The Things Everson Lost

The Blackstone Family #3

by Tina Martin

When a past love throws a marriage off balance... Everson is one of those men. Those sexy, chocolate Blackstone men. He has the perfect house. In June, he’s found a wonderful wife, and marriage has been doing his body good. But the past has a way of finding its way to the present. The past in the form of an old flame. Eliana Simmons. Everson’s high school sweetheart. Eliana moved away when they were younger. Seniors in high school. Now, work has made them cross paths, and those old feelings easily resurface, especially since Eliana was his FIRST love – and she’s not shy about confessing that she hasn’t been able to get over him after all those years have passed. When Everson finds himself lying to June, he knows he’s in trouble. But this is just the beginning of what’s to come for a man who gives another woman the attention he should be giving his wife. * * * The Blackstone Family novels are all standalone books. Any follow-up short stories correspond to the full-length novel. Book 1 - Evenings With Bryson (Bryson and Kalina) Book 2 - Leaving Barringer (Barringer and Calista) Book 2.5 - Forever Barringer and Calista Blackstone - A Short Story Book 3 - The Things Everson Lost (Everson and June) Book 4 - Candy's Corporate Crush (Candice and Kurt)

Genres: Contemporary, Marriage, Romance

269 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 9, 2017

About the author

TINA MARTIN is a talented, romantic suspense fiction writer and the author of over 95 titles. She enjoys Hallmark movies, running and traveling. (PLEASE NOTE: There are multiple authors with this name on Goodreads. If you're following me, look for my logo!)

Amazon: amazon.com/author/tinamartin
Instagram: instagram.com/tinamartinauthor
Facebook: facebook.com/tinamartinauthor

Her books are listed below:

An Unlikely Love Series
When I Needed You
When You Needed Me
Flicker: An Ahmalee + Cain Update
-
Back to Love Series
Marriage Quarrel in Quarantine
Countdown to You
Offsides: A Superbowl Party Romance
Crushed
-
A St. Claire Novel Series:
Royal
Ramsey
Romulus
Regal
Magnus
Honeymoon With A St. Claire
Major
Zander
Zavier
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St. Claire Life Series
Honeymoon With A St. Claire
Just Being Us (Prequel to Zander)
Keep That Same Energy (Zander & Alyssa Update
-
St. Claire Women Series
Gemma
-
Season of Love Novelettes:
Hot Chocolate
Spring Break
-
The Marriage Chronicles:
Life's A Beach
Falling Out
War Then Love
-
The Boardwalk Bakery Romance:
Baked With Love
Baked With Love 2
Baked With Love 3
-
A Lennox in Love Series:
Claiming You
Making You My Business
Wishing That I Was Yours
Caught in the Storm with a Lennox
Before You Say I Do
Winter Wonder
Winter Wedding
The Weekend
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The Love of Elias Series:
Been In Love With You
When Hearts Cry
You Belong To Me
When I Call You Mine
Who Do You Love
Forever Mine
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The Blackstone Family Series:
Evenings With Bryson
Leaving Barringer
Forever Us
The Things Everson Lost
Candy's Corporate Crush
-
The Champion Brothers Series:
His Paradise Wife
When A Champion Wants You
The Best Thing He Never Knew He Needed
Wives And Champions
The Way Champions Love
His By Spring (A Champion Sister Novel)
A Champion's Proposal
The Convenient Husband
At The Right Time
-
The Alexander Series:
The Millionaire's Arranged Marriage
Watch Me Take Your Girl
Her Premarital Ex
The Object of His Obsession
Dilvan's Redemption
His Charity Challenge
Different Tastes
As Long As We Got Love
-
The Accidental Series:
Accidental Deception
Accidental Heartbreak
Accidental Lovers
Accidental Vows
-
The Dying to Love Her Series:
Dying To Love Her
Dying To Love Her 2
Dying To Love Her 3
-
The Dare and Deja Chronicles
Reception Romance
Long Distance Troubles
Back to the Valley
Into Forever
-
Standalone Titles:
Secrets On Lake Drive
Can't Just Be His Friend
The Baby Daddy Interviews
Just Like New to the Next Man
Falling Again
The Crush
Vacation Interrupted
Wasn't Supposed to Love Her
What Wifey Wants
Man of Her Dreams
Bae Watch
How To Love Me
Weekend Fiance: A Jared and KeShana InstaLove Story
For Ruby: A Micah & Georgiana Short Story
Snowed in at Shenandoah Valley

