5 Stars. 
 Rambly review type thoughts... 
 Confession: When this book was first released I skimmed through it and decided not to read it. I thought it was a Karina Halle problem, I mean, I liked her Artist series alright, but I never really felt much of a connection to the 2 leads, Ellie and Camden. (Javier Bernal was a different story, I loved him and felt kinda dirty because of it.) And when I skimmed this book, I didn't feel like I would feel much different about Vera. 
 Then I read a book (Cara McKenna's Don't Call Her Angel) which had a foreign male lead and while that has always been an itch of mine, that REALLY made it scratch like the dickens. So I went on a hunt in my books for non-American or non-British male lead characters. I'd like to take this chance to point out how BEYOND disappointed I am that there aren't many books in contemporary romance that meet my hot foreign men needs. ((If you know of any - PLEASE TELL ME!)) And no, I am not counting Harliquin's sheikh and tycoon type books. I need me some characterization. I don't care if it's historical or contemporary - I just find foreign men extremely hot. I don't care where they are from. I like the cultural differences. I like the passion. So yeah, it's one of my "things" and it makes me pissy I can't indulge in it more. 
 Anyway, this one fit the bill. Spanish. Ex-soccer player. Wealthy. Older. Oh yes, Mateo Casalles more than had me intrigued by description alone. 
 So I bit the bullet and read this book the right way. From the beginning. 
 By 50% I knew it was going to be a 5 star book and my favorite Halle read to date. (I have high hopes for Dirty Angels) And honestly I was surprised by how very much this book touched my soul and made me love these characters almost BECAUSE of their flaws instead of in spite of them. 
 This is a wonderful story about loving from the soul and working to make it toward the one person you were meant to love. I know a lot of people might dismiss this book because it's a "cheating book" but seriously, that is a real life situation that a vast majority of people have experienced in one way or another, her giving this part of the equation wings only brings more humanity to it. Sometimes people are unhappy with who they are and who they are with and it isn't until they meet the person they are supposed to be with that they realize and look to change that. It was the same in the Thoughtless trilogy. Sure the cheating kinda sucks, but it can't be helped and in this book there is a massive amount of regret. Tons of it. 
 Vera is a child of divorce. A divorce that was brought to a head - when her parents had previously lived in a loveless marriage because of the kids - because her father had an affair. An affair with a woman he later married and Vera and her siblings all know it is a much better love match. Vera very much does not want to have an affair with a married man and she fights her feelings as much as she can. Both of them do. Neither Vera or Mateo want this situation but it just can't be stopped. 
 Personally I'm glad it wasn't. 
 Even when they do give into their feelings, I feel like they carried on their relationship in as healthy of a way as they could given the circumstances. I mean, it wasn't a good situation in the least but it was very realistic. There was a lot of reality of how a relationship like this can grow and what problems it can face. One of these characters is a full on adult, with adult commitments and problems and the other, while younger, has lived a life in which she knows every story doesn't have a happy ending. It was refreshing. 
 Main story and characters aside, I LOVED the foreign language program (like an multi-nationality adult summer camp) that the first half of the book took place in. I loved the family the characters made with each other. I thought the message of that was so spot on and unique - and man do I wish I could have done something like that in my early 20's. 
 To sum up, I loved it. It wasn't perfect and I didn't base this love on an all out obsession with one character, I just fell in love with the story and the way it was told with so much truth and consequences. Honestly, I think that is Halle's style. She doesn't sugarcoat situations and as much as foreign men are one of my book kinks, honestly and truth are even more of one. 
 /babble