Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Multigenerational tale, from an author of popular Regency/historicals, takes a family from estates in England and Kenya to a Manhattan law firm. Clemmie hopes to make partner after years as vassal to a petty tyrant in an Ivy League sweatshop. Her personal life is in shambles: Her engagement is off, and she's still smarting from a disappointing Roman holiday with her stepcousin Jon, with whom she's had a love-hate relationship since childhood. Now, though, her maternal ancestors are commanding more of Clemmie's angst. Her once indomitable grandmother Addie, 99, is failing fast. Addie's story intertwines with her granddaughter's. After a 1906 accident claims the lives of her parents, young Addie's uncle, an earl, takes her to live at his stately home, Ashford, ruled by his imperious countess, Vera. Almost immediately, Addie is welcomed as a sister and confidante by her impetuous cousin Bea. Back in 1999, Clemmie suspects that her mother is prevaricating about Addie's past. As the story of Bea and Addie evolves, so does the enigma. After the girls make their postWorld War I debuts, Bea marries a marquess (to Vera's relief), and Addie, the poor relation, accompanies Bea to her opulent London pied--terre. However, as Addie occupies herself with intellectual self-improvement, Bea's social status is threatened by the marquess' philandering. To avenge herself, she steals Addie's beau, Frederick. Everything explodes when the marquess learns of Bea's pregnancy by Frederick. The action shifts to Kenya, where the characters re-enact an edgier version of Out of Africa. While on an ill-advised safari, Bea disappears. Since she is presumed dead, and husband Frederick, after a rather cursory investigation, is presumed innocent, Addie and Frederick are free to marry and become the progenitors Clemmie always thought she had. The panoramic canvas Willig chooses to cover is a bit overambitious--the law firm minutia, although entertaining, is essentially a digression--but she makes up for the unwieldiness with sharp, scintillating dialogue and expert scene-craft. Willig's crossover into mainstream fiction heralds riches to come.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal
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Addie is the poor cousin who comes to live at Ashford House in 1906. Clementine is a high-powered attorney in 21st-century New York. When Clemmie learns about a buried family secret involving her Granny Addie, she begins a journey into the past that could change everything she thinks she knows about her family. VERDICT From the ballrooms of British society to colonial Kenya to modern-day Manhattan, this well-researched and lavishly detailed family saga spans a century and three continents. (LJ 2/1/13) (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Willig takes us from the twilight of the British aristocracy to colonial Kenya to modern-day New York City in her first historical romance outside of the Pink Carnation Series. In 1906, five-year-old Addie Gillecote leaves Kenya after her parents' death to live in London with her Aunt Vera and Uncle Charles, the Lord and Lady of Ashford. Treated as a charity case by her aunt, Addie is taken under her cousin Bea's wing. As the girls grow close and come of age, Bea is touted as the "Debutante of the Decade." She lands a young marquess, Marcus, in a seemingly perfect match, and Addie joins them in their new home, taking a position at The Bloomsbury Review. In 1999, Addie is 99 and beloved by her granddaughter, Clemmie, a lawyer looking to make partner. Clemmie sees the marriage between her grandmother and grandfather, Frederick, as her model for love and has recently ended an engagement because her fiance did not measure up. After Addie dies, Clemmie, aided by her step-cousin, historian Jon, learns that their family's history is more complicated than she imagined. Well-researched details of life in the 1920s lends texture to this solid historical novel. Agent: Joe Veltre, Artists Literary Group. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
In 1906 London, five-year-old orphan Addie Gillecote is taken in by her uncle, the Earl of Ashford, and his wife. Addie is instantly aware that her place in life is below the daughters of the house, no matter what her older cousin and protector Bea tells her. Remaining close as adults, Addie and Bea find that it's marriage for one and work for the other that mark the beginning of their troubles. Decades later nothing is as it was, and it may be for the better. Mysterious family secrets are slowly revealed through a variety of voices, none of which tells the whole story. All contribute pieces of the puzzle, however, as readers become more deeply acquainted with these endearing personalities. The dysfunctional nature of elite society in the 1920s, complacent in England or exiled in Kenya, adds intriguing social commentary to a story full of fabulous period details and complex relationships. -VERDICT With this standalone, new readers will have the opportunity to enjoy Willig's talent for balancing multiple, connected storylines without the added pressure of a long-standing series, while returning fans will enjoy hidden "Pink Carnation" references and the pleasure of another novel well done. [see Prepub Alert, 10/8/12; library marketing]-Stacey Hayman, Rocky River P.L. , OH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
Willig veers away from her Pink Carnation Regency spy series in this stand-alone offering, which follows Clementine Evans, an ambitious young lawyer who decides to dig into her family's history after discovering she bears more than a passing resemblance to a cousin of her grandmother's who she's never heard of. Clemmie's grandmother, Addie, and the cousin, Bea, grew up together in England in the early twentieth century after Addie's parents died and Bea's family took Addie in. Addie grew up in the glamorous Bea's shadow, eventually losing Frederick, the man she loved, to Bea. In the present, Clemmie tries to reconcile this new information with what she knows about Addie's long and happy marriage to Frederick. Clemmie feels especially betrayed by Jon, the handsome stepson of her mother's sister, who clearly knows more than he's letting on. Though it lacks the swashbuckling charm of her long-running series, Willig's new outing takes readers from WWI-era London to Kenya of the 1920s to New York in the 1990s, offering plenty of twists and intrigue to keep them entertained.--Huntley, Kristine Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal
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Best known for her lively "Pink Carnation" series, Willig (The Garden Intrigue) sets her latest mostly in the early 20th century. Addie moved into Ashford Park, the home of her titled uncle, following the deaths of her parents. Treated as the magpie in the nest by most, she develops a close relationship with her cousin Bea-until Bea marries the man Addie loves and takes off to grow coffee in Kenya. Willig moves the story back and forth in time, but little is made of the world-changing events Addie experiences, such as growing up in a dying aristocracy or nursing in World War I. Even Africa's spectacular settings take a backseat in all but the prolog. Still, there's plenty of story to satisfy listeners. Nicola Barber's narration enhances a fine historical. VERDICT Recommended for historical fiction fans interested in the first quarter of the 20th century. ["From the ballrooms of British society to colonial -Kenya to modern-day Manhattan, this well-researched and lavishly detailed family saga spans a century and three continents," read the review of the New York Times best-selling St. Martin's hc, LJ 6/1/13.-Ed.]-Janet -Martin, Southern Pines P.L., NC (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.