Title: Within This Frame
Author: Lindy Zart
Reviewer: Angie
Rating: 5 Stars
REVIEW
Do you believe in second chances? Third? Fourth? At what point do you take a stand and say, "No more!"? What if there were extenuating circumstances that explained the other person's bad behavior? Does forgiving someone make you weak, or strong? The answers to these questions will most likely be different, depending on your previous experiences AND how you feel about YOURSELF. Within This Frame made me think about all those questions and, by the end of the book, I actually changed some of my answers. Lindy Zart has a way of making me laugh and cry, all while making me think deeply, without my own knowledge.
Lance and Maggie were childhood celebrities, and yet they were completely relatable (sometimes it was almost scary how similar their story was to my own). I wanted to dislike Lance, but the more I got to know him, the more I was rooting for him. On the other hand, I thought that Maggie forgiving him would make her weak. The hurt was too deep. As I read their story, I realized that once Maggie loved herself, WHATEVER decision she made, was the right one. And the same went for Lance. I was good with whatever ending they/she (Zart) chose.
I highly recommend this beautiful story.
Lance and Maggie were childhood celebrities, and yet they were completely relatable (sometimes it was almost scary how similar their story was to my own). I wanted to dislike Lance, but the more I got to know him, the more I was rooting for him. On the other hand, I thought that Maggie forgiving him would make her weak. The hurt was too deep. As I read their story, I realized that once Maggie loved herself, WHATEVER decision she made, was the right one. And the same went for Lance. I was good with whatever ending they/she (Zart) chose.
I highly recommend this beautiful story.
BLURB
It comes in the mail—a beautiful invitation that promises humiliation and horror. Unless Maggie Smiley, former child celebrity and now overweight recluse, gets her courage and motivation in check, along with her health. The phone call offering fitness expert Lance Denton a chance to work with Maggie Smiley promises retribution. He messed up a lot as a punk kid on the too-fast road to stardom, and how he treated his co-star never left him. It is that—and a long list of secrets she doesn’t need to know—that has him show up at Maggie’s doorstep.
PURCHASE LINKS
EXCERPT
His eyes went smoky, his expression and stance set for wooing.
“Stop it. I’m immune.”
“Since when? That kiss we shared a few days ago says
otherwise.”
Maggie blinked, warmth flooding her veins at the reminder.
“I was acting. I’m an exceptional actress.”
“Mmm. Is that so?” Lance rubbed a thumb over his mouth, and
her eyes were drawn to the motion. She wasn’t able to look away until he
dropped his hand. “Even you can’t act that well.”
Briefly pausing behind the couch, she pointed the remote
control at the television and pressed the ‘on’ button. “Let’s see what form of
debauchery Lance Denton gets his pleasure from when he’s alone.”
He caught her around the waist, the force of his movement
and his weight toppling them forward and over the back of the couch. It was too
late—the sound of young, familiar voices filled the air. Face down on the couch
cushion and legs in the air, and with Lance beside her, she lifted her head to
look at the television screen.
The air stopped inside her lungs. Maggie watched for a
moment, not able to talk. It was them during an episode of ‘Easier Said’,
crazily in love with one another. Struck hard with emotion, she swallowed,
striving for nonchalance when her insides were screaming with yearning. Maggie
placed her chin on her fist and continued to observe the younger versions of
Lance and Maggie. Lance was quiet beside her, and that was just as well. She
didn’t know what to say to him right then.
“This would make a great yoga pose,” she said after a time, her
neck and back stretched to the point that they were sore.
When Lance didn’t respond, she finally turned her head to
look at him. He wasn’t watching the television—he was watching her. The look on
his face was open and raw, like a wound always kept hidden, until one day, it
could no longer remain so.
Swallowing hard, she looked down. “You watch these a lot?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“They make me happy.”
Maggie looked up in time to catch his sardonic smile as he
added, “And nostalgic, and maudlin.”
Unveiled as they were, she couldn’t take the look in his
eyes any longer, and needing somewhere else to focus, Maggie chose his lips. It
was a bad idea—perfectly chiseled, hard when they should be, soft when
necessary, a shade of mauve that couldn’t be replicated—she wanted them on
hers.
As though reading her mind, and knowing what she desired,
Lance dropped his attention to her mouth. When he looked up, his eyes were
midnight blue with lust. “I think, if I’m going to remain uninvolved with my
clients, I must forbid you to look at me like that.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lindy Zart is the USA Today bestselling author of Roomies. She has been writing since she was a child. Luckily for readers, her writing has improved since then. She lives in Wisconsin with her family. Lindy loves hearing from people who enjoy her work. She also has a completely healthy obsession with the following: coffee, wine, bloody marys, peanut butter, and pizza.
FIND LINDY AT:
Twitter.com/LindyZart
Facebook.com/LindyZart
Listen
to the playlists for Lindy’s books on Spotify.com
Get
an eBook autograph from Lindy at Authorgraph.com
Check
out Lindy’s YouTube channel.
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