If I Were A Boy by Erin O'Reilly

Katie McGuire’s life seems perfect to the outside world. She has a husband who idolizes her, a great job she loves and she wants for nothing. Yet, Katie feels she’s missing something.

Top notch financial director of a high class investment company, Helen Swenson, is married to an unfaithful, bad tempered man and does not have many friends.

Once a year Katie and Helen’s husbands take their wives on a vacation to Padre Island National Seashore to reunite with their old Air Force Pilot Squad. This annual meeting becomes the highlight of the year for Katie and Helen. Both women feel the overwhelming pull of attraction until at last they are powerless to resist it. They give in and their love making is explosive, awakening feelings in them both they have never previously experienced. Hiding their love is becoming impossible. Will their affair last or will it be just another vacation dalliance? Once they return home, will regrets begin to surface?

Even if Katie and Helen are willing to pull out all stops to make a go of a life together, they are both still married. Plus others around them may use their influence to destroy their love for each other. Will their love be strong enough to survive?

Doubts, family misgivings, homophobia and pressures upon them may well try to convince them their love is wrong. But will Katie and Helen stand fast and prove them all wrong?

I always enjoy anything written by Erin O’Reilly. Each of her books is so very different from others. So, it’s always a delight to see what is between the covers of her new books. Erin has certainly written a blockbuster story this time around.

Both Katie and Helen are fully developed, multidimensional characters. They are bolstered up by a strong cast of secondary characters all equally as well formed. Some of these characters are so obnoxious that I wanted to slap them. But, they are so true to real life. I’ve met many like them.

This story goes far beyond a simple ‘finding one’s new sexual identity’ and being a run of the mill romance. It’s full to the brim with things like love, passion, hate, acceptance, violence, homophobia, family issues and much more. But, unlike some other books in this genre, the story is told with tenderness and a deep understanding.

Katie and Helen are two women, unhappy in their lives and searching for something. Although in the beginning neither woman is sure what is missing from their lives. When they find out what is missing, their pent up emotions take them both completely by surprise. Thus begins the crux of the story in this book. This is all I’m going to say about the actual story. No spoilers here. But, suffice it to say, this book, in my honest opinion, is a cut above the rest in it’s genre.

So, without further delay, I urge you not to miss out. Another for my re-read folder. Oh, and I’m really looking forward to Erin’s next book. Sooner rather than later would be great. Please!