I’m going to begin this review with the author’s own words.

Book of the heart — you hear that phrase and wonder if that means self-indulgent nonsense, or is this person crazy. It’s probably a bit of both, but I like to think of it as book with heart. This is one of those books, written for the sake of bringing these characters to life, written because you had to write it, written because you hoped it would find readers but you had no guarantees.

This book is not for everyone–it’s more historical novel than historical romance, but it’s more romance than historical novel. The hero is unhappily married, and it’s gotten rejections from editors who didn’t want to touch adultery in a novel, but I felt that subject needed to be tackled. People end up in unhappy situations, and how do you deal with that and find your path through it is something we struggle with. The heroine is also searching outside herself for a security which she learns is an illusion–as are many of our desires.

I loved writing this book–and I’m delighted at last that it can come out as a Kindle ebook and not wait for a publishing house to be brave enough to take a risk on the book. I hope it finds readers. I hope it finds its own path. Now it’s up to the readers to make those choices for this book.

Choices indeed. I’m fortunate enough to call Shannon Donnelly friend. When she spoke about this book, she talked of rejections and the driving need to write a story that would probably never be published. Thank goodness for self publishing.

As someone who’s had the same partner for a good many years, I know the twists and turns a relationship can take. I know couples who share separate beds. I know couples who share money, children, a house, a bed, but haven’t had sexual relations in years. Decades. Maybe never.

A hero who has an affair. A heroine who sleeps with a married man. A wife who can’t or won’t give her husband what he needs and chooses her own desires above all else. A husband and wife who married for the right reasons, but find their needs and expectations will never coincide.

No, this is not a traditional romance. It’s real and heartbreaking. It’s questions that lead to more questions. Questions without answers. There’s fault enough to go around, but the blaming doesn’t bring resolution. There’s pleasure, pain, love, and acceptance. No one ever really gets what they want. Just like real life. I give Paths of Desire two catty actresses, one gin-soaked mother, a son, and two lovers who tear up the sheets just as they tear each other apart.

And now a little something from the back cover of Paths of Desire…

With too many secrets in her past, and too little future as an actress, Theodosia Newell wants one thing more than all else—security. She’s seen her mother abandoned, her younger brother die, and she’s vowed never to be poor. But then her path crosses that of a man who tempts her to abandon caution and all thought for the future for a passionate affair. Can she find the courage to break from her deepest fears? And will her love prove enough to save them both?

Born with a soul for adventure, David Llewellyn cannot resist a challenge—and his enthusiasm for life is as magnetic as his personality. But two women share his life, and only one can be his. Will his stubborn refusal to make a choice between them lead him to lose everything? Or will he find, in the journey to the lost city he dreams of discovering, a path to a deeper love than he thought possible?

For ten years, the affair between David and Thea goes from passion to love. Lives are changed. Secrets come out. Marriages end. And new ones begin. Through it all, the desire of two strong-willed people lead them to clash, and to eventually find their own path–to each other and to facing the need and love they share. From London to Italy to Syria, the Paths of Desire lead them on a journey they must make together.

For more reviews of wonderful books, pop on by my friend Barrie Summy’s blog.

Note: I paid for this book, but please don’t tell Mr Y as he still has no idea the extent of my book addiction.