Marriages, babies, rivals—and none of it will leave the slightest trace after the book is closed.
Weightless entry in the florid Emma Harte saga (Unexpected Blessings, 2005, etc.) follows the machinations of envious grandson Jonathan Ainsley as he plots revenge on the inheritors of a landmark London store.
A couple of tidy paragraphs brings us up to date in the story of how matriarch Emma (first seen in A Woman of Substance, 1979) founded the Knightsbridge emporium, the flagship in her business empire that is now run by granddaughter Paula O’Neill. Jonathan, having failed to wrest the business away from cousin Paula in the 1980s, is now facing a new generation of family operators in the form of her redheaded cousin (and boss) Linnet O’Neill, Paula’s daughter and designated heir, and American Evan Hughes, pregnant with twins by her lover, Gideon Harte. Linnet has just married Julian Kallinski, scion of a family branch to be exploited in future titles, no doubt. As Linnet cooks up ideas to revamp the store (though her mother is determined to keep Harte in its “traditional mode”), Evan prepares to have her twins while planning for her imminent wedding (postponed so as not to compete with Linnet’s). Jack Figg, head of Harte security, naturally worries about the event, since there are jealous, troublesome siblings to deal with, such as Gideon’s brother Toby and Evan’s crass 23-year-old sister Angharad. Meanwhile, India Standish, Emma’s great-grandchild, hopes to wed famous artist Russell Rhodes, aka Dusty, although he has first to deal with the fallout from his previous druggie girlfriend, Melinda Caldwell. Tessa Fairley, last seen recovering her kidnapped daughter Adele, pines for new boyfriend Jean-Claude Deleon, a renowned French journalist posted to Afghanistan. Jonathan and Angharad seal a dark and ominous deal that will certainly come to light in the next installment.
Marriages, babies, rivals—and none of it will leave the slightest trace after the book is closed.Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2006
ISBN: 0-312-30706-3
Page Count: 496
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2005
IN THE NEWS
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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