An emotional start…

Cord, Austin, Ember… Friends, the best of friends, but things have changed. Best friends are strangers and the most loving couple are cold and distant. How bad it is now is a measure of how good it was before…

Ember and Austin had a relationship with defined roles, roles they both embraced completely. Loving, fully supportive, they loved each other, their life and Cord, a friend who fit into their life seamlessly. When Austin dropped off the rails, however, all that was good turned into resentment, sorrow and anger. Too bad the love didn’t fade as well…

Be prepared for all the feels as I felt every slight, every burst of anger and bark of frustration. The coldness was hard to take but the uncertainty even more. Austin’s solution was intriguing to say the least and tested their bonds to the breaking point. While I’m not all in on how it is playing out, I’m heavily invested in the characters and where their path is taking them. I need to know how this plays out!

*Thank you to NetGalley

This was one of those books that you know is going to be messy but still, you can't stop reading. While it had me hooked, there I wouldn't say I loved it.

I have read Lydia Michaels in the past and have enjoyed the depth of emotion that I’ve found in her stories. While I haven’t read Allyson Young before, when my friend Trish recommended I check this out I didn’t hesitate. The Degrees of Separation series is following a married couple, December and Austin, who love each other dearly but are stumbling across a hard rock in their marriage. Austin has been out of work for quite some time and this has caused some major financial problems. He’s chosen to deal with this by drowning all his sorrows in alcohol and it’s tearing his life and marriage apart.

Emotionally charged, FORFEIT lays the hearts of the characters open and invites you to go through their pains and struggles with them. Limits are tested, friendships are deepened. And hopefully true love perseveres in the end. But is true love as simple as we expect? Through the hardships in this book, their very good friend Cord is a strong support for both of his friends. While we don’t know much about his own feelings I can’t wait to explore more of it in the next book. I learned to love (and some hate) things about each of the characters and I’m fully invested in the outcome for them all.

I am always hard on books that show a real life struggle such as alcoholism because things are often romanticized or they miraculously overcome a problem that is so debilitating for most people. I am so glad this is not the direction the authors are taking with this series. I hated Austin at the same time my heart was breaking for his condition and ultimately the decision he makes at the end of this book. At the same time, the one bearing the aftermath of all this is December, his wife. She’s left a bit broken, powerless to help the man she loves and unwanted by him as well. Their best friend is on the sidelines trying with everything he can to see his friends put together again while holding back his own feelings and emotions. ALL.THE.FEELS! Lots of raw, jagged emotions paint the pages of this story and I wish I had the next one already to find out what happens next. I’m sure things will get a lot messier before they get better. I have my expectations in my head and I hope that’s where the authors are taking this story. On a side note, I’m also very happy these are full length and not a “serial” so you do get quite a bit of story with each installment.

In the debut novel of her Degrees of Separation trilogy, Lydia Michaels confronts difficult issues on the most intimate level. Forfeit is not your light, sweet romance. Not even close. It’s brave, gritty, tender, and it’s real.

December and Austin had lived the ideal marriage for almost a decade. December loved her ordinary, traditional life where the husband was the head of the household and the wife was the heartbeat. Austin had known how much finally having a stable home life meant to December, and he’d given her that. He was her dominant man who usually read her needs before she could even identify them. They completed each other.
But after Austin lost his job, he became a husband “in a half- life of his own making”. In the 10 months Austin had been out of work, December was the one holding things together. Few job offers came in and those that did weren’t to Austin’s liking. December, who had left her job at Austin’s encouragement, was struggling to keep them afloat. Austin did nothing but drink and sleep. His lack of motivation was getting harder to deal with. December never blamed him for losing his job, but Austin was no longer the man she’d married. Where was her best friend, the man who always led? They hadn’t slept together in 10 months. Austin stayed up most of the night drinking and then slept most of the day, leaving December to take care of everything. When he was awake, it was like living with a ghost. His total disregard hurt. December tried to reason with him and encourage him to take any job or let her look for work, but every discussion ended in an argument. December didn’t expect to be treated like a princess, but Austin was the one who’d wanted her to quit her job. She understood that life could get hard, but Austin refused to ask anyone for help. She was tired of fighting.
At her wits end, December turned to Cord. Cord and Austin had been best friends since pre-school. Soon after Cord met December, he’d accepted her as a good friend too. Cord was shocked to discover how bad things had gotten. He knew Austin was out of work, had even offered him a job at his hardware store. He was angry with Austin for allowing things to get so bad, but he was also worried about his friend. And about December.
Cord loaned December money to help with some of their major bills and offered her a job at the store. He knew Austin wouldn’t like it but if he wasn’t going to get his act together, Cord couldn’t turn December down and watch them lose their house. December loved working at the store. She was excited to help customers and start making money again. She enjoyed being around Cord too. It was nice to enjoy easy conversation again. Cord praised her efforts too. She’d missed that.
But Austin wasn’t happy. When he finally was sober long enough to realize that December was working, he was livid, demanding she quit. But December stood strong. If Austin wasn’t going to look for a solution, then he’d have to accept the solution she chose. And so was their life. December working to hold things together while Austin was present but not really there. He promised to give up the booze and find work, but that didn’t last long. Within two weeks, he was back to his lifeless self and his choice of liquor was getting stronger. He lashed out and blamed December constantly. He even physically attacked Cord when Cord tried to reason with him.
After one vicious argument, December fled the house and ran to Cord. Cord had become as dependable as Austin had once been. December was distraught. Something happens to a woman when her husband no longer touches her or meets her needs. Insecurity, fear, and uncertainty begin to eat away at her. When December broke down to Cord, she welcomed his comforting hug. Just to have that human touch again. Cord wanted to comfort December but it was difficult. It was easy to see why Austin loved her. A part of him loved her too. “The trick was loving the right amount, something he struggled with, and not only in his relationship with December.” Holding her, he’d never experienced something that felt so right while knowing how wrong it was. He had to keep control. “Laying a hand on her would betray the secrets he’d guarded all these years.”

