Out of Eden by Beth Ciotta

Book Details
Out of Eden by Beth Ciotta
Paperback, 384 Pages
2010, HQN Books
ISBN: 0373774435

Synopsis
Sometimes paradise isn't all it's cracked up to be.

That's what I, Kylie McGraw, have discovered since sacrificing my dreams of traveling the world to run the family shoe store. But if I have my way, peaceful Eden, Indiana, is in for a major shake-up….

It all began on my birthday, when I got drunk and disorderly all over Eden's hunky new police chief (and my former high school crush), Jack Reynolds. Then I may have, in my Cosmo haze, witnessed a murder in progress. Now I'm almost certain I'm being stalked by the mob, while he-of-the-distracting-abs Jack continues to think I'm nuts. However, there comes a time when a girl has to kick off her sensible shoes (size 7, cushion insoles) and go after what she wants. So if I can just survive long enough to put on my sexy new red heels, that's exactly what I intend to do….

Review
Finding that your life hasn't turned out as planned and making drastic changes to get back on course. Going after your dreams and finding new ones in the process. Even positive change can threaten those around you. These ideas made Out of Eden extremely relatable. Who hasn't examined their life only to discover dreams sacrificed for other people's benefit?

I loved the portrayal of small town life. Kylie being a woman who's never traveled out of the area and Jack returning to the life after working years for the NYPD showed a great mix of the desire to escape and the need to be able to come home again. The idea of small towns is very interesting. Everyone knows your business, good and bad. It's like being stuck in high school forever and I find that horrifically entertaining.

Kylie and Jack have a great attraction going. The tension between the both of them, the sheer sexual chemistry and the denial on both sides made me root for them from word one. The sex scenes in Out of Eden are perfectly balanced. They're detailed enough to induce the sexy tingle without going into explicitly vivid territory. There's a scene in a jail cell involving handcuffs that was so hot it could set you on fire.

I wasn't a huge fan of the mob angle. Everyone in town is obsessed with Omerta, a television show that sounds a lot like The Sopranos. They talk, dress and act like the mobsters, so when the real mob guys show up in town, no one notices. I personally don't enjoy anything related to organized crime. Thankfully, this was in the background most of the time. The inclusion was key to the storyline and I found it pretty close to enjoyable.

Out of Eden is a fun romp through small town life. It's romantic, sexy, mysterious and completely satisfying.

Rating

Links

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