4 out of 4 stars
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What do you do when the passion in your marriage goes down the drain? How do you get away from a life that has become so monotonous; it is all about eat, work, sleep, repeat? Savannah did what most people would resort to - finding ways to rekindle the spark in their marriage. She seeks advice from her friend, Pam, who takes her to an adult shop, and they buy merchandise that she promises Savannah it would turn their sex life around. But wait, that does not amuse Johnny, (Savannah's husband) not even a little bit. Savannah plans for a relaxing holiday in Thailand, in one last effort to improve and spice up things in their marriage. Johnny sees her effort and suggests something that catches Savannah totally off guard. Savannah never thought the conservative Johnny would ever suggest such a wild idea. He pressures her and makes her see logic of how it would be great to go ahead with the idea. Will she accept it? Was Johnny serious or was he testing her? Is there coming back once you go down that road?
Stella Knights tells a contemporary romance fiction story in her book, Love and Lost: Thailand. It is the first book of the Love and Lost series. The story is narrated from the first person's point of view. The setting is in Melbourne, Australia and also in Thailand.
I liked the book because it was simple and flowed really smoothly. The scenes changed nicely and the author describes them vividly. I loved how the narrator also describes situations, putting the situation at hand into perspective. In the story, she touches on political, economic and environmental issues. This lends credence to the story and makes it totally relatable. Being a romance novel, the story was not devoid of erotic scenes. They were just right; not too much, not too scarce. The characters were well fleshed out and related well, to propel the plot. The language used was simple and the book hardly had any mistakes. It is for these reasons I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars.
The biggest theme of the book was passion. The story was well thought out. It makes the reader appreciate the lengths to which a person can go to maintain the passion in their marriage. The author also has many lessons and tips about passion. My biggest takeaway from the book was what she wrote concerning passion. She writes, "My grandmother used to say that as long as you have passion, everything will be okay. Because when you have that, then you aren't really done with the person. Even if you think you are. She loved to point out that passion comes in two forms, the romantic kind and its opposite, when you fight". I thought this was absolutely brilliant. The author also really stresses that marriage is a partnership. Savannah, was all about going along with what Johnny wanted. In the story, there is a part where she reflects on how she had lost her voice in her marriage. This was unlike how it was when they were dating. Another thing was the role of in-laws in a marriage. The author covered that impeccably. I would love to point out that the author shed light on the plight of graduates across the globe. Savannah, an American living in Australia, spent many years at the university studying Biology, but now was stuck in her job - taking calls for an insurance company. Zander, a German, was an Astronomy graduate but lived in Thailand working as a diver and, owned a dive shop.
The story ended in suspense. The book has a sequel. I definitely would love to read that. I recommend the book to contemporary romance lovers. I would also love to recommend the book to married people, who feel the fire in their marriage has died. There are some golden tips that might just work greatly to revive it. I learnt a lot from the story and especially from the main character. One lesson I took home was, to be a person of your own conviction (I don't want to give any spoilers).The book was professionally edited. It was impeccably formatted and typeset. It had no mistakes whatsoever. Also, there is no aspect of the book I disliked. That's why I gave it a perfect score.
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Lost and Love: Thailand (Book One of the Lost and Love Series)
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