Review: Friday Afternoon by Sylvia Ryan

Before kids and the responsibility of life, Levi and I shared a spontaneous, erotic, and deliciously deviant marriage. Years transformed what we had into something comfortable and worn. It hurts me to think his desire for me has cooled. I miss that look of his. Slightly evil and totally hot, like he wanted to devour me. Haven’t seen it in ages.

When I first married Mia, she submitted to every one of my erotic needs. Then came the children. With little complaint, I abandoned my pursuit of kink, content to be married to a beautiful, intelligent woman who’s a great mother to our twins. Out of the blue, Mia confesses she misses the intimacy in our marriage, misses the sex. After this enticing revelation, my plan to reconnect with her unfolds.

In our secret, kinky, Friday afternoon meetings I’m going to give her everything she wants and take everything I need. Will this be the answer to fixing our marriage?

Those of us who have put in some significant time working on a marriage complete with job stresses, kids, and such will resonate with this short novel that is told in the first person by both Mia and Levi.  Both have been feeling the "cooling trend" in their marriage even though both are deeply in love with one another.  Here is a novel that puts BDSM into the context of literally recharging a relationship that may be kinky for many but which was grounded in the D/s dynamic and which had become exceedingly vanilla.  

The concept of "making a date" with one's spouse has been touted often by marriage counselors and psychologists as one way to recharge a relationship where both spouses have taken one another for granted, most often because that is the way things work when two people live together for years, become used to one another's habits and ways of doing things, or when the business of raising children takes over the dynamic of a home.  And while raising the kids is certainly one of the most important tasks any couple can take on, keeping one's own personal relationship is, IMHO, foundational to keeping the kids safe, their future secure in a home where mom and dad know they are each cherished by the other.

This story outlines how one couple decided to put the "wow" back into their sex life and brought back the excitement of being in love with each other.  It is beautifully told, and by going back and forth between Mia and Levi, the author gives readers the viewpoint of both the dominant and the submissive partner.  This kind of solution won't work for everyone, but it is a story that brings the BDSM ingredient into the mix and while it is mild in many ways, it works for these two.

This is a read that won't take up a big chunk of time but it is a very romantic love story and I think it will be a good experience for most lovers of romance fiction.  I give it a rating of 4 out of 5.