Review-only blog tour: 8 Weeks by Bethany Lopez

8 Weeks (Time for Love series, book 1)

by Bethany Lopez
New Adult Contemporary Romance

Paperback/eBook, 268 pages
Published 2014 by Createspace 

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Follow the tour here

Is eight weeks enough time to earn back the love of someone you've betrayed...the only one you've ever loved?

Shelly has been in love with Cal since they started dating in eleventh grade. Despite everyone saying that the odds were against them, they got married after graduation and built a life together. Now, six years later, she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. Devastated, her first instinct is to call it quits…

After a drunken binge at his best friends’ bachelor party, Cal betrays the one person who has always been there for him, his wife, Shelly. Terrified and realizing she might divorce him, Cal must come up with a way to prove to her that his love is true…

Cal asks Shelly for eight weeks. Eight weeks to convince her that their marriage is worth the fight. Will Shelly be able to trust him again, or will their marriage end the way many others do when faced with opposition… In divorce?

About the Author

Award-Winning Author Bethany Lopez began self-publishing in June 2011. Since then she has published various YA and NA books. She is a lover of romance, family, and friends, and enjoys incorporating those things in what she writes. When she isn't reading or writing, she loves spending time with her husband and children, traveling whenever possible.

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Author Bethany Lopez has started off her latest series, Time For Love, with an emotional bang with the gripping 8 Weeks. What I appreciate and truly love about her stories and characters is that she gets to the heart of the matter--whatever the conflict may be--with brevity and pinpoint accuracy. I don't have to wallow through over exposition and unnecessary description or dialogue. And that is why her characters come across as so real.

I will confess I read 21 Days which is the second book first. That's okay. I already loved Cal and Shelly, but 8 Weeks is all theirs. What an emotional, heart string grabbing story it is. I have no sympathy or patience for cheating in any relationship so I was ready to pound Cal to the ground. But there is such doubt in his case that I remain hopeful that he didn't actually do what is implied. Still, regardless of his being guilty or not, he is heartbroken over the implications of his actions in that powerful opening scene. Poor Shelly! Preparing a lovely dinner for their anniversary only to have it destroyed by an admission of infidelity elevated their story and kept me reading straight through.

The concept Cal comes up of giving Shelly eight weeks to decide to divorce him or not is a sweet and unique concept. I really enjoyed this. Each week's date was different and revealed another layer to this couple. For both family is important and it was nice to see twenty somethings have loving families to reach out for in a time of need. Shelly's dad and Cal's parents and brother Craig were a lovely addition. And then there are the friends--what a cool bunch of down-to-earth individuals with hearts of gold and dedication to each other. Each are flawed and readers wouldn't have it any other way.

What else can I say? I've become such a fan of Bethany Lopez. With each new series she writes I find myself regarding her group of friends as my own. From the soulmates for life couple of Cal and Shelly to the electrifying pairing of TJ and Shelly, I find myself surrounded by a caring group of young people who seem like friends. 8 Weeks introduces us to them and shows how one night can destroy the most important thing in two people's lives and affect those closest to them. It's up to the one who caused the problem to try and rectify it. Forgiveness is earned and in my eyes Cal is probably the only one (out of fictional guys) most worthy of it. Shelly goes through hell, they both do, and their journey to that important decision of whether or not to try again is well worth the read. 

I recently went to a literary festival where a panel of authors were asked about the validity of New Adult as a category. They all seemed to agree NA is a marketing ploy. Well, I have to disagree vehemently. New Adult is a solid category branching life after high school through the college years and more. Bethany Lopez is just one of many authors leaving their own unique stamp on this category and I support these authors and continue to enjoy their books.

I'm loving the Time For Love series. The titles themselves are wonderful too. I cannot wait to see what happens with book three. I bet Scott, Victoria and Gaby and Brock are going to be explosive. I cannot wait!

Rating: 4

Cover comment:

It's okay. The flowers are pretty but seem out of place.

Book source:

I received a promotional copy for a review-only tour.