Guest Review of “True Love” by Jude Deveraux
By Susan Wiggs
Susan Wiggs lives at the water's edge on a Puget Sound island and finds inspiration in the rhythm of the seasons, and in emotional dramas of everyday life. A No. 1 New York Times best-selling author, she has received three RITA Awards, and her novels have been translated into more than two dozen languages.
Oh, Jude, you had me at “Nantucket.” I happen to love islands. I live on one, I’ve visited many, but Nantucket holds a special place in my heart. True Love, with its star-crossed lovers and twisty plot, evokes everything that makes Nantucket so special–the history, the atmosphere, the secrets and the magic.
And Jude Deveraux, author of fan favorites like A Knight in Shining Armor, Remembrance, Sweet Liar and so many others, does the setting justice in this tale of a mismatched couple, a hunt for a lost family journal and ghosts that haunt a historic mansion. The combination is hard to resist, particularly in the hands of this author. Talented architect Jared Kingsley Montgomery (yes, those Montgomerys, be still my heart)--a hero from a long line of smart, sexy and soft-hearted Montgomery men--braces himself for the arrival of Alix Madsen, who has been bequeathed Jared’s ancestral mansion for a period of one year. The surprises begin in the prologue--when we realize Jared’s conversation with the 30-something Caleb is actually with a ghost, one who yearns for answers and closure.
Alix, still smarting from a broken heart, is in need of a change, though the last thing she’s looking for is romance. She’s content in the role of planning her best friend’s wedding, until she meets Jared. She also has a gift for sensing the presence of ghosts, and is specifically charged with figuring out what became of Caleb Kingsley and the mysterious Valentina, a long-lost Montgomery relative. In the process, she unravels the secrets of her own family, finding a deeper understanding of her mother.
Jared, a commitment-phobe who claims he might find the Evil Queen more interesting than Cinderella, can’t deny his sizzling chemistry with Alix. The result is as romantic and mysterious as falling in love.
Longtime fans will appreciate the shout-outs to Montgomery and Taggert characters from past books, and new readers will celebrate the launch of this fresh, fun trilogy of Nantucket stories. Following the happily-every-after ending is even happier news–there's more to come.