Summary
Rachel and Rose grew up worlds apart. Rachel, in the lap of Manhattan luxury, an ice princess determined to be a great doctor. Rose, in the New York slums, yielding to passion too young, and fleeing heartbreak to become a star lawyer. When they both fall in love with the same fascinating man, they are brought face to face with the truth about each other and themselves.
Published Reviews
Booklist Review:
"In 1954, Dolly Drake mails a letter addressed to Senator Joseph McCarthy that contains damning information about her famous film star sister Eve Dearfield. After leaving small-town America for Hollywood, Dolly has had enough of Eve stealing the spotlight. And she can't tolerate Eve stealing her man, either. Ruining the offending sister's career and her life seems the only thing to do. Years later, of course, she's regretting her actions, but Dolly's far away in Manhattan, with her own chocolate store and a lot of money. And it just so happens that Eve's two children, Annie and Laurel, have run away from home looking for Dolly, their long-lost aunt. Time passes quickly in the Big Apple--soon Annie has progressed in the chocolate industry, and as the reader expects, both girls have fallen in love with the same man. While Annie is gone on an apprenticeship in Paris, Laurel gets pregnant, and the rest of the book is a mess of communication and relationship muddles. This book isn't really about sisterly love or sisterly jealousy. Rather, it's about women pining after men. Judging by the 200,000-copy first printing, Viking seems confident that romance readers won't have trouble accepting the notion that the longer a woman pines, the more certain it is her man will come back. (Reviewed Nov. 1, 1991)0670824585Kathryn LaBarbera"
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Publisher's Weekly Review:
"Goudge, a distant relation of the durable British novelist and wife of literary agent Al Zuckerman, makes a skillful transition from teenage paperback romances to big-time commercial fiction in this highly readable story of secret loves and tangled lives. When Sylvie Rosenthal's baby girl is born, she realizes that her wealthy husband will surely recognize the resemblance to their Greek handyman, Sylvie's lover. A fire in the hospital gives her the chance to switch her daughter with that of a woman who dies in the blaze. While Sylvie brings up the girl she names Rachel in a luxurious Manhattan apartment, her natural daughter is raised as Rose Santini in Brooklyn by a harsh, vindictive grandmother. Rose's only solace is her love for Brian McCallahan; when he goes to Vietnam, she works her way through law school. Meanwhile, Rachel, devastated after having been forced to abort a pregnancy, also ends up in Vietnam, where she falls in love with Brian. Thus Rose and Rachel are fated to meet, and Sylvie to be confronted with the ``lie'' of her natural daughter. The novel is adroitly plotted, the dramatic tension rising as the characters finally come together at a sensational trial. At this point, however, the narrative falters because Goudge uses an old device as an easy cop-out (the villain breaks down on the witness stand). Nonetheless, most readers will remain engrossed in this smoothly written romantic tale. 150,000 first printing; $125,000 ad/promo; BOMC featured selection; ABC-TV miniseries. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved"
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
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