Emma

Secret Confessions: Sydney Housewives #8

by Viveka Portman

From the hottest writers in Australia comes a scintillating new series. Enter the world of Sydney's elite, and find out what goes on behind the doors of the most exclusive addresses in the country…Meet the Housewives of Sydney. They are wealthy, elegant, poised, and constantly in the public eye. But what goes on behind closed doors, in the private homes and parties where the cameras and paparazzi aren't welcome? Delve into the most personal details of their relationships, their friendships and their lives. The only question is: can you handle the heat?Travel, money, a gorgeous pro-surfer husband, healthy son, and a new house overlooking the ocean – it looks like Emma Ross has it all, but inside she's torn apart by insecurities and her failure to have another child. She knows that she's putting her relationship in jeopardy, so to make up for their difficulties, Emma gives Rosco carte blanche in the bedroom. But is explosive sex enough to save a marriage that is falling apart from the inside?

45 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Viveka Portman is an author of romantic erotic fiction, and has a fascination about times past. With a bachelor degree in anthropology, Viveka weaves historical fact into fiction to create lively, realistic and thrilling tales, sure to titillate and engage the most discerning reader. Considered an upstanding member of society, Viveka does not make a habit of eavesdropping, gossiping or making vulgar displays of impropriety — except, that is, in writing.

Reviews

[Sam Still Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Emma, Viveka Portman takes a softer, heart-warming storyline of love and sex rather than the ‘Whoa, Mama!’ reaction I’ve come to expect from this series. We also get to see the secret side of Emma, who has appeared as bubbly and confident in previous books. Emma does appear to have it all the surface, like the other women in this series. She has a gorgeous, talented husband in Rosco and a wonderfully romantic tale of how they met and fell in love. She has a beautiful house and all the things she’ll ever need at her fingertips. But Emma hides a secret heartache. She desperately wants another child, but fears that her infertility and desperation will drive Rosco away. Sex has become mechanical and now she’s suspicious of every woman that Rosco looks or speaks to. How can this once beautiful relationship be repaired?

I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of Emma’s despair that was covered in this short story – her hopes and dreams were given up in a flash years ago, and now she feels left behind and stifled. That feeling comes across very strongly that you can’t help wanting to give Emma a hug. (At first I thought she was a bit petulant until I knew the reasons why Emma was acting like she did). There’s still sex, but of different types – from mechanical to the feeling of release. The real beauty in this story is coming to understand Emma and seeing her grow in confidence over the narrative.

So while this story was a bit different to the previous ones, it definitely grew on me. After all that heat, a bit of sweetness is just what the doctor ordered.

Thank you to Escape Publishing for feeding my Housewife fix. My review is completely honest.

http://samstillreading.wordpress.com

[That Library Girl Moved To Storygraph · Rating 4 out of 5]

The whole Sydney Housewives series was a great, quick read. If any of my friends were looking for these types of books, I'd definitely recommend!

[AusRomToday · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh boy… we’ve all known an ‘Emma’. Hell, there’s every chance that at one point we’ve been an ‘Emma’…

The back-story for Emma is an interesting one: we meet Emma and her husband Rosco whilst knee-deep in dealing with a plethora of marital issues most of which are perpetuated by Emma’s neurotic approach to life and love. Rosco’s career is on the rise while Emma’s housewife/motherhood life seems to have stalled altogether, add to that fertility issues and an underlying element of self-doubt and you’re in for a doozy of a story. Her insecurities are well defined and in a way relateable. Her approach to dealing with them however is perhaps less relateable.

Though Emma’s story was one that didn’t quite resonate and was one I felt a little difficulty in connecting with, I must give an immense amount of credit to Portman for providing readers with well-tuned story-telling and extremely well-developed characters. Creating such a polorising character is no small feat and Portman certainly delivered.

– J’aimee Brooker, AusRomToday

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Emma is a young lady dealing with insecurities about parts of her life. Her and her sexy surfer husband have had their fair share of problems. Mainly their problems were due to Emma's jealousy over her husband and the fact that she has infertility issues. Emma soon realizes that her worrying is unnecessary and that Roscoe loves her unconditionally and has never given her any reason to doubt his faithfulness for her. Emma and Roscoe rekindle their love in this great sexy read. Love the Sydney Housewives.

I was given a copy of this book for an honest review.

[Cathleen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoying this series.
Some people appear to have it all and Emma, on the surface, certainly does, but look a little deeper and Emma is miserable because she wants another baby and without giving anything away, husband Rosco rises to the challenge.


Beautifully written story by Viveka Portman.

[Cate Ellink · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really hot read, at the same time as its poignant and sweet. Rosco is lovely and Emma must be challenging to be with when she's so needy, but he loves her anyway. Enough to pull Emma through her rough period. A sweet, hot read.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The whole Sydney Housewives series was a great, quick read. If any of my friends were looking for these types of books, I'd definitely recommend!