Beneath the Surface Content is about a woman named Shawna who's married to a man named Greg, but she wants to leave.... Once he has to go back to work for 2 weeks, she seeks out new adventures... these adventures lead her to danger but also leads to her meeting a new man named Patrick... Patrick could be the start of a new life, he can give her the world and everything more... but the only thing is can she trust him? Will he be her escape?

Story Tropes: Dysfunctional Family
Forbidden Love
Second Chance Love

Trigger Warnings: Domestic Abuse
Suicide Attempt
Infidelity

Read this book to find out... 🥰

The was a good book and written well. The story just drove me insane.
So this story was written well and I hated how the FMC was treated but it made me so mad because she just kept taking all the abuse. I was upset so much during this book but I felt like enough was enough. This is a second book but can be read as a standalone. I love Trudy’s book more than this.

Shawna Hall is housewife that is bored beyond belief. Her husband Greg is only happy controling everything little detail about her life. Only recently Greg has been physical abusive after Shawna finds his hidden stash of compormising pictures of Greg with other women. The only friend that Shawna has is Trudy. They have been best friends since middle school. Now Greg wants Shawna to end her friendship with Trudy by the time he comes from his 2 week away for training. With 2 weeks all alone Shawna, wants to live life for once in her life. Shawna meets Patrick at a hotel in town while listening to a live band. Patrick and Shawna hit it off right away and Patrick wants more of Shawna. Patrick is the opposite of Greg and that draws Shawna to wanting more of him. Will the truth about Shawna's past and present situation send Patrick running away and what will Greg do when he gets back home and finds out what his wife has been up to. I would like to thank NetGalley for letting me read an advanced copy of this book.

T. Atkins’s novel Beneath the Surface of Content takes readers on a gripping journey through the life of Shawna Hall, a picture-perfect housewife whose seemingly idyllic existence is merely a veneer for the chaos brewing beneath. From the very first page, the premise draws readers into Shawna's meticulously crafted world, one that is decorated with designer clothes and suburban charm but riddled with underlying trauma and abuse. Atkins excels in character development, particularly in illustrating Shawna's dichotomy—the perfect wife publicly and the oppressed woman privately. Greg, her husband, is painted as the perfect partner to those outside their home, but the author skillfully unveils his true nature as controlling and abusive, showcasing the psychological intricacies of a toxic relationship. You will find yourself empathizing with Shawna’s plight as she juggles her desire for freedom with the fear instilled by her husband’s unpredictability.
The story’s turning point arrives when Greg departs for a two-week deployment, an opportunity that Shawna seizes to step outside of her suffocating routine. The thrill of adventure is palpable as she encounters a series of unsavory characters that add layers of tension and excitement. This is where Atkins’s storytelling shines, managing to weave a subplot of danger that intermingles with Shawna’s self-discovery. The introduction of Patrick adds intrigue to the narrative. With his presence, Shawna is faced with possibilities of love and liberation, yet her internal struggle—rooted in years of abuse and manipulation—raises questions about trust and self-worth.
Atkins doesn't shy away from the heavier themes of domestic abuse and the complexities of self-acceptance. The dialogue is authentic, and the emotional arcs are realistic, painting a thorough portrait of a woman on the brink of transformation. The pacing is well-structured; each chapter leaves you wanting more, as they oscillate between suspenseful moments and introspective revelations.
This book is a powerful exploration of resilience, identity, and the quest for personal liberation. T. Atkins has crafted a story that resonates with anyone who has ever felt trapped by circumstance, inviting readers into a profound reflection on the masks we wear and the courage it takes to reevaluate our lives. This novel is not only a compelling read but a call for self-empowerment that will linger long after the last page is turned. Highly recommended for fans of psychological fiction and narratives that meld suspense with deep emotional undertones.