Reviews

[Lidia's Romance · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 Stars

Let me correct the misleading title:
The Things Everson ALMOST Lost

The truth is he didn't lose anything. He could have, he should have, but I don't think he was ever in danger of losing anything, and I think he knew that, too. He was cocky. He didn't really fight for his wife, June. His brothers had to convince him to even try. Everson didn't think there was a point because his wife "looked at him with hate." No shit, buddy! You lied and cheated, how did you want her to look at you? After confessing to his wife and breaking her heart, instead of being concerned for her feelings and the possibility of losing her forever, he was too preoccupied with the ex (OW) and the 14yo secret son he had just been told he had. Spoiler Alert: he wasn't the father. What an idiot. He jumped too quickly into the idea of having a son before any proof. The ex tricked him. His efforts to win back his wife were lukewarm. He was nonchalant about his indiscretions. June wasn't a doormat but she forgave him too soon for my liking. I wasn't convinced he wouldn't betray her again. They had only been married for a little over a yr, together for 3, and he was already bored? *LOL* He rationalized that because he didn't have sex with the ex, he hadn't actually cheated. Bullshit. All the sneaking around, the lying, the planning, the intention was there...it was bad. He was open to the opportunity, that's for sure. Sometimes emotional cheating is worse, but his betrayal went beyond that because it got a little physical as well.

The writing was okay. I did feel the angst, and empathized with the wife. Many of her concerns, insecurities, and fears were relatable/realistic. I appreciated that the author gave readers a lot of insight into June's thought process. I needed more from Everson, however, because I still had questions.

(Hoopla ebook)

[Maria (semi hiatus)]

Cheating is a choice.

The women in this book discuss what cheating is. Sleeping with another woman is cheating, he didn’t sleep with OW, so he didn’t cheat.

Does one cheat when:
▪️ Meet with ex-girlfriend and hide it from wife
▪️ Work with ex-girlfriend and hide it from wife
▪️ Books getaway weekend with ex-girlfriend and hide it from wife
▪️ Lying to wife about his whereabouts while spending the weekend with ex-girlfriend
▪️ Takes ex-girlfriend wining and dining and hide it from wife
▪️ Sleeping in separate hotel rooms, but let yourself be alone in OW’s room with her and hide it from wife
▪️ Kisses OW and make-out with her on the bed and hide it from wife

Is it okay for all women out there when your husbands do all the above? Cause this is not cheating? I think I have another dictionary. Cheating is not only having sex with someone else, emotional cheating and kissing another person than your spouse is CHEATING as well!

This happened just over a year in their marriage. Just no. If he flaunts that early in the marriage, something is wrong. I know there are exceptions, but for me once a cheater always a cheater. 🚩

[wrkatreading · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn’t like at all. Everything the blurb says happens and lines are crossed big time. The title is misleading because the H loses nothing

[Laur Laur · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another 2.5 stars, love the writing by this author but wanna punch the heroes in the face. This zero knew what he was doing was wrong and he did it anyway. Emotional cheating is definitely cheating! Sending roses daily is not groveling, I wish the heroine had moved on and found better, she sure deserved it.

[Lu Bielefeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ⭐⭐⭐ - OK, or decent reads.
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First read by this author and I enjoyed the writing. I'll check out her other books.

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In his little brain he thinks it's not cheating because he didn't stick his dick in her vagina... but he got involved with his ex, they worked together and exchanged reminiscences of the past, lunch and dinner. They booked a weekend at the beach at a hotel to see if they still had chemistry and to remember the good times. He is emotionally involved with the ex who was the first love of his life. They ride the Ferris wheel (which he didn't want to do with his wife) and have a romantic dinner at a special restaurant. He goes to her room and they both have a make-out session that ends up in bed with him on top of her kissing. But he stops everything and leaves the room.
He doesn't answer messages or phone calls from his worried wife and lies that he's somewhere working while he's with the other woman on the beach.
For me it's cheating.
I liked the heroine and how she grew as a person and woke up to life. After all, she dedicated herself 24 hours to him and completely annulled herself. She lived for him and his needs.

[Kathleen Lemke (Kathy Page) · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating: 3 stars

What I liked: I liked how Everson’s(H) brothers told him that he was wrong and how they made sure he knew that what he was doing was cheating. I’m also glad that June(h) told her friends that she was upset they kept the truth from her (I wish she would of held a grudge longer).

