In Midnight Sonata, author Dee Tenorio gives us Evie Parker, AKA Genevieve Dupres, a former world famous pianist, who is now a widow with an eleven year old boy, A.J., and her pushy live-in mother-in law, Lily. Her enigmatic, gorgeous new neighbor, Skylar Remington, captures her attention when she discovers that her bedroom window is directly opposite his bathroom, and she has a front row seat to his morning showers! Sky, the workaholic CEO of a multi-billion dollar corporation, is barely enduring an enforced rest/vacation due to a potentially fatal heart condition. Although he is charmed by A.J., and tremendously attracted to Evie, he is determined to stay away, as he is unwilling to add to her burden of grief from losing her beloved husband.

However, Evie sets out to have three dates with him, per a bet she's made with Lily, who has her own secrets. After the worst occurs, in the form of a life threatening emergency surgery, Sky gives up and follows his heart. Yet even when she discloses her deliberate disappearing act from the lime light, he continues to withhold his identity from her. When his twin brother shows up and blows both their covers, she is horrified until Sky makes some previously unthinkable choices in regards to his role within his company. In doing so, he convinces Evie to let go of her fears and to take a chance on their love.

Ms. Tenorio has seamlessly woven a story of two people whose hearts have been scarred by loss within their families, both by death, and by the only slightly less permanent but equally painful destruction of relationships. Sky is tormented by the guilt of a car accident, which claimed his little sister's life, and the barriers created between him and his twin. Evie has never recovered from the psychological abuse her parents poured upon her, not to mention the death of her husband. They face enormous emotional road blocks from the get go, and the reader is successfully drawn into their inner conflicts, as well as their external struggles when they attempt to clamp down on their physical desire for one another. In amongst this is the story line of Lily and her young lover, which in and of itself is a wonderful romance.

Midnight Sonata does not qualify as 'erotica' in that there is an absolute absence of any of the explicit language or graphic descriptions of body parts/ sexual activities normally associated with the genre. However there is a latent (although sometimes blatant) sensuality which hums between Sky and Evie, which finally culminates in their lovemaking. Sky is and out and out alpha, and Evie has little choice but to give into his seductive demands, even though she makes him work for it every step of the way!
There is a sequel to this story, featuring Sky's twin brother, who was introduced here, and this reader cannot wait to read it! Five Angels!

Reviewed by: Lynn