⭐ - 1.5/5 - ⭐ (rounded down due to sheer ridiculousness)

Shawna is a married woman living in a loveless and abusive marriage. Her husband cheats on her constantly and has recently left her with a colorful black eye. When her husband leaves for 2 weeks, she decides to experiment a little, and heads to a fancy hotel for a live music night. She doesn't expect anything to happen, she just wants to do something for herself. However, a sinful one night stand changes her life in ways she never thought possible.

I don't even know where to start with this book. The premise was intriguing. Always love a good 'good for her' book, but this wasn't it. From the start, we see a beaten woman who finally manages to have some time to figure herself out. In this time, she meets and falls in love with a handsome stranger. This fling ends with a trip to the emergency room and a surprise baby.

In the beginning, Shawna is just trying to survive, but throughout the book, her decisions and actions leave much to be desired. She treats her 'best friend' like crap through out everything, and she makes rash decisions that affect more than just her, leaving chaos in her wake. She's a shallow and selfish character.

I know the author tried to point her motivations being based on be the victim of abuse, but this is not realistic. To be honest the entire book is so far from realistic, it's almost funny. The one lick, slide in and orgasm...come on...

The world building left me wanting, and the supporting characters that come in through the book were about as bland as flour. The plot, world building, and character development were almost non existent outside of 'she's escaping an abuser'. It's labeled as an erotica, but not even that was done well.

Overall, not a great read. I really hate to disparage books this much, but it could have been so much better and more realistic. I get what the author was trying to do, but failed at doing so.

Thank you to #netgalley and #victoryediting for the ARC of this book and giving me the opportunity to read and review it.

This book had me in my feelings!

Shana Hall is a bored, abused housewife who has become a pro at making her tragic marriage look picture-perfect to those looking in from the outside. All the while, her designer clothes and beautiful home, are covering up a life of isolation and despair. Her philandering husband of 17 years, Greg, has separated her from her mother, and her sisters and now has insisted that she get rid of her lifelong friend Trudy.

After finding picture proof of Greg's extramarital affairs a physical altercation between the two of them, leaves Shawna with a black eye, Greg informs her that he must go out of town goes out of town for a week on business and leaves her with sorry-I-blacked-your-eye-money.

This week alone completely changed Shana's life!


This is a nicely written book with believable characters, tastefully written intimate scenes, and natural moving conversation.

Thank you Netgalley, Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op, and T. Atkins for the ARC of this book. The review given is done so voluntarily.

Shawna is married, but marriage doesn’t always mean love, happiness, or contentment. Abuse permeates Shawna’s marriage, and when her husband is gone for training she takes the time to re-explore life and seek some adventure. As Shawna takes on great risks in pursuit of freedom and passion, will she find great rewards or great regret?

Atkins takes family dysfunction, domestic violence, estranged relationships, a lost sense of self and turns it into a spicy story of love and freedom and new beginnings. She created a sense of emotion that the reader could take on as you read, and I had some hold my breath moments wondering what would happen next.

The story was mostly realistic and relatable, and that’s coming from someone who rarely reads romance novels or spicy books. Atkins keeps the main thing the main thing, on the development of Shawna, and the romance and spice she experiences are not focal points where you feel everything else suffers because of them and I loved that! They are central to the plot but without taking away its progression, she uses each encounter as a launching point to the next event in Shawna’s life.

There are a few time jumps and I like when those get labeled typically, but she so clearly explains the events and other relevant things that express time that I didn’t feel lost. It’s a very redemptive storyline and the end is the perfect bow on top. For a non-romance or I just saw it labeled as erotica 😳 reader, Atkins had me enjoying some romance!

I was able to read this ARC thanks to NetGalley and Victory Editing.

This was a good book! The author managed to really make you feel true sadness and helplessness for the main female character during her abusive relationship with her husband. There were some inconsistencies and timeline issues that didn’t really make sense but overall there was a good plot and a nice “wrapped in a bow” ending! I would love to see another book featured on Naomi (her sister) and her husband.

