What happens when the kids leave for college and you remember you’re not just mom, but a woman too?Simply going through the motions, on autopilot day after day, weighed heavily on me.The one thing which bonded my husband and me, before the kids came along, was slowly cast aside as their needs grew more demanding.Intimacy became an act; a performance, without the desire, passion, and lust we once … performance, without the desire, passion, and lust we once shared.
My need to feel desired and wanted by my husband ate at me and I was determined to make him see the woman he married.
I wasn’t going to give up and hatched a plan, one which would hopefully forge a new beginning for us.
Fighting to keep our love alive was a risk, but, for us, I was prepared to do anything.
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A touching, and at times heartrending, novel of a subject any person who has been in a long-term relationship can easily empathize with: how to rekindle the original fire of first love. I hurt for what was happening at the beginning, cheered as the heroine made the first and hardest steps toward reclaiming what she felt had been lost, and laughed at the humorous missteps along the way. For a story that at first I was unsure was going to engage me, I was pulled into Callie’s world as her every fear, tear, smile, laugh, cry of frustration, and yelp of victory drew me not only into her plan, but into her world.
I say at first not because I was concerned I wouldn’t find this novel engaging because of the subject matter. THAT had me hooked right from the beginning. However, the build-up to the main draw of this story is slow, as the author provides a fair amount of backstory piled early on. However, there was enough hints of what Callie intended to do and what checking those boxes off her checklist might entail that I stuck with it. And I’m glad I did, because once she set out to put her plan in motion the novel really took off. The things that she plots with her friend Tina (who deserves her own story someday), the crises both large and small our heroine goes through during the course of the story, and especially all throughout the implementation of her plan, are where this story really shone. Callie is a strong woman who puts her mind to repairing what she sees and feels is a relationship foundering, and she at no point lets the reader forget that strength about her. Even when she’s frustrated, or when things don’t go as she’s planned (and trust me, some of the best parts to this story are when they don’t) and she despairs of being able to ‘pull this off’, she never gives up. She realizes the importance of her end goal, and she refuses to give up.
The payoff to this? Some of the best, hottest sex I’ve had the pleasure of reading. And major props and kudos to the author for not trying to avoid a strong, dominant male protagonist being willing to try things that many authors seem to avoid as being not masculine. I am not going to give any spoilers, but when you read this novel (and you really should), you’ll understand what I mean.
Great story with an engaging, strong heroine, and hot as hell sex as the payoff. What more could a reader ask for? Looking forward to more! (Tina’s story!)
This isn’t your typical romance book with a love story and a lot of action, it’s more of a weekend adventure for a woman to claim back the life she had before kids. This book is great for men and women both that have been in a relationship for a long time and have got in a boring routine, put everyone elses needs first, stopped communicating and lost the spark in their love life. It shows ways to reclaim your life.
People traditionally meet, fall in love, marry, live a little life as partners, have kids, raise kids, and then…the empty nest hits. Callie finds herself wondering if Brad still desires her now that the house is empty and the chaos is gone.
For the Love of Us is a debut release for author Kaylee Rose. Her ability to grab the audience through slapstick style humor between long-time friends keeps the laughing at a high and the reality of the empty nest on a fun roll. She tackles a huge issue which happens to many moms after the kids leave and the spouse continues on their career path, leaving many moms empty and lost. Rose builds this short novel with a ton of heart and infuses many relatable experiences. Her motif of the garlic bread, as part of a family tradition in an untraditional sense, ties this work together in the same sense that being sexy in an unsexy place in one’s life continues to hold the glue together and rebuilds a stagnant relationship. A strong debut, with room for Rose to grow and explore style and craft on many different fronts of the empty nest lifestyle.
This is a beautifully, well written Debut book. I had been so excited to read, and I absolutely loved and enjoyed reading. It held me till the end.
I found myself being able to relate to Callie which made me appreciate this story…
It had me laughing and a tear or two along the way.
