Secrets and Secretiveness

Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Source: Review Copy from Publisher

TYPE OF NOVEL: Modern Adaptation of Sense and Sensibility

THE PREMISE: With their fathers’ passing, their mother’s eviction from the family estate, court battles, break-ups, and business failures the Bae-Wood women have had a challenging year. Their individual struggles have brought them all together to live under the same roof. And that roof happens to be on top of a little cottage on the property of a cancer retreat center in Northern California…

WHAT I LOVED:

• Thoughtful Modernization: Eleanor (Elinor) is a OB-GYN nurse with a teen daughter (Maggie). She is used to being in control and taking care of everyone. Amelia (Marianne) left college and followed the man she loved through his culinary adventures and celebrity status for nearly twenty years. She is creative and impulsive, but is feeling a lack of identity and purpose at the moment. And their mother, who is deeply grieving the loss of her husband, is also dealing with the loss of her home and financial security because a previously unknown secret love-child has come out of the woodwork and is purporting that his father wanted to acknowledge him as his son.

• Older and Wiser: Eleanor and Amelia are in their late thirties/early forties, and Maggie (Margaret) is Eleanor’s teen daughter. Like Jane Austen’s characters, they are very different in nature and personality, and I appreciate the differences in their lives. Eleanor married her college sweetheart and lost him to cancer six years ago. Amelia never married, never had a career of her own, but traveled the world extensively and was the girlfriend and muse of a famously acclaimed chef. I also loved the differences between their relationships with Maggie – Eleanor is all about setting goals and wanting/achieving the best, and Amelia is the laidback aunt who Maggie feels comfortable unburdening herself to.

• Accessible Themes: Just like with Jane Austen’s novel, there is a lot meaningful messages and themes in this novel – about grief, acceptance, finding yourself, letting go of control, and learning to forgive the mistakes of others. In addition, there was a surprising number of characters with secrets, or that were keeping secrets for others. This all felt so understandable to our modern world – life is full of challenges, unexpected turns, things we keep hidden or to ourselves, and general messiness.

• Foodie Heaven: So many creative culinary masterpieces – such a wide array of influences, combinations, and descriptions. I loved it all. I loved every time we heard about what characters were cooking or eating and about Amelia’s experience in the restaurant world – the concepts for both Amuse and Loca are genius. I only wish there was a recipe or two in the back of the book so the reader could enjoy at least one of the clever and scrumptious sounding culinary creations at home!

• Arcadia: This retreat sounds like an enchanting place and Ms. Kim did a fantastic job of vividly describing it and bringing it life. I want to go there and walk the maze, take a yoga class with Gisela, and eat a fantastic (yet healthful) breakfast prepared by Jett. But more than it’s physical charms and aesthetics, Arcadia exuded feelings of care, understanding, consideration, and healing that were tangible to all who visited…even the reader.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER:

• All Amelia: Don’t get me wrong, I love and identify with Marianne (Amelia) pretty strongly, but I felt like we lost Elinor (Eleanor) a bit in this novel.  The story is told from Amelia’s point-of-view and is primarily about her journey. I kind of wish the story was told from a dual-perspective and that we would have had firsthand account of each sister’s journey.

• Romantic Developments: This book was firing on so many cylinders and I was loving every way it was translated and reinvented, but the romantic developments definitely fell a little flat for me. Which is a shame, because I loved the set up of both these women learning to open themselves to love again. But it was portrayed as if all men had an interest in Amelia and her feelings were only mildly engaged. Brandon is in the shadows for way too much of the story, Jett (Edward) seems equally connected to/interested in Amelia and Eleanor, and Hari’s (Willoughby) relationship with Amelia is so casual, it seems to be solely founded on their proximity and mutual attraction. It felt like a lot of these relationships were missing substance and deeper connections.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

📘 A stimulating, diverting and comforting read that is sure to resonate with modern readers and delight those who love connections to Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility.

🤐  With all the secrets that each character had or knew about, I’m seriously impressed with how tightly sealed everyone’s lips were!

💪🏼 I appreciated this inspiring look at women who learned how to recover from loss, find themselves, grow, and embrace the courage to go after what they want.

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