Category Archives: Anita Hughes

August 13, 2013 · 3:58 am

Review: Lake Como by Anita Hughes

Title: Lake Como by Anita Hughes
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Length: 288 pages
Book Rating: B

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

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.

The Review:

In Lake Como, Anita Hughes brings Italy vibrantly to life during Hallie Elliot’s impetus visit to her half-sister’s magnificent family villa. In the midst of lavish and romantic surroundings, Hallie uncovers a long hidden family secret and reconnects with her half sister, Portia Tesoro, while she contemplates her future.

Hallie Elliot has a pretty charmed life. She has a close relationship with her socialite grandmother, she is an up and coming interior designer and her live in boyfriend Peter adores her. But when she catches Peter in a romantic embrace with her boss, Hallie impulsively travels to Italy to lend some much needed moral support to her sister as Portia deals with the fall out from her separation from her philandering husband. A meeting with fellow American Angus Barlow leads to a prestigious and advantageous career opportunity for Hallie and their friendship soon crosses over into romantic territory. Already reeling from a startling revelation about her mother, Hallie is devastated when she learns Angus has been keeping secrets of his own.

Overall, Lake Como is a light-hearted and fun read. This fast-paced and engaging story presents readers with an in-depth view into Italian royalty and the influential role of the family’s matriarch. The characters are well-fleshed and three-dimensional. Their issues are serious, but they are resolved with little drama or angst. The setting is brilliantly detailed and provides an exquisite backdrop for the unfolding story. Glitz, glamour and the lifestyles of the rich and famous are hallmarks of an Anita Hughes’ novel and she always provides readers a wonderful escape from everyday life.

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Filed under Anita Hughes, Contemporary, Lake Como, Rated B, Review, Romance, St Martin's Griffin

March 25, 2013 · 3:58 am

Review: Market Street by Anita Hughes

Title: Market Street by Anita Hughes
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin/Macmillan
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 302 pages
Book Rating: B+

Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley

Summary:

Cassie Blake seems to lead a charmed life as the heiress to Fenton’s, San Francisco’s most exclusive department store. But when she discovers her husband, Aidan, a handsome UC Berkeley professor, has had an affair with a student, she flees to the comfort of her best friend Alexis’s Presidio Heights mansion, where she wonders if she should give their marriage one more chance.

Whether or not she can forgive Aidan is not the only choice Cassie has to make. Cassie’s mother is eager to have her oversee the opening of Fenton’s new Food Emporium, which Fenton’s hopes will become San Francisco’s hottest gourmet shopping destination. Cassie’s true passion has always been food, not fashion, and Cassie suspects her mother might be trying to lure her into the Fenton’s fold by entrusting her with such an exciting opportunity. And then there is James, the architect designing the Emporium, who is quietly falling in love with her…

The Review:

If you are looking for an easy to read story that is the perfect escape from ordinary, everyday life, then you are going to love Anita Hughes’ newest release. Market Street is a light read about finding oneself in the midst of betrayal.

After college, heiress Cassie Fenton chose marriage to ethics professor Aidan Blake over working in her mother’s upscale department store, Fenton’s. Ten years later, Cassie is a stay at home wife and stepmom whose love of gardening is put to good use as a volunteer teaching school children to grow vegetable. Just as her mother approaches her to open a new venture at Fenton’s, Cassie learns of Aidan’s infidelity with one of his students. Moving in temporarily with her best gal pal, Alexis, Cassie contemplates the future of her marriage while fighting her growing attraction to James Parrish, the architect she is working with at Fenton’s.

Cassie is overshadowed by both Aidan and her mother, Diana. Aidan and Diana have domineering, forceful personalities and Cassie has a difficult time standing up to either of them. Aidan is manipulative and controlling and he is incredibly self-centered. Cassie has a tendency to avoid conflict instead of confronting her problems head on until she discovers irrefutable evidence of Aidan’s infidelity. Once she moves in with Alexis, she finally finds her backbone and takes control of her future.

Market Street is an entertaining read that is refreshingly angst-free. Anita Hughes has an engaging writing style that draws the reader into the story. Her descriptive prose brings the setting vibrantly to life and makes it easy to visualize the imaginary Fenton’s and its stylish clientele. The characters are down to earth, likable and easy to relate to. The storyline is compelling and entertaining and I really enjoyed the glimpse into the lifestyles of the rich, famous and fashionable.

Another fabulous book by a very gifted storyteller that fans of contemporary women’s fiction are sure to love.

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Filed under Anita Hughes, Contemporary, Macmillan, Market Street, Rated B+, Review, St Martin's Griffin, Women's Fiction

June 14, 2012 · 3:57 am

Monarch Beach by Anita Hughes

Title: Monarch Beach by Anita Hughes
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Imprint: St. Martin’s Griffin
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 288 pages
Book Rating: B

Review Copy Obtained from Publisher Through NetGalley

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.

The Review:

Monarch Beach by Anita Hughes is a captivating novel about love, betrayal and starting over. When Amanda Blick discovers husband Andre having an affair, she files for divorce and heads to the decadent St. Regis Resort in Laguna Beach with her mother Grace and young son Max. A luxurious retreat from real life, Amanda soon meets Edward Jones, a sexy, attractive older man who sweeps her off her feet.

Amanda Blick is the perfect example of the old adage, “money doesn’t buy happiness.” A wealthy heiress, Amanda has led charmed life. Her childhood was wonderful; her parents were deeply in love and they doted on her. On the surface, her marriage to the good looking, sexy charming and very French Andre is perfect and she is devoted to him and their son Max. But as she quickly finds out, perfection is only an illusion. Andre is not the husband she thought he was, and she is not as strong as she thinks she is.

Amanda is a complex character with all too realistic flaws and imperfections. She is devastated by Andre’s infidelity and even though she files for divorce, she is quite conflicted about ending their marriage. I like that her main concern is the effect the divorce will have on Max and she always takes him into consideration when making her plans for the future. What Amanda does not do well is make decisions. She depends too much on the advice and opinions her close friend Stephanie and her mother Grace.

Despite Grace and Stephanie’s encouragement to find a new man, Amanda is not looking for love when she meets Edward Jones. Although she is attracted to Edward, she is wary of entering into a romantic liaison with the older man. Their romance slowly develops over the summer but nothing is certain especially when Andre suddenly reappears in Amanda’s life.

Monarch Beach is an engrossing and entertaining read that is pure escapist fun. Anita Hughes has an engaging and descriptive writing style that brings the Laguna Beach and the lavish St. Regis Resort vibrantly to life. The novel has many twists and turns and an unexpected ending that will surprise and delight readers.

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Filed under Anita Hughes, Contemporary, Monarch Beach, Rated B, St Martin's Griffin, St Martin's Press, Women's Fiction