I could feel the love that Callie and Brad had for each other coming from the pages.
What a brillant start for this new author, I can’t wait to see her develop.
I highly recommend this book
I really enjoyed this story! The subject of losing yourself while raising a family, keeping a household running and making sure your children are here there and everywhere, is something I never thought I would enjoy. Kaylee Rose did a wonderful job writing this book. It was humorous and yet touched on how easy it is to lose track of who we are as women and spouses in our busy every day lives. I look forward to reading more from her in the future!
When I read the blurb to this debut novel it resonated with me. I was waiting not so patiently for the release date. As I’m celebrating my 35th anniversary this year it was akin to looking into a mirror. The author managed to include the doubts and emotions, love, lust and banter of a relationship. This was a solid book for a debut and I look forward to following her journey and reading more books as she grows.
As women we lose our identities, we become someone’s wife and mother. It’s a struggle to find that person we once were because everything we do becomes a habit. I’m not sure we ever find that same person she evolves into something better with maturity.
Ms Rose captured the vulnerability of Callie & Brad perfectly. With some help and reassurance from her friends she glowed with confidence until that crucial moment. Her bravado was gone, second guessing herself until remembering her relationship was built on trust. If she couldn’t be herself with her husband she may as well give up.
What a lovely debut story! There were elements of the story I could completely relate to, with parts making me chuckle, smirk and laugh out loud, while others resulting in me tearing up. The conversations between Brad and Callie were truly heart warming at times. I’m excited for more stories from Kaylee Rose and to witness her continuing to develop as a wonderful author.
This debut from Kaylee Rose is an absolute gem to read. It’s beautifully written and is insightful of a twenty plus year marriage. Callie wants to reignite the spark that was present in the earlier years of her marriage to Brad. Their boys have left home and it’s just the two of them now. Callie doesn’t want to stay in the humdrum of everyday married life that they have fallen into especially as it forgoes passion and adventure. Does Brad feel the same way or is he happy to stay as they are? Will Callie’s heart break if she doesn’t get the response she wants from him? With plenty of laughs and some tears along the way, For The Love of Us is simply wonderful and a joy to read. I can’t recommend that you read this book enough.
Always a way with words as Kaylee delivers this emotional and very relatable story to life through Callie’s eyes.
I really connected to Callie and her feelings of loss and loneliness as she goes through empty nesters syndrome, and the self doubt and insecurities as she try’s to reconnect and bring the spark back into her once passionate marriage.
But it’s not all doom and gloom as Callie and her best friend Tina have me in fits of laughter with their antics while hatching their “get my sexy back” plans.
Amazing Debut story and I’m so excited to read more from this Author
A very detailed romance read with plenty of steam and a bit of the erotic too. This is the journey of a house wife, empty nester trying to not only find herself again but also the spark with her husband. I absolutely loved that there was no cheating and this was a journey between this couple that I think so many married couples find themselves in – the hum drum of everyday life takes over the initial chemistry you feel for one another when you first meet and fall in love. It’s especially easy when kids come into the picture – but once the kids are gone – how do you get back the spark – especially when the love is and has always been there?!? A great read that’s easily relatable for the most part if not a bit heavy on some of the descriptive planning parts. The narrations was well done although there were times our female lead sounded a bit whiny – i loved the pitch and tone changes with the characters.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
*this review is based on the audio version of this read
*Audible Review *
I enjoyed this story immensely. I loved Callie and her desire to bring the spark back to her marriage. A really emotional story and relatable story that I’m sure everyone will love as much as I did. Highly recommend.
Vera Lynn Floyd really captured each character perfectly and each emotion. A really great job!!
Callie has a beautiful life and is ready to ignite the passion she has for her husband. Brad and Callie have been together forever, kids are gone. But they are missing something that they used to have, passion. I loved how this story is written after the raising kids and slightly older. We need more books like this.