What I didn’t like: Everson was an idiot. He did what he did but gets mad when he sees June eating with some guy. He should of been made to suffer more. I honestly didn’t feel his love for June until the very end but by that time I disliked his character. Hell he even goes to ow to discuss his rights to the boy when he should of did some digging and working on his marriage like his brother told him too.

***Major Spoilers/ Details/Triggers: In the beginning the H is with the ow on a getaway. Ow was H’s high school girlfriend and they were in love. Ow moved away and H stops communicating with her. H becomes a player until he meets the h. H and h get married and have been married for 3 years when H runs into the ow at his job. He talks and hangs out with the ow and when ow asks him to go with her to the beach he says yes. H lies to the h and tells her he has a job he has to go to. While with ow, H realizes he doesn’t have feelings for her. When he tells the ow, she tells H he has a kid. H’s brother knowing something is going on calls the H and tells him that what he is doing is wrong. H thinks because he isn’t having sex with ow that it should be fine. He just wants to see if anything was still there between him and ow. H upset wants to know more about his son, decides to stay with ow but while talking, H and ow start to kiss. It starts to get heavy but when the ow talks, he realizes that he is doing wrong. H packs up and goes back home to h. H of course doesn’t tell the h but tells his brothers and friend. Meanwhile the h, while H was away with ow, feels that something is wrong with the H. She confides to her friends and they tell her she has nothing to worry about even though the one friend saw the H with ow (she even saw H kiss ow). h finds a receipt and sees that H lied about where he was. When she tells her friend she tells her about how their other friend saw H with ow. h upset goes home and H tells her about ow. h kicks the H out. H gives the h space and his brother tells him he is going to lose the h if he doesn’t start fighting for his marriage and he needs to show the h he cares. h decides to get a job and ignores the H. H starts calling h and leaving message. H decides to go to ow when she tells him that she doesn’t want him involved with the boy. While there he finds out that he is not the father of the boy and he realizes his brother was right and he should be home trying to get h to forgive him instead of dealing with the ow. H comes back and starts sending the h flowers. h goes to a family bbq and H asks if they could talk. He explains things. h forgives H. HEA

Descriptive Sex: Yes

Final thoughts: This book annoyed me. If the h would have made the H beg and made him work for her forgiveness longer I would liked this a lot more. I just felt the H didn’t care. The only reason he started calling OK the h daily was because his brother told him to :/

[Raffaella · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is cheating, emotional for sure, and physical partially because he made out with ow kissing her and hugging her.
So be warned my friend.
I must say that I loved the book despite the hero who is a real disappointment.
All his brothers were better than him, they tried to make him see reason and were wonderful.
The heroine also was not a weak woman, despite having left her job after her marriage , but it was a consensual decision, and in the end she decide to go back to work because she didn’t want to be dependent on his husband, imo she didn’t trust him.
The hero is the most disappointing character in the book, even more than ow.
He meets ow who is his high school ex gf, she moved 15 years before and they never saw each other again. They were in love but my god, they were teenagers and after all no one of them made a real effort to try to stay connected.
So why his interest after all those years?
He’s been married with the heroine for two years not twenty, and it’s a short time to be already bored and trying for more exciting pastures.
He works with ow for one month, of course not telling the heroine, and when ow proposes a weekend to see if there’s something between them he accepts.
Wtf?
Really?
So he takes her to a holiday of two days, they have fun, dinner, talk, and then she tells him he’s a dad.
He follows her in her bedroom and kisses and makes out with her.
Honestly? And he would have liked to have sex with her.
Hypocrite bastard sob.
He stops himself but imo the deed is done.
Then he goes back to his wife because he understands he only loves her.
His wife of course finds out and he tells her what happened.
She tells him she needs a break, and decides to go back to work, which I appreciated because let’s be honest, he will cheat again and this time for good.
Maybe when they have children and things get hard, maybe when business is giving problems, he will cheat.
And he will blame her, the stress, the lack of sleep, whatever because it’s what he did.
He blamed her, telling he was bored. Not with these words but this was the heart of his speech.
Not because he didn’t love her enough to say fy to ow that he hasn’t seen since he was a teenager.
His apologies are half hearted, his attitude is not so convincing.
He was never that sorry. He was never so worried he could lose her. I had the impression that he blamed her because she didn’t immediately forgave him.
Intolerable.
And when he was with ow his brother tried to make him see reason and was very good with his speech, but the hero anyway stayed with ow.
There is also a son who should be his but of course is not, and ow was eventually some kind of psycho obsessed with him. But he put this son who he didn’t still know if he was his before the heroine.
This I can’t understand nor forgive.
But I can’t hate the book because it was well written and all the other characters were really good.

