Genre:
Contemporary Romance
Themes:
Age Gap
Angsty
Body Positivity
Family Relationships
Forced Proximity / Stranded Together
Found Family
Ice Queen
Mature Lead 40+
Mental Illness
Nursed Back to Health
Opposites Attract
Rich Girl / Poor Girl
Self-Discovery
Slow Burn
Taboo / Forbidden Relationship
Toaster Oven / Gay For You
Workplace / Office Romance
Heat Level:
Hot & Steamy (full, graphic description of sexual acts occurs and may include crude language)
Archetypes:
Lawyer / Judge / Paralegal
Psychologist / Therapist / Psychiatrist
Geographic Location:
United States: Pacific
United States: South
Setting:
Big City / Urban
Guest House / Airbnb
Seaside / Beach
Sexual / Gender Identity:
Lesbian
Femme
Trigger/Content Warning:
PTSD
Shameless Expectations
By Adrian J. Smith
Escaping the past is hard. Living in the present is harder.
Monti Schroeder is on a quest for peace. She has been since the moment she was born, but peace has remained elusive. Living as a nomad, she takes work where she can get it. When her sister calls with a favor for her neurotic boss, Monti agrees for a few extra bucks. What Monti finds when she arrives is a woman just as broken as she is. And no matter what, she can’t leave Athena to flounder on her own.
Athena Pruitt has made it through the last twenty-two years with one rule. Avoid everything uncomfortable. Her house has become her prison, and she is desperate for respite. Unable to handle physical touch, she’s wary when her personal assistant hires a “special” masseuse who can help. But Monti isn’t a typical massage therapist.
Each day, each massage, each moment Monti and Athena spend together they unravel just a little more. With wells of trauma and pain filling both to the brim, just what will happen when their vessels break?
Will Monti find peace? Will Athena learn to live without shame? Will they both mend their brokenness beyond repair?
Shameless Expectations is a book that crosses boundaries to find healing. An age gap, sapphic novel that explores deep trauma and the potential for healing decades later. If you’re looking for a book that touches on hope and explores PTSD through the lens of a romance, this is the book for you. Read it today.