SWORN TO COLLIDE by Maria Imbalzano
Fiction, Romance
5*****

BLURB: After devoting eleven years of marriage to Ben, her high school sweetheart, and stepping off the corporate ladder to raise their three children, Denise is ready to seize the reins of the career she always dreamed of. But as soon as she commits to step back into the professional world, Ben drops a bombshell that disrupts everything.
Suddenly, this once rock-solid couple finds themselves in a battle over ambition, identity, and whose turn it is to shine. As personal choices draw them further and further apart, they must confront their widening rift—a threat to the love they thought was unshakeable.
Can they rediscover the passion they once shared, or will their divergent paths pull them apart for good?

THOUGHTS: This was a very emotional story, which the author pulls off beautifully. The characters of Denise and Ben are very well done. They’ve been together since they were sixteen, but they’re no longer teenagers. With three kids and a standard modern life full of rushing around and trying to just keep things together. They definitely love each other, but life is getting in the way, especially when Ben takes a job in another state and expects the family to follow along without any discussion. Unfortunately, the family, and especially Denise, has other ideas. And those ideas cause a major riff in the family.

Denise has spent her entire married life doing what Ben wanted. Rather than make waves, she goes along with him even when she really doesn’t want to. It comes off as a type of emotional abuse since Ben argues that they should do what he wants and follow him. And so should the family even though they don’t want to. But Denise has dreams of joining her father’s firm, especially after he has a heart attack. Their problems expand and their issues lead to a break even though that wasn’t what either one wanted. They both moved on, but their love for each other still causes problems.

A good romance with lots of emotion, and a HEA that satisfies.

Recommended.