[Capt. · Rating 1 out of 5]

God please take away the right to write of those who romanticize these kind of stories. Utterly gross.

[Jac K · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book made my head hurt because I really wanted it to make sense, but it just didn’t. The plot was Ok and fairly entertaining, but I never understood Everson’s thought process, and the reconciliation left me wanting more. I can’t really review this without giving spoilers, so I’ll tag the rest. I’ll try to be vague, but most of the dicey stuff happens within the first two chapters of the book. It actually starts with him already in a bad situation, so these aren’t major spoilers.

Everson’s choices at the start of the book felt so extreme in comparison to his inner thoughts. It was so nonsensical to take the GINORMOUS leap to lie to his wife and sneak away for a weekend getaway with his ex to see if there were any lingering feelings while insisting on separate rooms and insisting that he wasn’t cheating. Then after going through all that, potentially risking his marriage, he just suddenly has zero feelings or interest in her. What??

And for June, I TOTALLY understood her feelings of betrayal because I agreed completely with her. IMO him simply making the plan was a betrayal, but they never really worked through it. I’m not sure that Everson ever got that he did anything wrong, and June acted like the solution was her getting a job. It was weird.

It almost had a soapbox feel to it. Politics are mentioned at least once and there’s this slightly negative-ish vibe surrounding housewives and Everson’s narrow view on June’s place being at home or traveling with him. Which I totally get, what left me scratching my head was the emphasis that frumpy homemakers can't keep their husbands from being tempted by polished businesswomen.

Trust me, you’ll grow sick of seeing your wife with her hair done up in a ponytail, wearing sweats because she had to keep up with the kiddies all day. That’s why men cheat.

Like that's why the OW tempted him because she was such an exciting career girl. Then at the end, all their problems will now be solved because she has a job and won’t have to worry…

While he finds other women attractive— especially businesswomen— because his wife walks around the house in pajamas all day with Honey Nut Cheerios stuck in her hair.”

And that felt lazy, sort of how the Christian romances pray the betrayal away. If your husband cheats with a businesswoman, it’s because he’s a selfish asshole, not because you’re rocking a messy bun and yoga pants. And considering her man got bored after one year of marriage… “No, but our life has turned into a monotonous routine, June. Everything from the days of the week in which we dine out, right down to the time and place we make love– it’s routine. I wanted some excitement— I wanted to feel the way I felt before we married and settled down in the suburbs... things aren’t looking promising.

Bottom Line- This was just ok for me. It generated some feels for me, but I needed A LOT more working through stuff. They didn’t even start to talk stuff through until the end of the book. I hate it when marriage in trouble couples avoid each other.

Safety- Very a little OW drama; she’s not meddling or around much after the first couple chapters. They kiss, turns into make-out kissing with him on top of her in bed. (fully clothed-just kissing)

[Jadah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Issa no for me!

Don’t recommend, I’ve read the first three books in this series and I get more and more disappointed. The family unit is so toxic. It would’ve been refreshing to see June move on from Everson. Plus Candice is irking me. We get those are your brothers but they wrong. I just don’t like this family. If I had to recommend any other novels by her it would be the St.Claire brothers

[Sewster · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 69%

This cheating was not possible to come back from for me, even though he technically didn’t have sex. The pursuing his ex, lying to his wife…. I just can’t. Then it drove me crazy that at least 4 people knew about this and nobody was telling the wife! WTH! She should have left him and his entire, horrible family behind.

I can’t continue because I’m so mad for June and I know I won’t be happy about them reconciling at all.

[Bookish.Midnight. and. black · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was short 😑 i enjoyed the writing but the ending was fast and i did not felt the love between the hero and heroine .he cheated emotionally and i felt his attraction for the ow but not for his wife or his love for her

[Preeti ♥︎ Her Bookshelves · Rating 3 out of 5]

“She was an old girlfriend, an old love, but that was history and sometimes, history needed to remain in the past.”
But then....

