Losing Faith
A Rutherford Novel
By Robbie Cox
Genres: Romance / Erotica / BDSM / LGBT
Reviewed by Dottie
Synopsis
“What’s your fantasy?” An innocent enough question asked by Selby to his wife Faith, but it leads them down a journey that may or may not have dire consequences to their relationship. Wanting to please each other, they decide to open up their marriage to other sexual adventures. All is well when they explore their sexual side together, but what if they played with others without the other one present? Sex isn’t always just about sex. As they explore their desires, they discover how it affects not only their marriage, but the relationships around them-family, friends, even work relationships. The question is, will they survive? 
NOTE: Complete novel. No cliffhanger. Dual POV. Rated 18+ for language and strong sexual content. This is an adult romance with erotic content. The series centers on the sexual exploration of those looking to open their marriage up to adventures outside of their relationship while exploring the effects it has upon family life as well as the work environment. It is a contemporary story with dominance (BDSM), threesomes and lesbian encounters. These are standalone books that create a series that do not need to be read in order. Of course, the story is richer if the books are read in order.
Review
Dottie’s Star Rating: 4 Stars
Wow, this book was not what I expected given the synopsis! Also, given the title of the book, I wasn’t sure what to expect – most books that have “Losing…” in the title usually end up with one person losing the other person. So I guess I went into this book assuming that things would not go swimmingly for this couple, but I was pleasantly surprised that this story didn’t take me down a path where there might have been a lot of pain and the torment of someone losing the one they love. It was more than that.
This book primarily focuses on a married couple by the names of Selby (the husband) and Faith (the wife). This couple has been married for a few years and are very happy together. She works at a construction company doing office work and he owns a used book-store. They live in Florida (which, by the way, Melbourne in this case is in Florida, not Australia) at the beach and there’s not only a sense of contentment together, but also an excitement just in being together. They truly love one another.
Faith was raised by a very strict Southern Baptist mother who is so cold to her daughter (well, this daughter in this case) that I’m sure someone could freeze water on her ass! This woman was a piece of work; she seems to have nothing but contempt for her daughter because Faith has decided to live to be happy instead of under her mother’s thumb (and control). Her mother hasn’t (and likely will never) come around to thinking of Faith living her own life, making her own decisions, and being happy is not in any way acceptable. She’s got a sister (whom also works at the construction company) who is the favored daughter (for her mother) as well as a brother (we really don’t see him in this book, he’s a minister). Faith isn’t close to her mother or her siblings. But Faith’s dad, Arni (although, once in this book, it’s spelled Arnie, just a typo, not another character) and he’s a cool guy. He’s loving and supportive of Faith. Now Arni; that man I liked!
And then there’s Selby. He’s an easy-going guy. He’s calm. He’s loving. He’s playful. He’s Faith’s whole world; she feels safe when she’s with him. They’ve built a life together but it’s taken Selby quite some time to get Faith to shed her strict religious upbringing and look into herself, to find what makes herself happy. To discover her own desires and her own inner-being, especially sexually. And during a weekend getaway to a festival, she finds that missing piece of herself and lets herself open up to the possibilities that sex isn’t bad and sinful but instead, that sexual desires and fantasies can be healthy! Selby had his work cut out for him but he’s succeeded – but has he done too good of a job and created a monster? Because part of Faith’s fantasies includes sex with not only him, but with other men (together with Selby) having sex with her as a threesome or with other couples. And that weekend, they begin to indulge in swinging (as much as Faith hates that term) and find that it brings them closer. It solidifies their bond in many ways. It satisfies a need in Shelby as well. He learned several years ago that alternate sexual practices get him off and he’s delighted to encourage Faith to explore that side of herself.
Once they returned from the festival…
When they got back to Melbourne, Faith wanted to go to the adult toy store. She had heard other women talking about vibrators and dildos and wanted to try those next. That in itself was a switch for her. He had suggested buying her one early in their marriage and she had gotten angry with him. “It would be like cheating on you,” she said. “You satisfy me enough. I don’t need battery powered toys.” Now, she wanted to try every toy they had. Of course, not everything changed and she was still very timid with sex, even with him. When they first playing with them it had to be under the covers where Selby couldn’t see what was happening. “This way I can pretend it’s all you.” “Faith, I’m not an octopus with two dicks.”…
But the rule is – they share their bodies but not their hearts. Those belong only to each other. When they play, the other is right there with them. Faith feels free to let down her hair and feels safe doing it with Selby right there with her. And it turns him on too.
