The Magenta Man by Jodi Cardin

Title: The Magenta Man
 
Author: Jodi Cardin

Publisher: Dog Ear Publishing

Published Date: November 26, 2012

Buy on Amazon: Paperback

Author Website: http://www.themagentaman.com/index.php

Synopsis: 

What will be the consequences when a thirty-eight-year-old wife and mother of three seeks to fulfill her secret sexual desires in the arms of a man she'd had a crush on twenty years ago? The Magenta Man explores the consequences of Katie Duncan's ultimate betrayal during the year she spent on the planning committee for her high school reunion with hunky Mark Sabatino. Although happily married to Glen for 15 years, she struggles with her intimate relations with him-at least in comparison to the ideal lover her co-workers have dubbed The Magenta Man. Reunited at the out-of-town planning committee meetings, Katie and Mark soon realize these getaway weekends have much more to offer than merely planning a reunion as they selfishly indulge in a variety of guilty pleasures, unleashing and feeding their hidden desires. Yet, in the end, the devastating fallout causes tempers to flare, strains relationships to the near breaking point, and tests tender psyches, resulting in a dénouement of infinite compassion and divine forgiveness.

 

 

My Thoughts:

The Magenta Man, by Jodi Cardin, is a contemporary novel revolving around the character of Katie Duncan.  Katie has it all, a devoted husband who loves her more than anything, three great children, a fulfilling job, and great friends.  However, after listening to the sexual adventures of her girlfriends, Katie begins to become dissatisfied with the sexual relationship she has with her husband, Glen.  Both virgins on their wedding night, Katie and Glen have an active, albeit vanilla, sex life.  Katie feels it is getting stale and wants to bring a little color into the bedroom.  However, instead of sitting down and discussing what is 'missing' with Glen, Katie allows herself to stray from her husband at the slightest temptation.

Looking for a little excitement in her life, Glen encourages Katie to sign up to serve on her twenty year high school reunion committee.  Due to the fact that she lives in a different state than her hometown, once a month Katie must drive home and stay the weekend in a hotel for the meetings.  Glen thinks this is a great way for Katie to have some personal time away from the kids and relax.  Little does he know that Katie quickly gets reacquainted with Mark, her high school crush, who also stays at the hotel during each monthly weekend meeting.  Thus begins a hot and heavy affair between Katie and Mark that carries on until the night of their high school reunion.  Of course Glen and Mark's wife find out eventually what their spouses have been up to and everything in Katie's perfect world gets turned upside down.  

I did not connect very well with Katie.  In the beginning of The Magenta Man she seems like a great wife, mother, and friend; however she makes some very selfish decisions without thinking of her husband or children.  It would have been one thing if Mark and Katie tried to stay away from each other and fought their attraction every month and then finally gave in.  However, this is not the case.  On the night of the very first meeting, Katie and Mark start their affair without much thought other than pleasing each other.  Instead of feeling guilty or ashamed afterwards, they look forward to meeting once a month to continue their affair.

It was hard for me to understand Katie's need to stray from her husband.  Had he been abusive, neglectful, mean, a liar, or a cheater it would have made more sense.  However, Glen has been nothing but faithful and loving to Katie throughout their fifteen year marriage.  He truly was the 'perfect' husband.  She says how happy she is, yet as soon as Mark enters the picture she forgets all of that and morphs into a different person.  Katie didn't really even seem to feel guilty afterward, instead she went out lingerie shopping and became giddy at the thought of choosing knockout outfits to impress her lover.  It was almost like Katie was leading two different lives:  at home she was the perfect wife and mother.  She mentioned several times how happy she was in her marriage and how much she loved Glen.  However, in the same token she looked forward to planning her weekends with Mark and escaping her life.

Jodi Cardin did a great job writing The Magenta Man.  It is a very entertaining and thought provoking novel with characters that are flawed just as real people are.  I went through many emotions while reading The Magenta Man: happiness, shock, anger, annoyance, and sadness.  If you are looking for a great read then pick up Cardin's novel and enjoy!

Jodi Cardin has provided me with a complimentary copy of her book, The Magenta Man, for the purpose of review.