For a cheating book this was doing well/okay -- til the author serves us with an entitled and resentful semi-grovel and a 'I did it because ...!'

Okay, Rant Time--
Moron's reasoning - "I wanted some excitement"
They have been married for --- just ONE YEAR!
Yes, 4 of years of togetherness in all, but just an year into marriage and the former manhoe is already restless with this new suburban life!
Makes a super d-b move of having an emotional affair with his school gf/first love whom he accidentally meets after 14 years.
He lies to his wife and goes out secretly dating the ow- dinners, lunches - while slowly withdrawing emotionally from his wife, making her feel the distance and coolness!
And he plans a weekend getaway with the ow!!! PLANS A WHOLE WEEKEND GETAWY!
All this can not be an impulse, but reeks of self-serving deception and dishonesty.


The H (and the author) thinks that them (H-ow) not having sex makes it okay, and it's technically not cheating and now he can go back to wife and move on, keeping his secret.
But secrets have a way of coming out - and the ow has another ace up her sleeve - or back home.

“the excitement of being young and in love came back to me. And I could honestly feel how much she wanted me. It felt good to feel wanted.”
Again with a wife of a year, at home!
This cannot be a mid life crisis thing.
Can or should she trust him now?

The h's hurt, her reaction and realization are all relatable -
“You made the choice to work with her, just like you made the choice to meet the
hoe on the beach!”
“Will you stop calling her a hoe?” Everson said.
June’s eyebrows darted upward. “Oh, now you’re defending the hoe?”
“No, I’m not defending her. I just don’t understand why you’re calling her a hoe. You
don’t usually talk like that.”
“Oh, I don’t usually talk like that,
“You’re going to see a whole new June before this conversation is over. That I can promise you.”

He does this to a wife who gives up, nay is forced by him to, a career and become a stay at home wife - so they can travel together. But then he starts this traveling with someone else!
“I’m focusing on you and this job thing, June. When we married, we agreed, you agreed, that you wouldn’t work.”
“Right, because I was supposed to travel with you. But it’s funny…I don’t recall a stipulation that
said I would travel with you only when you weren’t entertaining your ex-girlfriends.”

She throws him out, and he thinks its only for while till she cools down... and he had other matters on his mind vis a vis the ow a secret son! and that's a whole separate story!

The h, meanwhile after a crying bout brushes up her resume and starts looking for jobs, wising up to the fact that you can only depend on yourself in this world.
“I do (love him), but my view of him has changed and I fear it’s a permanent change. I always told myself that I wouldn’t be one of those weak-minded women who went running back to a man after they’d hurt them.”
“Another part of her wondered why a man had to buy flowers – the good ones, not those cheap grocery store ones – for you when something was wrong. But when things were going right, no flowers. No initiative. ”

Even his family pick up his sulky seething -
“I get the vibe that you’re mad at June and you’re the one in the wrong,” Bryson told him.
“I’m not mad at her. just don’t understand why she’s reacting this way. I mean, be mad.”
So, he's not at fault. It's his wife or “ Eliana – the high school sweetheart AKA homewrecker in training.” --
“She knew he was
married, but that didn’t stop her from asking him. That should’ve
told him something about her moral character right there. But he
chose to ignore the gigantic red flag. Besides, she said he
owed it”


in fact for a crazy delulu, the ow has some good lines --
“I’m married, Eliana.”
Eyebrows raised, she said, “You didn’t know that before you drove here?”

“That’s what you think,”
Eliana said. “Being a mother and managing a household is the hardest job in the
world. And besides that, I don’t think I could be one of those women who relied on a man for everything. I find that men tend to disrespect women who can’t do for themselves.
... "After kids, their wives go from fab to drab,
looking like candidates for makeovers while the men go to work and
see these good-looking businesswomen and daydream about the days
when their wives used to look that hot. Or when she had dreams.
Goals she wanted to accomplish. Now, her only goal is sleeping
through the night without someone crying for a bottle or afraid
that the boogeyman is hiding in their closet.”

‘‘That’s an awful thing to say.” Well, you did prove her right, a-h!

“Men don’t cheat because
he thinks a woman looks better than his wife. That’s not the case at all.”
“Well, school me, then.”
“In most cases, men cheat because an opportunity presents itself and they’re too weak to
resist the advances.”
Well, BINGO!