But then someone suggests they might want to explore the play, or the game, as they call it, with others, solo. Faith is attracted to someone at work, Selby is attracted to the woman who owns the bakery across the street from his shop. They discuss it and decide to go for it; with the stipulation that either of them could pull the plug at any time.
I am not a prude. I am fine with ménage books. I have no problem with stuff like this although I do find cheating offends me; but when it’s done with the full knowledge and blessing of both parties, it doesn’t bother me because it doesn’t feel like adultery in this instance. And because both of these people had full disclosure and it was working for them, I will not sit in judgement. I can’t say this situation would work for me but then I’m not them.
I particularly enjoyed the way these two communicated with one another. I loved the scenes where they were together either at home or down on the beach and were truly “together” in their love for one another…
“I love you,” she whispered. She felt his arm tighten around her, “I love you, too.” They stared at the foamy waves that battered the short as they cuddled in silence. Couples occasionally walked the shoreline, hand-in-hand, their whispers carried up to them, secrets that they thought kept safe by their soft voices…only the dreamers could feel the soul of the beach. Only lovers could put the ocean’s arms around them like a deep, thick blanket to warm them even in the chill air. It was they who spoke to the sea and to whom the sea spoke….
Their life-style works for them, or does it?
When the rest of the world gets involved; family, friends, co-workers and creates stress between these two, will their marriage and their love survive the shake-up?
I found myself both fascinated and frustrated by this book. I have very mixed feelings about it; not because of the content but because there were so many people with so many different agendas. Some were basically just looking for a good time, but others had deeper secrets and Faith and Selby get caught up with both (including her family drama). The gal from across the street from Selby’s shop is not only someone he’s attracted to (and it’s very mutual), but she’s also a dear friend of Faith’s. This adds another layer of complication to the mix although Faith tells her friend (Tracey) she’s welcome to have sex with Selby – and means it. But Tracey doesn’t feel like a casual fling to either of them, she feels more like family. Things get very complicated there too.
This is a stand-alone book with most of the issues resolved. There were things that weren’t explained fully; it seems to me that when a mother is as cold as ice to her own daughter, there must be something more than the daughter wanting to live her own life in her own terms (and no, her mother knows nothing about Faith and Selby swinging!). And the dynamics between Faith and her sister were pretty profoundly troubled, it felt like there was more of a history there than we learned about in the book. But these questions were simply things I was wondering about; they didn’t actually affect the story-line in any important way.
This book was intriguing. It was unique. It was interesting to get a bird’s-eye view of an alternate lifestyle and have it feel pretty authentic. There were times when I thought, “Enough already, you guys are all humping like rabbits!” – I mean I like sex scenes as much as any other gal but sometimes I just wanted to move on to the story and see what would happen with the couple in question. None of it felt rushed though; the pacing of the story was just about right and I found myself truly caring about this couple and where their relationship would end up by the end of the book. And the end, I have mixed emotions about it too. Nothing bad – this is not a devastating tear-jerker kind of ending or anything like that. I’m just not sure the way the book ended would be the way I would have chosen to end the book if I were the author. So lucky for everybody, I’m not the author here and he got to add the ending he felt was right for his book. It’s not that I didn’t like it, I think I just would have made a different choice.
Overall, I liked this book. If alternate life-styles offend you, it’s probably not the book for you. I however, enjoy experiencing different things via my books and this one filled that desire very nicely!
I’d like to thank the author, Robbie Cox for the ARC he provided for a fair and unbiased review. It was a very interesting, unique read!
Purchase Losing Faith Here:
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About Robbie Cox
Robbie can be found on his back porch enjoying a cigar, a scotch, and a good story. He derives pleasure from his large family and his crazy group of friends that provide the inspiration for his blog The Mess that Is Robbie Cox. He writes fantasy, erotica, mystery, and memoirs and when he is not writing, he is out Messing through adventures with those he cares about.
He is the author of the urban fantasy Warrior of the Way series as well as the erotic romance, Losing Faith, the first in the Rutherford Series.
Marriage.
But sweeping change is on the horizon, and their story only delivers fairytale endings and happily ever afters. What the world can learn from Scott and Brandon’s story is that living in harmony is always better than living with hostility. That acceptance of people’s differences is always easier than dissension, and that love always triumphs over hate.
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