What a rollercoaster ride! How can a story be so painful yet I still can’t put it down? Lydia Michaels does an outstanding job of getting inside the mind of an addict and those who love him. You feel the personal and relationship struggles they face. I loved December, Cord, and even Austin. Flaws and all. I’m used to my romance heroes being virile and all manly, so when I see one completely shaken, I feel for him. This story will tie you in knots because you want them all to be happy yet their struggles are real and, at times, seem insurmountable. I am on pins and needles waiting for the next book. An emotionally powerful story with strong characters and a memorable plot that will reach you on multiple levels. A Book Obsessed Chicks Review Team Selection

Forfeit is a powerful look at a marriage in trouble. December (Ember) and Austin have the kind of love we all search our entire lives for. But, now that love is on the skids, thanks to Austin's drinking problem and the loss of his job. December and Austin's circumstances are so poor that she's reduced to begging the local gas company for a break on their debt just so they can have fuel to fire up their heater. As she's on the way back from her unsuccessful search for a company to give them a break in the dead of winter, her car goes off the side of the road, and Cord, Austin's best friend rescues her. I have to say that Cord is wonderful, the kind of guy women all over the world want: kind, compassionate, hard working, sexy and loves his best friends. He takes December into his home, gives her a job, and gives her the support Austin should have been giving her, but hasn't in nearly a year.

As Austin's drinking problem worsens, so does his marriage to December. And finally, she's had enough, and walks out on him, leaving him to fix himself because she realizes she can't be the one to fix him. Cord is there to pick up the pieces, not just for December, but for Austin, too. But, what Austin asks Cord to do at the end is honestly the most ridiculous, cruelest thing he could possibly have asked Cord to ever do. I kind of hate Austin at this point. He's selfish, self absorbed and cruel. And his actions at the end have me worrying and wondering how he can possibly fight his way out of the huge mess he's created. Neither December nor Cord deserve such a huge jackass in their lives, but hopefully something can be done in the next two installments of this trilogy.

If you love realism in your romances, I highly recommend you pick Forfeit up. If, however, you hate cliffhangers, you might want to wait until all three parts of the trilogy have been released.

I was hooked from beginning to end and am looking forward to more in this trilogy. This is a fast paced read with lots of drama and emotion. I loved it!

Excellent book!! Loved the realness of December and Austins relationship.
This touches on some very real issues that a lot of people go through in life. Depression, alcoholism, emotional abuse.
I really connected with December in this story. The fact that she loves Austin so much and how she tries her hardest to keep their marriage together even though he treats her terribly. Depression is a horrible disease that can lead to alcoholism like what happened to Austin.
I def wasn't expecting Austin passing December off onto Cord and basically giving him his blessing to start a relationship with his wife.
I can't wait for the next one to come out so I can find out what happens next.
Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

I wasn't sure how I would feel about this love triangle going into this book. I absolutely loved it.

Austin and December have been madly in love with one another and married for a few years, but the last 10 months have been a nightmare. Austin lost his job and has found solace in the bottle and left December to fend for herself. Cord was Austin's best friend growing up and when he realizes the trouble that Austin and Ember's marriage is in, he tries to help them out. He fights his feelings for both Austin and Ember as he tries to do what's right.

This book rang so true for so many marriages in trouble and for people who are watching a loved one battle and addiction. You can't save someone if they don't want to save themselves. I cried with Ember as I saw her fight for her marriage and then realize that she had to save herself and she couldn't save Austin if he didn't want to be saved. This book gave me tears and laughs and the promise of things to come! I can't wait to see what book 2 brings us! Great read!

Now, I like December. She is sweet and soft natured. I did enjoy this read and it was hard to feel December's pain. Cord is an alpha male. He takes charge and helps both Austin and Ember. His love for both of them is obvious and I liked it. He maintained his distance. The bomb Austin dropped makes this hard for Cord. I need to read the next book. Where does this author take us? It was well paced and did not feel rushed at all! It is as it should be. Cant wait to read the next in this series!

I received this ARC from the publisher via Net Galley for my honest review.