Switching Gears by Rhavensfyre

Can Micah leave her painful past behind and give herself completely to the woman who loves her?

Switching Gears is the debut novel by wife and wife writing team Roxy and KL, released under the pen name of Rhavensfyre. Switching Gears follows the life of Micah, a former intern at a large law firm who disappears one day to deal with the death of her grandmother and runs head into the harsh and cruel homophobic attitudes from her not-so-loving parents.

Her icy cool boss, Olivia, with whom she is in love, and who unbeknownst to her loves her back, is devastated and sets about trying to find Micah. Olivia, used to getting what she wants, orchestrates a ‘chance’ meeting and before long a passionate and loving affair is in full swing.

But Micah has some deep dark secrets that she is not ready to share, and Olivia must learn to give up control as she allows Micah the time and space to open up and let her in. But Micah is stubborn and, having dealt with pain both physical and emotional in the year she has been gone, finds it difficult to let down the hard protective shield she has built around herself. Their love for one another is true, but will the ghosts of past pain be too much for them to fight and for their relationship to flourish?

Switching Gears is written from the point of view of both main characters, so I always felt like I knew what each was thinking and what the motivations for their actions were – despite them often not knowing what was going on in each other’s mind. This was an enjoyable aspect of the novel, and I felt like I really came to know and understand the complex character of Micah in particular. This is a girl with some serious issues – but she’s likeable and retains a level of childlike innocence that you feel needs protecting.

There are also hot, hot, hot sex scenes – described in detail regularly throughout the narrative, and bordering on edging this book from a romance novel into outright erotica! Not that I’m complaining!