Synopsis
This is not your typical love story. It’s not so black and white. Lines are crossed. Walls are smashed. Good becomes bad. Bad becomes very, very good. Shayda Hijazi—the perfect wife, the perfect mother, the perfect daughter. For thirty-three years, she has played by the rules, swallowing secrets, burying dreams and doing whatever it takes to anchor her family. Shayda Hijazi is about to come face to face with the one thing that can rip it all apart, the one thing her heart has always been denied: Love. Troy Heathgate—untamed, exhilarating, dangerous—a man who does exactly as he pleases. Life bends to his will. Until he comes across the one thing he would give it all up for, but can never have. Born on the same day in opposite corners of the world, their lives collide. And nothing is ever the same again. Spanning three decades, 53 Letters for My Lover is a fiercely sensual, emotional ride to the heart of an epic, forbidden love that defies it all—an intimate exploration of love, loyalty, passion, betrayal, and the human journey for hope, happiness and redemption. ”Sexy, intense fiction isn’t afraid to step out of the box.” Contemporary women’s fiction: Ages 18+
My Review:
5 GLORIOUS STARS!!!
53 Letters for My Lover is one of those rare books that sweeps you off your feet, transports you to another world, and truly touches your soul. Leylah Attar absolutely blew me away with this wonderfully sexy, bittersweet tale of 2 people who seem to be destined to be together, yet spend years apart.
Shayda is an obedient wife and daughter, married to a damaged man to whom she is fiercely loyal. Their story is in itself raw and heartbreaking. She meets Troy, the sexy, brilliant man who she believes she can never truly have.
“Dusty sneakers, grey sweatpants…and then—the most startling pair of blue eyes. They reminded me of the cut outs I had saved in my wish book, of the places I wanted to visit. Blue like the water that surrounds the islands in the South Pacific. I felt like I had been picked off the pavement and plopped smack dab in the middle of it. I floated there for a while, suspended in its endless horizons as it held me for long, still seconds.”
Troy is mesmerized by her exotic beauty and captivated by her innocence and naiveté. These two begin a dance that spans decades and is gloriously and deliriously sexy and heartbreaking at the same time. I understood why Shayda could not let herself go and truly be happy but at the same time, I could not believe that these two could ever be apart from one another. Shayda is bound by her sense of honor and loyalty to her family, but is slowly suffocating under the weight of her obligations. Troy makes her truly feel alive for the first time in her life.
“You have to stop running from the things that scare you, Shayda.” He fixes those dreamy eyes on me, “The only way to feel truly alive is to start living fearlessly.”
I read this book in one sitting and was dying for more! Lucky for me, the author has written a companion novel from Troy’s POV!! Leylah Attar is a magnificent storyteller. My heart was pounding, I had tears in my eyes, I laughed and I could not stop reading. Don’t miss 53 Letters For My Lover. It is easily one of my favorite books this year.
“Your the one thing that centers my soul. I may circle the whole world, but you’ll always be home, Beetroot.”
Excerpt
The doorbell rings. Repeatedly. Followed by loud thumping on the door.
“Coming, coming! Now what did you what forget?” I swing the door open.
My heart screeches to a slamming halt. “Troy.” I turn pale. “You…you shouldn’t be here.”
“No?” He storms past me into the house. “Where should I be, Shayda? Waiting by the phone? Staking out your office? Checking my email? Where the fuck, Shayda?” His fist slams into the console table, so ‘fuck’ is an obscure, jarring thud, like some censored song on the radio.
“I changed my mind.”
“You changed your mind. Just like that?” He starts pacing the hallway. “And when were you were planning to tell me exactly? When, Shayda?”
“I made a mistake.” My voice quivers. “I got caught up in the moment. We were alone, we were away. It was…it was all an illusion.”
“An illusion?” He pulls me hard against him. Our bodies collide, knocking the breath out of me. “Is this an illusion?”
His lips assault mine.
“And this?” His hand slides under my dress, claiming my thigh.
“What about this, Shayda?” He pushes my panties aside and slides two fingers inside.
“Tell me, Shayda. Tell me this is all in my head.” He shoves me against the door and deepens his strokes. “Tell me this is nothing.” He rubs his fingers on my neck, leaving the unmistakable trail of my reaction.
“This is you, Shayda.” His finger slips inside my mouth. “Your taste, your smell, your skin, your touch.” He grabs me by the hair and pulls my head back. “Tell me you’re not real, Shayda. Tell me!”
I feel the gathump gathump of his heart. Our breath comes in short, shallow gasps. His eyes darken, black holes pushing sky blue irises to the edges of raw emotion. Hunger. Anger. Love. Pain.
Buy Links
53 Letters for Your Lover has a companion novella in Troy’s POV titled From His Lips
53 Letters for My Lover
From His Lips
Author Bio and Links
Leylah Attar writes stories about love – shaken, stirred and served with a twist. When she’s not writing, she can be found pursuing her other passions: photography, food, family and travel. Sometimes she disappears into the black hole of the internet, but can usually be enticed out with chocolate.
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