And Without the Emotionally-Scarring Bits

Sometimes I roll my eyes at the gushing, glowing reviews that books get with quotes such as these,

A must-read!!!
You'll devour it in one sitting!!!!!!!
Couldn't put it down!!!!!!!
ZOMGOMGOMG!!!11111111 (granted, you'll never find a reputable publication that would honest-to-goodness print that one, but hey-- it's the blogosphere)

And yet, I must be honest and admit that in the case of A Summer Affair that is exactly what happened.  I received my tight little package on a Friday afternoon, and by Monday evening I had that thing licked and dissected-- I'd had my own little summer affair with no painful aftereffects.  I can only use this space to do the following:

1. Apologize to my poor dear husband for talking way too much about the book,
2. Thank the book's author, Elin Hilderbrand, for the inspiration for impromptu marital counseling sessions (see #1),
3. Warn you that if you are not into good character development in your summer reads, and you're uncomfortable with the subject of adultery, then this is not the must-read, can't-put-down, devoured-in-one-long-weekend sitting book that it was for me.

As I don't really want to spoil much that the Amazon review or the title itself won't give away, the book explores a woman's affair, Claire, with a man, Lock, whom most people who know her would agree is the unlikeliest of matches-- and vice-versa.  She is a frustrated artist and a busy mother of four; he is a wealthy businessman stuck in a loveless marriage.  Theirs is a bittersweet romance that spans a gut-wrenching year, as we're also taken on a tour of the other complex lives of those who surround the clandestine couple. 

While we're roped into Claire and Lock's initially innocent affair, we also get to meet Siobhan, Claire's best friend who has a couple of hard secrets of her own; Daphne, Lock's mentally unstable wife; Isabelle, a pariah of New York high society; Gavin, Lock's smarmy, spoiled and overly efficient employee; and an incredibly deep and complex supporting cast of characters that bring believability and humanity to a story that could otherwise be summed up as a trashy quickie read about a woman who gives in to her passions just because the opportunity arises.

Thank you to MotherTalk for letting me be part of this blog tour and allowing me to read such a fun book.  And if you're out there in blogland looking for a poolside read, seriously consider this one.  I think you'll be happy you did.

Comments

[Daisy]

It is a mismatch, isn't it? The two of them are connected, but not in a predictable way. The book was hard to put down, I admit it!