As You Wish

April 2, 2018
Deveraux’s pleasant latest in the Summerhouse series (after Return to Summerhouse) follows three women who meet through a mysterious therapist and bond over disappointing marriages and wasted years. After a loveless first marriage, Olivia, 60ish and widowed, has finally married Kit, her one true love. Elise’s controlling parents arranged her marriage to Kent, a man with a jealous mistress. Kathy has the perfect husband on paper, but he wants a divorce. Chance brings the trio together as weekend housemates in a quaint Virginia cottage where Dr. Hightower, a therapist, gives them an opportunity to rewrite their past with help from Madame Zoya and her magic time-travel powers. Each woman can choose any three weeks from the past to revisit, while retaining full knowledge of the present, and while there she is allowed to make changes that will give her another shot at love. Olivia and Kit rekindle their teenage romance and chart a fresh course; Elise stakes out a new career and is literally swept off her feet by the dashing Alejandro; and Kathy’s newfound self-esteem prompts a face-off with her father and spurs a new romance. Each journey satisfies their common goal: “Change the man, change your life.” Deveraux’s charming novel has likable characters and life-affirming second chances galore.

Narrator Susan Bennett maintains the fine line between realism and magical realism in Jude Deveraux's romantic novel. Three women of different ages--Olivia, Kathy, and Elise--meet in a Virginia summerhouse to discuss their failed romances. Separation, indifference, and cruelty evoke regret and longing in the women. Bennett speaks with the savoir faire of a seasoned narrator. She brings experience to Olivia's recollections, sardonic understanding to Kathy's, and a growing self-awareness to Elise's, always matching Deveraux's tone of yarn-spinning enchantment. It's a treat to hear a romance that speaks to various life experiences, and Bennett bridges the age span with humor. This is a sexy romance to share with grown-up daughters, mothers, and grandmothers, equal parts charming and insightful. C.A. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine