable now that he knew how it felt to be covered by her. Now all he wanted was to nurture her until she grew all over him.
Ten Thousand Hours is a really good story about two people finding happiness with people they weren’t expecting to, when they didn’t believe they deserved it. The main characters are multi-layered, likable, believable, and very well written. Side-characters add a lot to the story. The dialog throughout the book is superb – there were SO many laugh-out-loud moments! Reading the synopsis for the book, I thought I knew what I was getting, but this story had so much going on, and so many dimensions that I was surprised by how compelling it is. If it weren’t for the wordiness that made a good majority of the book seem to drag (however I would like to point out that I wasn’t ever bored), this would have been a solid five star read for me.
July 29, 2017
I really liked this book, even if it was darker than I expected. The hero and heroine meet on vacation and have a fabulous fling with great witty banter. But back home their lives are a little more complicated, so when they run into each other unexpectedly, being together is a lot harder. The heroine Ivy in particular has a lot of baggage which escalates throughout the book. However, the way that Ivy and Griff make their complicated situations work together in the end is immensely satisfying, particularly as I believe the ability to face and solve problems as a team is much more important to a relationship then how "passionate" you are when there's nothing else weighing you down.
Ultimately this isn't the most escapist romance you'll ever read, but it's immensely satisfying and hopeful to find the romance and commitment in some very sticky situations.
Ultimately this isn't the most escapist romance you'll ever read, but it's immensely satisfying and hopeful to find the romance and commitment in some very sticky situations.
June 14, 2017
I enjoyed it. The banter is good and the story is good, but it is so long. There were so many issues at hand, and it was hard to enjoy some of the characters and situations because there was just so so much. I felt like I read and entire movie with seven subplots and four tragedies and it was a comedy and then it was a dark film and then went back to comedy and then love and then drama. I just think it had too much of everything. Sometimes less is more.
January 29, 2018
This by far has been one of the most painful books I have read. Unfortunately I am not the type to not finish a book no matter how painful. I actually liked the characters and the story line for that matter, but this book & chapters were weighed down with so much repeating info & it appears the author was trying to prove how smart they are by using “big words” obsessively. I would steer clear of this book & frankly I wouldn’t recommend reading nor will I read this author again.
November 2, 2018
I Laughed Till I Cried
Do not let this one get by you. I have not enjoyed a book this much in, well, ever. These two characters were so much fun. Ivy or shall I say "Duchess" especially. Their interactions were priceless. The scene at Rafferty's dinner where Ivy put Griff's brother Dan on notice was epic!
Do not let this one get by you. I have not enjoyed a book this much in, well, ever. These two characters were so much fun. Ivy or shall I say "Duchess" especially. Their interactions were priceless. The scene at Rafferty's dinner where Ivy put Griff's brother Dan on notice was epic!
May 11, 2017
Good
This was a good book to pass the down time while I was at work. Kept me awake on an over night shift
This was a good book to pass the down time while I was at work. Kept me awake on an over night shift
June 1, 2018
Reading a female character’s negative self-talk and body shaming is just not sexy. At least, not to me. Sadly, it’s all too common in the Romance genre.
October 10, 2018
Romantic
Haven't read a book with this relatable a heroine or this romantically sexy a hero in a long time. And it's intelligent too. And funny. What's not to love?
Haven't read a book with this relatable a heroine or this romantically sexy a hero in a long time. And it's intelligent too. And funny. What's not to love?
October 18, 2018
It was a lot of fun reading Griff & Ivy’s story.
February 23, 2017
I gave this a 3 star review because the story line was great and the characters were believable. I couldn't score it higher because I felt the overuse of the "F" word didn't add anything to the storyline. I love a good romance book but the sex scenes were a little over the top to the point I scrolled right past them. Maybe I'm becoming a prude in my old age. If cursing doesn't bother you, you will enjoy this book.
January 5, 2017
I really like this author. I really, really like her use of vocabulary and understanding of human behavior. The characters are funny and real; easy to relate to. There were a few times where I lost the thought progression of the lovers. Benton uses complex and layered misunderstandings in their minds. Highlights of common real life communication failures with spot-on humor
Double thumbs up for mainstream social issues presented with ease and purposeful placement.
Looking forward to the next Ren Benton novel!
Double thumbs up for mainstream social issues presented with ease and purposeful placement.
Looking forward to the next Ren Benton novel!
April 3, 2017
Another fun ride
I do not like romance novels unless they're classic, historical or wild time loop conundrums. Admittedly I downloaded in my sleep & was appalled. I started on the basis of putting it down at any time. Totally different than expected & enjoyed it even hoping for a sequel.. Well done!
I do not like romance novels unless they're classic, historical or wild time loop conundrums. Admittedly I downloaded in my sleep & was appalled. I started on the basis of putting it down at any time. Totally different than expected & enjoyed it even hoping for a sequel.. Well done!
April 8, 2017
An enjoyable rom com but a lot more than that. The characters were very well developed with more personality and back story than you usually find in books like this. And they were characters that you couldn't help but like. I wasn't expecting it to be as steamy as it was, but I'm not really complaining.
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October 18, 2017I really liked the story but wanted to have an Epilogue that answered some questions (unless there is a second book I'm unaware of?) like what did she do about her job, did they ever get married, how did getting custody of the children go & what happened with their mom?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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July 10, 2018WHAT WAS THE LAST LOLMANCE NOVEL YOU ENJOYED?
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews