Less steam and sizzle than Booth aficionados (All For Love, 1993, etc.) have become accustomed to in this relatively tame tale of a man who loves three women—and of the women who bond over him. The gears start spinning at the Hacienda Inn and Spa in Santa Fe, where three very different women have come to escape the various stresses of their everyday lives. Carol McCabe has left her cheating husband Jack and is determined finally to become the artist she has always felt she could be. Beautiful Tessa Andersen has just been widowed by what appeared to be her wealthy (but actually secretly bankrupt) husband's suicide and must care for eight-year-old daughter Camille. Rachel Richardson, devastatingly successful television personality, is tired of life in the fast lane alone: Her marriage proposal from media mogul Matt Harding leaves her cold, but she is on the verge of succumbing if only to acquire the children and family she so desperately craves. When the three women meet at dinner, something clicks and continues to do so even when the idyllic five-day retreat comes to an end. Back in Manhattan, where Tessa begins working for the first time in her life (as a real-estate agent at Sotheby's), and Rachel's career is back in first gear, one man captures the hearts of all three, including Carol, whose children are in college and who has stayed in New Mexico to follow her dreams. Charles Ford is no ordinary man; he's an artist with convictions, money, and brawn—but only one of these three best friends can have him. Rest assured, though: No one ends up alone. The pages practically flip themselves, but this is strictly for fans only—unless you're in the mood for the print version of what could be a three-part Aaron Spelling mini-series starring Heather Locklear as career-woman Rachel. (Literary Guild alternate selection)
Pub Date: April 10, 1996
ISBN: 0-316-10256-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1996
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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