One day a week. That was his rule. And it was also our downfall.My marriage to Hank was one of convenience. When I got pregnant at sixteen, he took me in and kept a roof over my naïve head. We had an agreement—we could sleep with whomever we wanted so long as our children were kept in the dark. It worked great… until it didn’t.Cocky Jack Swanson was never supposed to be mine. His marriage was … mine. His marriage was open, but his heart was guarded… until he slowly let me in, revealing an alluring man with a painful past. With him, I felt what love could be. I felt wanted… needed. I’d never wanted to fall in love… but then I did.
And now… the rules have changed.
Jack isn’t the same man I fell for. Broken and gutted from his divorce, he’s a shell of who he once was. Sullen and worn down. I know I can bring the good in him back out, if only he’ll let me in. If only he’ll just stay, instead of giving me all his reasons to go.
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There are two sides to every story, right? And knowing this, I didn’t think I was truly prepared for the depth of feelings I had for Jack after his behavior in Ten Reasons to Stay. He was a terrible husband to Corrine, and I was thrilled Corrine found the strength to go after her happily ever after.
Enter Five Reasons to Go–Jack’s story. I wanted to hate him for what he put Corrine through. What a wreck he made of his marriage. But I couldn’t after reading his side and getting an opportunity to “see” his marriage from his point of view. All he wanted to do was make his wife happy, but he just didn’t go about it well. And that’s a gross understatement.
Five Reasons to Go moves through Jack and Corrine’s marriage and their breakup very quickly. But I did develop an appreciation for the place Jack was in in his heart and how he fell in love with Jessica during that time, and then his complete and utter breakdown after his marriage ended and how he ended things with Jessica.
Fast forward two years, and Jack has finally started to get his act together. He’s still quite a mess, but after reconnecting with Jessica, he’s actually finding joy in life again. And their relationship rekindles from there. Only problem is Jessica is still married. Still stuck in a loveless marriage to Hank (who’s a total bastard). But day by day, bit by bit, both Jack and Jessica become closer and stronger. And fall in love all over again. This time though, they both realize that they do deserve a happily ever after together. It’s ugly, it’s messy, it’s scary, but it’s all worth it in the end.
I truly enjoyed the unfolding of the romance between Jessica and Jack. That things were NOT as I perceived between them from Ten Reasons to Stay. Their romance was beautiful, strong and lovely. And that epilogue? Loved it! 4.5 stars
I absolutely loved the first book in The Risky Hearts duet, Ten Reasons to Stay. I devoured it. I was not as excited about Five Reasons To Go, the second book in the duet, because Jack was not very likeable in the first, however, we get a lot more insight on him and how his choices affected his future.
We know it was his choice to have an open marriage, but here we get to see how the divorce has affected his life. He is living a completely life than before. But can he be a good man to a different woman and give her what she needs? Jessica has been in a loveless marriage with a man who could be cruel. Jack makes her feel wanted and desired, but she has her children to think about as well.
Five Reasons To Go by Candace Knoebel was emotional and sweet. It was about second chances and new beginnings. I loved how strong Jessica was and how caring Jack could be.
Read and reviewed for Sultry Sirens Book Blog.
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I really wanted to love the story but I felt like it went way to fast. I liked both Jessica and Jack. They both came a long way from the first book. My issue stems with how fast paced the story was. I wanted to see them falling the first time. Seeing all the tings they had to go through just like the characters in the first book. Seeing their side of how things happened and sadly I didn’t get any of that. It took away from the overall story for me. I liked the epilogue. Seeing all of them happy was just perfect. I’m going to give it 3 stars because to me…. I think it could have been more then it was. It felt way to rushed for me to love it. 3 stars #2OCCJD
The Risky Hearts Duet…
This duet is the true meaning of the saying “There are two sides to every story” in fact there are four sides to this story.
You know what amazes me about this story and this duet? The way that Ms. Knoebel made me completely change me view and feelings about a character. And she did so brilliantly!
This is the story of Jack, Corrine and Jessica….the same couple Jack and Corrine but told from mainly Jack’s POV.
You could feel his confusion. You could feel his frustration. You could read of his confusion and determination to make his marriage work. I was rooting for him! Which was a far cry from what I wanted to do to him after reading the first book in this duet.
Jessica has been thrown away like trash. Everyone she has thought she could count out has let her down. She is in a marriage in name only and is trying to make something more for herself. Trying to make her life and her children’s life better.
You can feel the pain of all of the main characters in this series. But you also the the joy and happiness that is deserved by all.
Ms. Knoebel has an amazing writing style, she can take some pretty deep seated feelings and make you change your mind, change your feelings and make you look at this duet in a whole new light!
Bravo Ms. Knoebel! This duet was phenomenal!
I loathed Jack in the first book in this series, Ten Reasons to Stay. He was godawful. I was convinced there was no way he could ever be redeemed in my eyes, so I was very leery about reading this book. I’m glad I did, and though I’m not sure I’d ever choose Team Jack over Team Corinne, he was able to win a piece of my heart I wasn’t sure I could give him.
