Please welcome Lucie Simone, author of two novels, Hollywood Ending and Picture Perfect to kick off our newest feature: an Author Guest Review! Beginning this fall, Novel Escapes will be featuring a guest review from some of our favourite authors! We hope you will enjoy reading what your favourite authors love to read as well as we do!
First, the synopsis of More Like Her:
What really goes on behind those perfect white picket fences?
First, the synopsis of More Like Her:
What really goes on behind those perfect white picket fences?
In Frances’s mind, beautiful, successful, ecstatically married Emma
Dunham is the height of female perfection. Frances, recently dumped with
spectacular drama by her boyfriend, aspires to be just like Emma. So do
her close friends and fellow teachers, Lisa and Jill. But Lisa’s too
career-focused to find time for a family. And Jill’s recent unexpected
pregnancy could have devastating consequences for her less-than-perfect
marriage.
Yet sometimes the golden dream you fervently wish for turns out to be
not at all what it seems—like Emma’s enviable suburban postcard life,
which is about to be brutally cut short by a perfect husband turned
killer. And in the shocking aftermath, three devastated friends are
going to have to come to terms with their own secrets . . . and somehow
learn to move forward after their dream is exposed as a lie.
Lucie Simone - Guest Review
Liza Palmer is one of my favorite
authors, and I was thrilled when I actually got to meet her in person at
the Romance Writers of America Literacy Signing in July, where I bought
her latest book, More Like Her. One of the reasons I love Liza’s work is that her writing is just so real.
It’s full of naked emotion stripped to the core. She not only delves
into the psyches of her characters, but she also taps into those of her
readers. You can’t help but get invested in her characters and their
stories because some part of them, some aspect of their lives reflects
our own struggles, heartaches, loves, and fears.
And More Like Her is no different. In this novel, Liza explores female relationships. The good and the bad. The friendships that keep us afloat and the competitiveness that breaks us down. And the truth that not everything is as it seems. Seen through the eyes of Frannie, Liza reveals the inner workings of female bonding and lays open the secrets that we keep hidden, even from ourselves.
When new Headmistress, Emma, takes over the school where Frannie and her friends Jill and Lisa work, she seems perfect. Too perfect. From her tailored wardrobe to her glamorous, globe-trotting life with her husband, whom she declares to be the next Norman Mailer, she projects an image of flawlessness. And, of course, Frannie and her friends take an immediate dislike to her. Because they aren’t perfect, and they know it. But what they soon realize is that Emma’s life is far from idyllic and that she’s been hiding a very dark and traumatic history. And when her life meets a tragic and very dramatic end, Frannie and her friends are forced to examine the lies and secrets Emma kept hidden behind the façade of her “happily ever after” life.
I found More Like Her to be an utterly absorbing read. I was sucked in from the beginning, and the pace and plotting of the story kept me glued to the pages as Frannie’s story unfolded. This book is very dark and very moving, blended with enough moments of lighthearted humor and romance to keep the reader from sinking into a depression. There’s a bit of a mystery angle as Frannie and her friends explore the reasons behind Emma’s death, which was handled very carefully, keeping the reader in suspense until the end. All in all, a fantastic read!
Thank you Lucie!
And More Like Her is no different. In this novel, Liza explores female relationships. The good and the bad. The friendships that keep us afloat and the competitiveness that breaks us down. And the truth that not everything is as it seems. Seen through the eyes of Frannie, Liza reveals the inner workings of female bonding and lays open the secrets that we keep hidden, even from ourselves.
When new Headmistress, Emma, takes over the school where Frannie and her friends Jill and Lisa work, she seems perfect. Too perfect. From her tailored wardrobe to her glamorous, globe-trotting life with her husband, whom she declares to be the next Norman Mailer, she projects an image of flawlessness. And, of course, Frannie and her friends take an immediate dislike to her. Because they aren’t perfect, and they know it. But what they soon realize is that Emma’s life is far from idyllic and that she’s been hiding a very dark and traumatic history. And when her life meets a tragic and very dramatic end, Frannie and her friends are forced to examine the lies and secrets Emma kept hidden behind the façade of her “happily ever after” life.
I found More Like Her to be an utterly absorbing read. I was sucked in from the beginning, and the pace and plotting of the story kept me glued to the pages as Frannie’s story unfolded. This book is very dark and very moving, blended with enough moments of lighthearted humor and romance to keep the reader from sinking into a depression. There’s a bit of a mystery angle as Frannie and her friends explore the reasons behind Emma’s death, which was handled very carefully, keeping the reader in suspense until the end. All in all, a fantastic read!
Thank you Lucie!
Lucie
Simone has a passion for travel, yoga, and writing. She has a degree in
Journalism, a Master of Fine Arts in Television Production, and is a
certified yoga teacher registered with Yoga Alliance. Her love of comedy
(and living under the delusion that she might one day be an actress)
resulted in a stint studying improvisation, which, ironically enough,
taught her to be a better writer.
Her short story, A Taste of Italy, won the New York Book Festival competition for best ebook and is a bestseller at Amazon UK. The release of her debut novel, Hollywood Ending, a romantic comedy about life in Hollywood for the not-so-rich-and-famous, marked the launch of her small press, Simon & Fig, which publishes Chick Lit, Lad Lit and Women’s Fiction exclusively.
Lucie
lives, loves and writes in the City of Angels, but considers New York
City her second home and visits as often as her bank account will
allow.
 |
| Read Review |
 |
| Read Review |
Connect with Lucie here:
Love your review Lucie!
ReplyDelete