** spoiler alert ** 
 Earlier this year, Roni announced that she'd be starting a new series, running concurrently with the Loving on the Edge series. This would still be sensual but not based in BDSM like her first series. As someone who typically has to read the kink between her fingers, I was wildly excited and anticipating this new series, specifically from an author I just really enjoy reading. 
 The first novel in this new series didn't disappoint at all. Marin is a typical Loren heroine-- sometimes her strengths are her flaws, she's usually managing everyone else's life well except her own and she usually has a little bit of growth coming. Enter a hero--Dr. Donovan West-- who needs to heal, himself and add some animal magnetism and unavoidable attraction between the two and bing bang boom, you've got yourself a page turning erotic romance! 
 Marin and Dr. West (after a short, sexy tryst six years in the past) are thrown together as co-therapists at The Grove, a New Orleans base VIP treatment center where Marin and Donovan treat all manner of patients who need peace and privacy. Typically these patients are famous people who need to deal with their demons before those demons destroy their careers. 
 I must admit to caring more about getting to know these characters and their stories as well as peripheral characters more than the sexual escapades between them. That's not to say the sex scenes aren't hot... they practically melt the page. It's just that this author crafts characters and stories so well that I'm always so entirely more interested in the people than the hanky panky. 
 Marin is a character that I identified with heavily... there were a couple of scenes that brought a tear to my eye, specifically a part about playing it safe and how that's natural but how there's a huge price to pay for that-- ending up alone, with hangups and irrational fears. Everything has a price and everyone wants to be safe, but how much are you willing to pay to stay in that safe place? 
 This book has brought a lot of issues I deal with to the surface. I find that so many books become therapy for me and I always find a little bit of myself in every Loren heroine. 
 Donovan is also an extremely sympathetic character, and I think one of Loren's most deeply hurt and flawed heroes that I can remember-- though most if not all of her heroes have great backstories that built them into the men they've become. The problem is that though Donovan has achieved great professional success, he hasn't progressed in his personal life whatsoever. His journey from 'who hurt you' to a man on his way to good emotional health is part of the most compelling crux of this story. 
 In all? Smashing debut of the new series! I am so looking forward to more stories from The Grove!