Simone and Marcus Young have been married for five years and have twin boys, but she feels like they have lost their spark, so she gets a makeover to bring the romance and communication back to their lives. Simone and Marcus Young had a whirlwind courtship of only six months. They found she was pregnant, got married, had twins and now it's been five years. She misses the romance they used to share and feels like since he opened another gym, he is not there enough with her and the kids. Even their sex life, which used to be great, is suffering now.
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As the story opens, she is waiting for him to come home, it's midnight and he hasn't called. He ate with people at work and doesn‘t want the dinner she saved for him, which is his favorite. She feels neglected, he feels tired and even when they make up, it is not what it should be. He has to take care of something for work, just as they were about to make love.
Convinced that he is not attracted to her any more, she considers plastic surgery and is talked out of it by her best friend, Angela, but sees what she thinks is the answer to their problems at a book store. She uses the book to make herself and their relationship over, but it doesn't all turn out like the book suggests.
The book focuses on seduction, with the idea that when you feel sexy, you are sexy and that when you put rules about your marriage into effect, your husband will comply. Some things went over well, Marcus makes a lot of money and doesn't mind her buying stuff, but it is hard to understand why he should come home from work early when he is opening up the sixth, successful gym very soon.
Marcus tries to get it, he does, but he still thinks that when she talks about intimacy, she means sex. Of course, she means emotional intimacy, but she did not say that. To be honest, he does not tell her often enough that he loves her the way she is, there are a lot of scenes where she worries about the ten pounds she put on over the summer, but when you're seeing what Marcus thinks ( but doesn't say) he thinks she is perfect at any weight.
It is also interesting that when she buys the book, she has two people tell her how helpful it was, so she didn't think it would work for their marriage, but gave in when other people gave it positive reviews. Although there is not a lot of detail about it, there is the strong suggestion that Simone is not necessarily envious of the single life her best friend Angela lives, but that she does miss it sometimes. The reader also meets Marcus' single brother, who thinks the makeover and seduction idea is a little ridiculous.
Part of the makeover idea worked, she brought the sizzle back into their marriage. What the book didn't mention was communication and that happened on its own. The book ended with them both being happy and secure in their relationship, with a stronger marriage because of it. The humor was just an extra addition, because the book was really more about a healthy marriage than anything else and the steps you have to take to make it that way.
Best part of story, including ending:
I felt like this couple was like everyone else. It was romance within a marriage and that is not easy to do, nor does it get written about very much, so it was a great change of pace to see a married couple with kids balance kids, career and romance.
Best scene in story:
Near the beginning of the book, they had a fight because Marcus was late coming home and then had made up and were about to make love. He got a phone call about his business and he just left, which I thought was amusing, because that is reality with a demanding career.
Opinion about the main character:
I love that she Simone was a stay-at-home mom and felt frustrated with that. She was going to be a social worker and was home with her twins, believed it was right, but I like that there were moments where she felt frustrated. There are not enough fiction books that mention it's okay to be frustrated and you can still love your kids, spouse, life, etc. This book did a great job of that
