Title: When A Man Loves A Woman: Enhanced Multimedia Edition

Published: 2011

Synopsis: With his rugged good looks and undeniable charm, Dr. James Elliot is never at a loss for women. Lately, the hospital gossips have been buzzing about Elliot and his best friend and colleague, Dr. Deborah Brody. But their relationship is strictly platonic. That is, until one reckless, wondrous night. Still reeling from her husband’s sudden death, Deborah turns to Elliot in passion and grief. In Elliot’s strong arms, she finds solace, comfort, unexpected pleasure. But Deborah is afraid to let go of the past, to give herself to a man again–or to risk losing the cherished friend who has suddenly become something much more. But now Elliot knows there’s no turning back. He’s been in love with Deborah for years. And to win her, the doctor whose skilled hands have saved countless lives will face his toughest challenge: to heal a woman’s wounded heart. Because for him, suddenly friendship just isn’t enough.

Status: Read from June 16 to July 17, 2012 — I own a copy {Courtesy the author}

My Thoughts:

When A Man Loves A Woman is a character driven novel about the complicated relationship between De James Elliot and Dr Deborah Brody.
Best friends since med school, the pair have been always close but the relationship has remained strictly platonic for more than twenty years because Deborah was already married. When Max dies suddenly, Elliot is the one Deborah turns to for comfort but their repressed desire spirals out of control and they make love the night of Max’s funeral. In the aftermath, Deborah feels horribly guilty at betraying her husband’s memory while Elliot is devastated the love of his life views their night together as a mistake and a wedge is driven between them. With their friendship in tatters, Elliot and Deborah risk losing one another forever.

When A Man Loves A Woman is all about emotion – friendship, grief, love, trust, betrayal and desire. The relationship between Elliot and Deborah is messy and complicated like many real life relationships and I think the author does a fine job of exploring the emotions and issues in such tangled circumstances.
I wasn’t very fond of Deborah but I think Adams worked hard to create a believable protagonist. I empathised with her sense of guilt over her relationship with Max and understood her desperate need to ensure his memory remained untarnished but I also found her self indulgent and petulant.
I had to admire Elliot’s restraint from declaring his attraction for Deborah for twenty years and I understood his frustration and hurt at Deborah’s actions, especially surrounding the hospital funding drama. I think his character could have been a little stronger though, he is too centered on Deborah to be much more than a prop.
While in broad terms I think the storyline had merit, unfortunately I did find my attention wavered, especially mid book. For my tastes, there was too much introspection and not enough action. The plot is thin, relying on the protracted back and forth nature of the relationship to sustain interest and much of the conflict is internal angst which becomes repetitive.

Interestingly, When A Man Loves A Woman is an enhanced e-book, each chapter title links to a song that encapsulates the emotions of the characters or general mood of the chapter. I can’t read the title of this novel without singing it in the tune of the song sung by Michael Bolton (originally by Percy Sledge) and I do quite like the concept, many authors publish playlists of songs that inspired them during the writing process and this is a clever extension of that idea. Just a note though, I read this ebook on my Kindle Touch and had trouble getting some of the clips to play but I was familiar with most of the songs so it wasn’t a major issue.

The strength of When A Man Loves A Woman likes in its heartfelt emotion. I would recommend it to true romantics as there is nothing to distract from the emotional journey of its protagonists towards a loving relationship.

Available to Purchase

@Amazon

About the Author

Alina Adams wrote the NYT best-selling soap opera tie-ins, “Oakdale Confidential,” “The Man From Oakdale” and “Jonathan’s Story” (with Julia London). Her other romances include “Annie’s Wild Ride,” “Thieves at Heart” and “The Fictitious Marquis” for AVON, as well as five Figure Skating Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. She is in the process of turning her entire backlist into enhanced multimedia e-books. Learn more at her website: http://www.AlinaAdams.com.