Book Freak: Book Review: True Love

Title: True Love
Author: Jude Deveraux
Publisher: Ballantine Books, EDP July 9, 2013
Series: Nantucket Brides Trilogy
Amazon|Goodreads
Review: ★★★★★

Jude Deveraux, the New York Times bestselling author of unforgettable romance, returns with a breathtaking first book in a fantastic new series—the Nantucket Brides trilogy. Set on the magical Massachusetts island, True Love introduces characters from a new generation of Montgomery-Taggerts, the beloved family from Deveraux’s classic novels.

Just as Alix Madsen is finishing up architectural school, Adelaide Kingsley dies and wills her, for one year, the use of a charming nineteenth-century Nantucket house. The elderly woman’s relationship to the Madsen family is a mystery to the spirited Alix—fresh from a romantic breakup—but for reasons of her own Alix accepts the quirky bequest, in part because it gives her time to plan her best friend’s storybook wedding.

But unseen forces move behind the scenes, creaking Kingsley House’s ancient floorboards. It seems that Adelaide Kingsley had a rather specific task for Alix: to solve the strange disappearance of one of the Kingsley women, Valentina, more than two hundred years ago. If that wasn’t troubling enough, Alix must deal with the arrogant (and extremely good-looking) architect Jared Montgomery, who is living in the property’s guesthouse.

Unbeknown to Alix, Jared has been charged with looking after her while she lives on the island—an easy task for him, considering the undeniable chemistry between the two. But Jared harbors secrets of his own, which, if revealed, may drive a wedge between the pair.

With a glorious Nantucket wedding on the horizon, sparks fly, and the ghosts of the past begin to reveal themselves—some of them literally. Finding their lives inextricably entwined with the turbulent fortunes of their ancestors, Alix and Jared discover that only by righting the wrongs of the past can they hope to be together.

Jude Deveraux once again proved her readers why she's a master of her craft and why her novels stays on top of the best seller's list.

Here's a book with a truly, truly awesome set of characters that spanned through generations.

Jared Montgomery:

It's not just him, but all first born child named Jared can see the ghost of their grandfather. But they will never admit it.

Besides, it emasculates a man for it to be known that he spends every evenings with a dead man. It's better to let the women worry that you're having a flirtation.

He's a young, brilliant architect who had already proven himself professionally. He's considered as a god, a legend in the world of architecture. But no one knew what he was like as a teenager - and it was far from the man he was today. He was lost, with no directions, who loves to drink, party and get wasted. Until someone slapped him off from his self-induced destruction and made him realize that he has a talent he could utilize to make it.

He was orphaned at a young age and became an angry boy - but a man equally angry at the world set him straight. This man took him under his wing and made him his apprentice - and the woman paid for all the fees needed for his schooling.

To say that he was a good student was an understatement - he was indeed a genius because he does his work just three hours before the deadline and it will still awe his professors. And for his final work, he did it with his hands. Impressive, huh?

So, it was understandable why he didn't want an architecture student invading his privacy. He didn't want any students hovering around him, asking him for words of wisdom.

Alix/Alixandra Madsen:

Brains, beauty and talent. Seems like she's a complete package.

The story started with our Alix being brokenhearted because Eric (the leech ex boyfriend) decided to end their relationship. Eric, whom according to Izzy (the best friend), was just using Alix to do his homework. To mend her broken heart and spend a year doing R&R, she decided to accept her mother's suffestion to spend a year in Nantucket.

I love her. She's humble despite the fact that both her parents are extremely popular and successful in their respective fields. I love the fact that she was so unassuming and she exactly knows where she stands.

She had her father's love of building and her mother's belief that the top was the only place to be.

She has the talent to make it as an architect, but it would be a plus point if she can get some tips and can work with the great Jared Montgomery. BUT! Their first meeting wasn't exactly a blast because Jared introduced himself as a mere builder. And Alix hated being lied at.

Yet, it wasn't the only secret everyone is keeping from her, there is a whole lot more.