In the end - the h at least wants to keep her career. Thank God!
BUT ALSO - agrees that their life had gotten boring - thus his reasoning for cheating has merit?
Idiots, Married life is BORING! And ROUTINE!
God, this made me so mad!

At least - “ She’d forgiven him. Even so, forgiveness didn’t mean
she’d forget what he’d done. It would always lurk in the back of
her mind, but she believed him when he said it wouldn’t happen
again and she hoped that he’d keep his word. That’s all she could
do – hope. She didn’t have the power to control the actions of
another human, especially a man’s. ”

[Smiler The Avid Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was good, but the way the author wrote the aftermath of the cheating was not for me…..

~”But something about forgiving him felt wrong, even though she knew that’s what she needed to do.”~

Nope, forgiveness is something that you want to do, not need to do.

With family and friends like that who needs enemies. An acquaintance not telling June what they had seen I can understand, but family and really close friends decided that they didn’t want to get involved. What a load of codswallop!

When June was talking about Everson with her friends/family about his physical and emotional cheating….

~”But he didn’t actually cheat on you, did he?”~

~”From what I do know, I don’t think Everton falls into either categories”….

Errr no!!!! It wasn’t kind of emotional and kind of physical cheating, it was cheating in both aspects!There was no grey area here., Getting physically intimate with another woman and seeing the woman every night for dinner for two weeks, talking about intimate things. Choosing to go away for a romantic weekend with the other woman, is full on cheating. Just because they didn’t go past kissing and no PIV, doesn’t make it any less than cheating! Ffs.

The ending felt rushed, we didn’t actually have any real dialogue between June and Everson that made me feel their HEA was deserved. It didn’t delve deep enough and they went from not speaking to sleeping together. No real interaction to make me feel they had worked towards their reconciliation or Everson really understanding what he had done. Blergh....

[Martha Ruff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greener Pastures???

This book made me so mad because Everson has true ride or die wife in June. However, he too busy looking backwards at his past, not understanding that your past is in the rear view mirror for a reason. The grass isn't always greener on the other side, this is a lesson Everson had to learn the hard way!!!

[Tmstprc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note to self… 2.5 rounding down

[Yames Bond · Rating 2 out of 5]

2⭐️

The grovel was non-existent. Especially, since the H never really thought he was doing anything wrong.

How can a guy grovel if he just thinks “lady, get over your drama and go back to normal with me?” He cheated but he was like “no sex, no cheating”. Dude…. Huh?

That was the big disappointment, because the plot was good and the story was promising.

[Claudia]

He kisses OW and showed no remorse. Wife forgave him.

[Christelle Ruiz · Rating 1 out of 5]

It started ok! The change of POV not being announced was rather annoying! You never know who’s telling the story! Sometimes it wasn’t obvious! I was not fond of that!
Then the whole family minimizing the cheating and finding him excuses and pushing for the FMC to forgive! That’s when I started to dislike this book!
Then the relationship expert/blogger describing what Everson did as not being cheating! The guy kissed and was about to have sex with the OW + the 2 weeks where he was having dinners and a weekend to spend time with the OW! I call that cheating by kissing and emotional cheating as well! He booked and organized a weekend to spend with OW!
And the reason why: because he was bored and the routine was settling in the first year of his marriage! Yeah! I wouldn’t take him back! Especially when he makes it sound like it’s her fault! But he never tells her about it or initiate a conversation about it! Coward!!!
Nope sorry but the FMC was strong and empowered at the beginning all girl power and shit and then after being gaslighted by the whole family and her husband she was ok to get back with her husband, get a job to be more independent and agreeing that the reason why he cheated was both their fault! Yep noooo!!

[Jackie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Over all I really liked the book. The story was well written and kept me interested.

My biggest complaint is that the author down played his infidelity. The side characters all came to a mutual agreement that him kissing the OW wasn’t an affair and hardly even cheatingn🙄. They decided that him confining in the OW about his life and marriage, lying to go off on a weekend getaway to reconnect see if they still had attraction , and then making out with her wasn’t an a full blown affair.

He was a liar and a cheater yet he never seemed to truly comprehend that he was. In his mind he didn’t cheat because he didn’t sleep with her and he couldn’t understand why June was so angry with him. She gave into him tooo quickly. All the groveling was apologies and flowers sent. That’s it.