NetGalley gave me a copy of this book to read and review. I did read it quite fast but I found myself hating all of the characters and hating Shawna’s actions. Also, who orgasms at the instant peen insertion? She needs to be studied.

This book surfaced trust issues I didn't know I had because every time a neighbor would ask Shawna if she was okay I'd start to wonder if they truly had her best interests in mind. I loved the moments she had with Kendra and felt the relationship with Patrick could have been explained a bit more. Need to find the garden because it was described so beautifully!

Shawna is a board housewife and frustrated with her husband when she finds out that he is cheating. While she should be super upset about it, she really isn't because it seems as though she's done with her husband and his abusive ways. So one night she decides to go out to a bar to listen to some music, while he is away, and ends up meeting a man named Patrick. They have a one-night stand that ends up leading to more, making her feel like someone truly cares for her. When one day she finds a text message from some other woman on his phone she leaves and decides that she doesn't want anything to do with him. She finds out that she's pregnant with his baby and goes back to her family. When she realizes that she made a big mistake will things get better with them or will she go back to her husband?

While the concept of the story was interesting and something that I don't read everyday, I couldn't help but feel as though I wish that I knew more about Patrick and more about Shawna. I felt like a little bit more backstory on Patrick would be really amazing. I also felt like there was a lack of communication and it got frustrating during a main part of the story. All in all this was a good story and I would recommend though.

Thanks to NetGalley, T. Atkins, and Victory editing group for allowing me the opportunity to review this ARC!

Shawna Hall, the picture-perfect housewife, has meticulously crafted a façade of happiness over the past 17 years. Her life, to an outsider, seems idyllic—a two-story home in a charming neighborhood, designer clothes, and a seemingly doting husband. Yet, beneath this carefully constructed exterior, Shawna's life is a tempest of hidden turmoil.
Her husband, Greg, is not the caring partner he appears to be. He is a controlling, abusive cheater, who is ready to take away the one person who is keeping Shawna’s life from falling apart, her best friend, Trudy.

This is a remarkably well written book. The erotic scenes are tasteful and believable and the characters are three-dimensional. Its an enjoyable read.

Incredibly random and unrealistic. The narrator is apparently able to orgasm instantaneously upon being penetrated (this happened more than once) with no foreplay beyond a single lick and absolutely no clitoral stimulation. The writing is also bad; there are multiple spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes throughout. The author also has a wild habit of bringing in dramatic information with no warning or prior clues that this was even relevant to the story; there are characters who randomly appear and drop major information bombs and then disappear, and the story shifts gears to being something like a Hallmark movie about 4/5 of the way through before randomly becoming erotica again. The author also randomly dropped near the end that the narrator is Cajun (or more likely Creole?) and did the worst thing any author can do, which is to write out how people talk instead of just saying a character has an accent--not to mention that the accent she wrote out sounded more Caribbean than Cajun/Creole. I've given it 2 stars because [1] it made me laugh at multiple points (even though I'm positive that was not the writer's intention), and [2] it's sort of nice to see a story with a happy ending even if it was unbelievable.

So, there I was again, expecting one thing and getting another. Don’t judge me, but when I saw this book labeled as “erotica” on NetGalley, my mind immediately said, “Oooh, spicy.” But I got more than that.

I got a gut-wrenching yet heart-warming story of a woman who rediscovered herself after years of emotional, financial, and some physical abuse. Delving into her life, her pain, and her (mis)adventures made me appreciate my life more. The book made me cry in anger, sadness, and joy. I didn’t expect that out of an “erotica” book.

Well, yes, there were sex scenes for sure. But they were somehow made beautiful by the care Patrick showed to Shawna. Everything was made pure by Shawna’s redemption and the love she got from Patrick, her best friend Trudy, and her sisters Naomi and Clara.

If you want a story that will make you experience a deluge of emotions, then Beneath the Surface of Content is for you. I read it in one sitting. Maybe you will, too.

I felt like I was part of the main character's world. I think the author did a good job with writing this book because I cared about her story and what would happen to her. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.