Guest Review: Essence of Time – Liz Crowe

For years, Rob Frietag has resisted anything resembling a true emotional connection, preferring instead to explore life, and his own desires, without committing to anyone for very long. The reason remains known only to a few, among them Jack Gordon, his college cohort in female conquests, and life-long friend. At thirty-seven, while he is close to achieving his career goal, head chef at a five-star restaurant in Chicago, he is still very much alone.

After an intensely emotional relationship with Suzanne Baxter in Ann Arbor, Blake’s heart is left shattered. Completely broken by what he believes was his one true love, he arrives at a Chicago food and beer festival, prepared to drink his sorrow away. When the two men meet, their lives change forever. But time is of the essence. When Rob acknowledges his true feelings, he will stop at nothing to keep them together, including finding a surrogate mother for the child Blake so desperately wants.

Lila Warren is recovering from a nasty divorce, needs cash and believes carrying their baby will fulfill her in ways marriage never did. None of them could suspect that the connection they share would provide the final emotional key to their life-long puzzle.

When Rob s secret is revealed, time becomes the one luxury they don’t have, setting in motion a chain of events that destroys the fragile illusion of happiness for them, and everyone who loves them.

Series:  Stewart Realty #4
Release Date:  June 23, 2012
Publisher:  Tri-Destiny Publishing
Source:  Provided by Publisher
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Reviewer’s Thoughts:

WARNING… Do not read this book without a good supply of tissues.

With cover art that of a woman and two men, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Was this to be another thinly disguised ménage erotica novel masquerading as a romance novel? The synopsis leads you to believe this is the story of three very different people who somehow manage to find each other and happiness, so I began my journey into the world of Liz Crowe. As I was reading this I found myself likening it to a novel version of Days of Our Lives. Oh the drama!

The best description I can come up with for this novel is Chick Lit. However, since the primary characters are both men, it’s more along the lines of Chick Lit for men, or Man Lit as it were. Broken up into three major sections, Essence of Time leads you through the story of Rob and what makes him the man that Blake, and later Lila, will later fall madly in love with. Rob’s fatalistic outlook on life explains his life choices and his decision to never get involved long term. However, his actions directly contradict this. For someone whose mantra is that he doesn’t do relationships, Rob falls in and out of love at the drop of a hat.

Then we have Blake and his need to be everyone’s white knight. I would have thought that this would grate on Rob’s nerves considering how he does not want anyone to treat him differently because of his health issues. Instead, the man who does not do commitment does commitment and the man who needs to be everyone’s rock and knight in shinning armor turns into a high-strung and emotionally dependent person.

Throughout the book I kept thinking of it as a case of Six Degrees of Bed-Hopping. In a series of who slept with whom and how that person is connected to the next bed partner, it really did start to resemble a soap opera. The only person who we didn’t get to know very well is Lila, which I felt was a shame since she plays such a large part in the men’s future. And except for a cursory mention here and there, I don’t get how this book had anything to do with Stewart Realty. It was however a fantastic read with a surprising ending, which I will not give away except to say make sure you have plenty of tissue handy. The closer I got to the end, the more I cried and you will too. An absolute MUST READ!

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