I am exceedingly happy that the timelines of Five Reasons and Ten Reasons weren’t entirely concurrent. Jack needed redemption and I don’t think going through all the pain and frustration he cause Corinne and Cole would have allowed him the room he needed to overcome those wrongs. I was happy to see that timeline condensed into a few chapters where we got to see the first building blocks of their relationship, while not delving too extensively into the details of the demise of Jack and Corinne’s relationship from his side.
Jack and Jessica were lovely together. They were both so broken, especially once they reconnected, I’m not sure if either of them would have been able to pull themselves together had they not had one another. They gave each other the strength and support they needed to face what they’d been ignoring. Both Jessica and Jack had fabulous healing arcs in this story, growing from empty shells who were barely surviving to wonderful, thriving people who were full of life and love.
My biggest wish for this book would be some serious continuity issues being fixed. The first was the age of Jessica’s daughter, she went from being twelve (based on the years Jessica had been married) to two years later being 16, then back to 14. There were a few other minor instances, but the age was a huge mistake to overlook. There were also some other grammatical and spelling issues that need to be addressed.
Five Reasons to Stay is the second book in Candace Knoebel’s Risky Hearts duet. It can be read as a standalone, but there was a lot that happened in the first book, Ten Reasons to Stay that help put into perspective how much Jack grew from the beginning of this book until the end of it. Five Reasons to Stay is written in dual first-person perspective, narrated by Jessica and Jack.
Now we know the rest of the story… Jack and Jess yes met and yes was probably not right in the eyes of most people. BUT their story is raw and emotional. Jack didn’t know that his love for Jessica was real until it mattered. Jess has never felt love, the only love she felt and gave truly was from her children.
Here is the rest of my review on A Day With Ethel.
https://youtu.be/eW8SaUHvTds
When a teenage crush lead to a pregnancy at age sixteen Jessica found herself at the mercy of the child’s much older father Hank. Even though he just saw her and the child as an inconvenience, he convinced her to marry him, making her believe it was the best thing for all of them. When in reality it was nothing but a disaster, her marriage is a sham, and her husband is an abusive drunk who has trouble being faithful. Then she meets Jack, he is everything her husband isn’t, and for the first time in her life she learns what it feels like to be truly loved. Problem is Jack belongs to someone else… his wife.
Once upon a time Jack Swanson was madly in love with his wife, but somewhere along the line they began to drift apart. Rather than give up on their marriage, they decided to try something a little unconventional, and have an open marriage. At first their little plan worked like a charm, it gave them the excitement their marriage was lacking. But, it also brought along a whole new host of issues, issues that ultimately lead to a divorce. Now Jack is a broken, lonely man, who has lost everything… but one little chance encounter is about to lead him down a new path.
Five Reasons To Go is the flip side of Ten Reasons to Stay, giving you the story from Jack’s perspective. I am glad the author decided to approach the story of this couple in this manner, because when I read the first installment I developed such a huge dislike for Jack, which made it hard to connect with him. So, it was nice to see things through his eyes, get a better feel of where he was coming from, and see him redeem himself a little. As I read his story I began to have empathy for him, which is something I didn’t think was possible, but I did, and I also began to have hope that the one time “bad guy” would find a little happiness of his own. I highly encourage readers to go into these stories with an open mind, because it will allow you to fully appreciate the characters and their unique situation. I really enjoyed both of these stories, they were captivating, heartfelt, and beautifully crafted!
I requested an advanced copy of this title, and I am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
I really didn’t care for Jack in the first book, 10 Reasons To Stay. He wanted his cake and he wanted to eat it too. He thought he was going to have the best of both worlds. HE was the one that wanted an open marriage but he got more than he bargained for. His wife ends up leaving and then divorcing him but in the mean time he stopped going out with his side piece Jessica because Jack doesn’t want to lose his wife Corinne. She’s his stability, his rock, he may have loved her but wasn’t in love with her anymore. I just wanted to smack him but then was pretty gleeful when Corinne was like adios.
Back to Jack though and how he is now. He knows when he got divorced he needed to change. He changed just about everything about himself. He’s not the man he used to be, he’s different, his heart is broken and doesn’t know how to make his life better. Well he does, he thinks of Jessica all the time. He remembers how it was between them, the love that they shared until he ended it.
Jessica is still married to the man that got her pregnant years ago that resulted in her getting kicked out of her house. Hank has never been faithful to her since the very beginning. They co-exist more than have an actual marriage. When she finally stands up for herself and tells Hank to go, it doesn’t go well.
Will Jack be her in knight in shining armor? Will he be able to give her everything that she wants and deserves? Will they be able to rebuild what they had into something stronger than what they had before?
After finishing 10 Reasons To Stay I knew I had to read this one. I was curious to see how the author was going to turn Jack around so I didn’t want to stab him. I was so happy to see both of these characters grow from the last book!