#BookReview: Rome in Love by Anita Hughes
Reviewer: Samantha I received a review copy Summary: When Amelia Tate is cast to play the Audrey Hepburn role in a remake of Roman Holiday, she…
#BookReview: French Coast by Anita Hughes
Reviewer: Samantha I received a review copy Summary: Serena has the job she’s always dreamed of and Chase, the man her heart never dared to.…
In My Mailbox: Week of April 6
Title: Dear Internet: It’s Me, Avery Author: Jennifer Ammoscato Received: CLP Blog Tours Synopsis: Oh, please! Don’t pretend you’ve never checked out that weird mole…
New Book Releases: April 2015
Contributor: Allie French Coast: A Novel by Anita Hughes – April 7, 2015. This glamorous story is set in Monte Carlo during the city’s infamous…
Book Review: Monarch Beach by Anita Hughes
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Anita Hughes’ Monarch Beach is an absorbing debut novel about one woman’s journey back to happiness after an affair splinters her perfect marriage and life—what it means to be loved, betrayed and to love again.
When Amanda Blick, a young mother and kindhearted San Francisco heiress, finds her gorgeous French chef husband wrapped around his sous-chef, she knows she must flee her life in order to rebuild it. The opportunity falls into her lap when her (very lovable) mother suggests Amanda and her young son, Max, spend the summer with her at the St. Regis Resort in Laguna Beach. With the waves right outside her windows and nothing more to worry about than finding the next relaxing thing to do, Amanda should be having the time of her life—and escaping the drama. But instead, she finds herself faced with a kind, older divorcee who showers her with attention… and she discovers that the road to healing is never simple. This is the sometimes funny, sometimes bitter, but always moving story about the mistakes and discoveries a woman makes when her perfect world is turned upside down.
Review:
What a terrific book! I’m a big fan of Anita Hughes, and this book had me hooked from the beginning. I felt so terrible for Amanda after she realizes who the man she married really is, and it was great to follow her journey back to happiness. One of the characters that I found the most appealing was her mother. Her scenes were some of my highlights in the book. The writing is incredibly vivid and pulls you right into the story. I loved being transported to such a different life than my own and feeling so included in the characters’ lives. One I highly recommend!
4.5 stars
Book Review: Lake Como by Anita Hughes
I received a copy of Lake Como by Anita Hughes in exchange for an honest review.
Summary:
Hallie Elliot has a perfect life. She is an up-and-coming interior designer in one of San Francisco’s most sought after firms, and has just recently become engaged to Peter, a brilliant young journalist. But when she stumbles upon Peter and her boss in what seems to be a compromising position, her trust in her perfect life is shaken.
So Hallie escapes to Lake Como, Italy to spend time with her half-sister, Portia Tesoro, an Italian blueblood dealing with the scandal of a public estrangement from her cheating husband. While staying in the Tesoro villa, Hallie falls in love with the splendor and beauty of Lake Como, and finds work designing the lakeside estate of a reclusive American tech mogul. The caretaker of this beautiful estate is a handsome man named Angus, and Hallie finds herself drawn to his charm and kindness, despite hints of a dark secret in his past.
But just as Hallie is beginning to find her footing on Italian soil, she uncovers a family secret that upends all the truths she’s believed about herself, and calls into question the new life she’s built in Lake Como.
Sisterhood, family, career, and sumptuous descriptions of Italian life fill the pages of this newest offering by Anita Hughes. Lake Como is a heartbreaking and heartwarming story of love, self-discovery, and the quest for truth.
Love, sisterhood, and sumptuous descriptions of la dolce vita fill the pages of Anita Hughes’ Lake Como, a heartwarming story of romance, self-discovery, and the quest for truth.
Review:
What a fabulous read that had me wishing I had cocktail in hand and a pair of heels on my feet while reading! Lake Como whisked me away and wrapped me up in Hallie’s story, beginning with her suddenly rocky relationship with Peter and ending with a touching love story. In between we have royalty and family secrets and the intrigue and mystery surrounding the Tesoro family had me unable to put this book down. Hughes writes with a grace and elegance that had me devouring this story and I highly recommend this book!
5 stars
August 2013 New Releases
Contributor: Allie Sadly, summer is almost over, but we still have a handful of chick lit books to look forward to before the leaves begin…
Book Review: Market Street by Anita Hughes
I received a copy of Market Street by Anita Hughes in exchange for an honest review. Whew, what a book! Cassie Blake is our leading lady, an heiress to San Francisco’s most exclusive department store and wife to UC Berkeley professor Aidan. She has a wonderful lifetime friend in Alexis, is madly in love with her husband, and overall feels pretty charmed in her life. When she finds out Aidan slept with one of his students her charmed existence shatters, and she runs to the safety of Alexis’s mansion to help her figure out if she can forgive Aidan and keep her marriage intact. While separated, she takes on a new project at the department store to keep her busy and that visits her first love – food. With the addition of a handsome architect at the store and consistently being away from her husband, Cassie knows she has some big decisions to make regarding her future.
Market Street is incredibly difficult to put down. I understood that Cassie loves Aidan and how tore up she is over his mistake, and I really wondered throughout the story how they would end up. I know you should cheer for the husband and wife to be together, but I just thought Aidan was slimy and overbearing from the get-go. I hate saying that I was pulling for architect James to come away the victor, but Cassie is a strong woman and knows what she wants, so she kept my interest piqued.
Since Cassie and her friend Alexis come from a world of wealth, Market Street is filled with fabulous designer clothes, posh parties, and rubbing elbows with San Fran’s elite. And I loved every minute of it! Alexis stole my heart with how deeply she cared for her friend, and her own unique drive and lifestyle that she brought to the pages. I really loved everything about the book, from the friendship dynamic, love story, and emotional decisions, this was a 5 star read for me!
5 stars