Then the bastard has the audacity to say he reasoning was that liked the attention because their life had become so boring. She didn’t dance any more. He was tired of their boing date nights and routin sex life…BOOOOOOO
This was a little over a year after they’ve been married. This MF sucks.

Idk… this really put me off. So 2.5 ⭐️

[Diedre · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. This was a good emotional cheating story that described really well how a guy thinks who really didn't see the severity of what he did wrong and was swept up into this scenario that almost killed his marriage. What suppressed a 5 star for me is not the groveling, but the introspection and realization of how, being caught up in this predicament was disastrous for a marriage and it seemed he didn't really get there. You didn't see him really get there. He did what his brothers told him to do. And then that final confession when he told his wife he did it cause their marriage became monotonous was glossed over like, "okay, let's work on that..." But to me that would have been humiliating! But it was just glossed over. There needed to be more talk and connection and emotional presence with each other.

[BookNerdQueen · Rating 4 out of 5]

real feelings

I enjoyed reading this book.
Everson got caught up reminiscing with his HS flame and that turned out to bite him in the butt. I felt that Elly knew all along what she was doing and the girl was stuck living in the past with her trifling self.
Once he was caught Everson tried to guilt trip June as if it was her fault. They needed to communicate and if anything how would June know how he felt if he never tells her.
I didn’t like how Karina and Calista kept what they knew about June. They harped on how they were supposed to be family but it felt like June was the odd woman out.
I wished we saw more of them over the hump. The story ended on an abrupt ending.

[DeBorrah Carter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cherish What You Have

I always save my reviews when there is a series. I've read all 3 of "The Blackstone Family," and they were each good. Each family member was relatable. Bryson was by far my favorite. Everson is the most gullible (should have stayed home brother.) Barrington (so arrogant). I loved how the women got together as well as the men. What was the most outstanding aspect of all three books were the family dynamics. Family loving family and working through life challenges as a family. Tina Martin, you did a good job. I am now one of your followers. Congratulations! We'll done.

[Star · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5
Emotional + physical cheating☠️
The stars are only for the Fl yeah she stayed with the Ml but she had a character development .The Ml was stupid in the beginning he was all over the ow maybe i think until the middle when he realizes that he cant do that to his wife (you already did dumbass🙄).Then he was all over stepping as a father cause of the ow's lies.
At the end he was going to his wife to show her his regret but he was going to leave her alone .No apologies whatsoever he only did that cause of his brothers

[Vernell Renee Howard Griffin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read!

One. LOVE conquers all. Happy husband, happy wife means a good and prosperous life. Two. A stable foundation of trust. If you cannot tell your significant other about talking or meeting an ex, then it's not a great idea to be in contact with that person. It will have to be just a basic and quick greeting, such as hi and bye. These two things are very crucial in marriages and relationships. I'm just glad Everson and June survived the test and learned each other more while leveling up. Great Read! ReneeG 👍

[Abby G. Amos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent Read!

I enjoyed reading this book! The chemistry between Everson and June was on point in book one, but you could see something was going on with Everson in books 2 and 2.5. He was always distracted and on his phone! I didn't like what he did to his wife and how he deceived her, but he truly loved her he showed her as much! I think whoever reads this book will enjoy it! I definitely recommend it!

[Malaika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whew!

This one was a doozy! I was ready to climb through the pages at Everson and especially that nut case Eliana. I’m so glad Everson realized what he had but was it too late? He should have always known. The positive is that June found herself and her purpose while going through this storm. Can’t wait for the next book.

[Shone · Rating 5 out of 5]

All In The Family

Everson Blackstone, stepped away from the family business, but not from his play boy ways. When troubles walks back into his life he has to decide what real and what's fake. The family connections in this series what families and the world need today.

#cillasbookmaniacs

[Cherie l brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everson Blackstone, husband to June, almost lost it all. Allowed a ex from his high school days back into his life. With so much at stake, Everson failed to consider the costs, a common mistakes of partners that cheat. This novel is loaded with real life relationships troubles, hurts and disappointments. To recover from this poor decision will not be easy for Mr. Blackstone.

[Sabtina · Rating 1 out of 5]

not a story, this must be a joke, and a bad one. He emotionally cheats and then kisses her but since he stopped he should get a medal and so it is not tecnically cheating. WTF!? No grovelling or regret, he just says sorry and sends flowers

Just a question? what the hell did he lose because...NOTHING..