The Parents
Alix has the most - weird set of parents. Being popular and successful in their own fields, Ken and Victoria make it to a point that they spent equal quality time with Alix as she grows up. While Ken taught her everything about designs and buildings, Victoria offers her daughter all the glamour that is brought about by her field. And despite their shortcomings, their daughter grew up well.

Things to LOVE about (besides the awesome characters):
SETTING

The beautiful Nantucket is where it all happens, and like the story, its just breathtaking. With all those six-digit old houses with intriguing stories behind each closed doors, the bay area and not to mention the beach. The whole place is truly a great place to find true love.

PLOT
Soul mates. Reincarnations. Ghosts.
Jude Deveraux mixed all these ingredients to produce a really fell-good, page-turner that will easily capture your heart. Some novels don't need to be heart-wrenching and emotionally draining to be great.
It's fun. light read and utterly romantic.

True Love will tickle your romantic senses without giving you a heavy feeling. It's a feel-good book that will allow you to fall in love with one character over the other.

True Love...

it will surely be worth the wait.

“What kind of wedding do you want?"

"The one with a groom.”

“To be able to see the flaws in your own work is a gift.”

“Waiting for Prince Charming?"

"Aren't all women? And you're waiting for Cinderella."

"Actually," Jared said slowly, "I'm rather hoping to find the Evil Queen. I think she'd be much more fun.”

“On his face was an expression of absolute love. Melting, soul-touching, raw, unbridled love, the kind of person dies for, sacrifices and suffers for. It was the kind of love that a person would wait two hundred years to see fulfilled. It was True Love in its purest form.”

“We women aren't good at hints. We like solid declarations of love and forever.”

Jude Deveraux

Jude Gilliam was born September 20, 1947 in Fairdale, Kentucky. She has a large extended family, and is the elder sister of four brothers. She attended Murray State University and received a degree in Art. In 1967, Jude married and took her husband's surname of White, but four years later they divorced. For years, she worked as 5th-grade teacher.

She began writing in 1976 and her first book, The Enchanted land was published in 1977 as Jude Deveraux. Following the publication of her first novel, she resigned her teaching position. Now, she is the author of thirty-one New York Times bestsellers. Jude won readers' hearts with the epic Velvet series, which revolves around the lives of the Montgomery family's irresistible men. Jude's early books are set largely in 15th- and 16th-century England, in which her fierce, impassioned protagonists find themselves in the midst of blood feuds and wars. Her heroines are equally scrappy -- medieval Scarlett O'Haras who often have a low regard for the men who eventually win them over. They're fighters, certainly, but they're also beauties who are preoccupied with survival and family preservation. Jude has also stepped outside her milieu, with mixed results. Her James River trilogy (River Lady, Lost Lady, and Counterfeit Lady) is set mostly in post-Revolution America; the popular, softer-edged Twin of Fire/Twin of Ice moves to 19th-century Colorado and introduces another hunky-man clan, the Taggerts. Deveraux manages to evoke a strong and convincing atmosphere for each of her books, but her dialogue and characters are as familiar as a modern-day soap opera's. "Historicals seem to be all I'm capable of," Jude once said in an interview, referring to a now out-of-print attempt at contemporary fiction, 1982's Casa Grande. "I don't want to write family sagas or occult books, and I have no intention of again trying to ruin the contemporary market." Still, Jude did later attempt modern-day romances, such as the lighthearted High Tide (her first murder caper), the contemporary female friendship story The Summerhouse, and the time-traveling Knight in Shining Armor. In fact, with 2002's The Mulberry Tree, Deveraux seems to be getting more comfortable setting stories in the present, which is a good thing, since the fans she won with her historical books are eager to follow her into the future.

Jude married Claude Montassir, with whom she had a son, Sam Alexander Montassir in 1997. They were eventually divorced. On Oct. 6th, 2005, Sam died at the age of eight in a motorcycle accident. Jude has lived in several countries and all over the United States. She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and also has a home in the medieval city of Badolato, Italy.

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