Here is more of my review here on YouTube ~https://youtu.be/Ttdi7k_Bs38
FOR THE LOVE OF US is the first book I’ve read by this author.
This novella is told from her POV and is a small snippet of life after the kids grow up. The feelings and emotions are written in a very realistic way and written with humor and sexy times that make it fun to read.
4 spicy stars
Callie and Brad need their spark back. This book covers two days of planning, preparation and execution of a plan to revive their marriage. It’s full of angst and doubts, fear and love. Most of all, love. It’s a great book.
As a wife and mother, this book really made me think. The blurb was pretty straight forward and you get a feel for what this book is about. I enjoyed seeing Brad and Callie find that spark again. We get this from Callies POV. I liked seeing her make this whole plan with her friend and then watch each phase, I even giggled a few times. I really don’t want to spoil it so I’ll say it was a quick and easy read. There wasn’t really any WOW moments in the story for me, but it was a beautiful book. 4 stars #2OCCJD
A beautiful love story of reconnecting. This is a sweet read of a love rekindled of chances taken. One that gives it readers hope!
This is Kaylee Rose first book and it is an excellent book. This is a book any parents that are empty nesters or a couple that have fallen into boring sex. In reading this book you feel like you are having a conversation with your best girlfriend and she is telling you what she did to get her marriage and sex life back to what it was when they met and before kids. You need to read this book and see how she did it. This is a must read book. Enjoy
At the start of a relationship, everything is exciting and new, but what happens when you are a 40 something, married for over 20 years with grown children that now left you suffering from empty nest syndrome?
That is exactly what our leading lady, Callie is going through with her workaholic husband, Brad.
At what point in time did Callie, the vixen who was once lusted over at every chance, turn into just a wife and mother to his kids? How did they lose that intimacy and spark in their relationship along the way? How did they lose focus of eachother and that connection that brought them together in the first place?
This novel was so raw and real; exposing a major concern I am sure a lot of woman face as they begin to age and bear children, the concerns plaguing their minds as their body is forever changed, and the insecurities they have that come with it.
I didn’t feel like I was reading a book or even a story, but rather an extremely personal and private entry from a journal of the deepest thoughts of a woman caught in a mundane routine that she wasnt even aware she was in and has reached her breaking point. It was Callie’s last ditch effort to win back the man she fell in love with all those years ago and to get out of the rut she was in.
Drastic times called for drastic measures as Callie decides to go all out and make her husband look at her like he use to before she just became “mom”. She gets her hair colored and in a new style, as well as a head to toe make over, corset and sexy heels included. She buys all new bedding for their “love Den” and plans a romantically delicious dinner lit by candlelight. She even breaks out of her comfort zone and gets some fun adult toys in hopes of rekindling that old flame that has almost fizzled out.
No man, Brad included, can resist the night Callie has in store. Although there are a few hiccups along the way that almost spell disaster for Callie, she essentially changes the dynamic of her relationship in one night of passion .
This book drew me in at the starting line and I devoured it like I hoped Brad would devour Callie.
The characters were so real and relatable, natural and flawed. I sympathized with them and rooted for them at the same time. It showed that there is life after kids and in order to keep your love life alive you both need to work on it and never stop trying. Always talk to eachother about your wants and needs.
It is about starting life over again and enjoying it a second time around!
Callie and Brad’s story has such a feeling of reality.
Empty nesting brings on a lot of feelings and Callie plans an evening that is to be remembered.
Kaylee Rose has written a wonderful debut book.
I really liked this book because it is real. Real as in a 40 ish year old couple going through what most couples go though that have been married a long time. I’m not a spoiler, but will say the characters are real. Have real problems, both feeling the same thing but not sure what to do. Ideas form in her head, and that’s the start of something wonderful. I highly recommend this book as a great read and give it a chance. You’ll love it too. Even good for young one that have issues being in a rut, long relationship or just lost,