C. K. Gentry

Listen to What I See

C. K. Gentry

Publish America

ISBN: 1-60610-194-3

C. K. Gentry in writing, Listen to What I See, defines all the facets of romantic love between a man and woman in a unique, compelling, and realistic way.  Although the author tells the story in first person by the main character whom readers will come to know as CK, he insists the story is not about him.  It is about “Holly,” the love of his life.  Until she enters his life, he had locked himself in a world of solitude, wanting to be alone, actually fearing closeness with others.  Undoubtedly his childhood had something to do with his behavior.  Instead of acknowledging emotion, he was focused on learning all he could about anything and everything.  He graduated from high school early, soon had two college degrees, and built a successful business. This young man, with his robot-like functioning, became rich—very, very rich but always maintained his individual privacy.  His head was busy gaining knowledge, and he became involved in research.  After building a magnificent house, hiring people to maintain it, purchasing other properties and materialistic “toys,” he thought that he was probably happy. But with all he had, he couldn’t appropriately relate or respond to others. He did become rather open to Emily, his house-sitter, and although they had an intimate relationship that he found enjoyable, it was never about love.  She taught him about enjoyable sex, and he was a willing student.  Even with his personal life, it was about learning and gaining experience.

Now, let’s get back to Holly who is the woman who finally broke through his tough exterior and captured his heart. He met her at the University of Texas, and when their eyes met, his life was forever changed.   The emotional walls tumbled one by one and long before he could say the actual words, the man knew that he was in love.  And it was a love that was fully returned.  This novel is unusual in that the personal details of this breathtaking relationship are the core and essence of the story.  Yes, there is a plot; however, it is the description of the intimate feelings and experiences of the two main characters that I consider magnetic. From the couple’s first kiss, to their playful sexual escapades, readers will feel their joy and the deepness of their feelings.  Holly eventually moves in with him, and as years pass, the newness of their love never wanes.  Both are intelligent so they respect one another, work together on projects, relax and vacation at his various homes, tease one another, laugh and cry together, play games with one another, and continually see their sexual passion spiral to new heights. At some point this leads to some lively experiences that some people might find difficult to understand.  But the lovers enjoy a wondrous love in an imperfect world!

Why or how could their world be imperfect when they have everything that money could buy?  In their minds, they are married; she has an imaginary ring that he had given her when he proposed. But there are reasons the wedding must wait. Their life together is complicated by grave security threats, including the attempted murder of CK.  His very identity poises many problems.  They have very few friends they can trust; one trusted person had betrayed them, and nothing was ever quite the same. 

Bettie Corbin Tucker

For Independent Book Reviewers