Emily isn’t necessarily looking for a husband when she meets Adam, but he seemed like the real deal. Almost perfect...and then there was Pammie. Pammie raised Adam and his brother after becoming widowed, and the two boys adore her. Early on the reader (and Emily) see just how manipulative Pammie can be. Her need to be everything to her sons is pathological, and we watch her try to destroy Emily and the relationship that is blossoming.
The book builds around this premise, and Jones draws the reader in as the story progresses. I love the way the author paints a picture with her words. “His breath had smelled of last night’s curry,” certainly allows us to feel her disgust. When Emily disagreed with her own mother’s advice about judging a man by his teeth, she explained, “ I put more importance on whether someone’s smile reaches their eyes.” Those words helped build a picture of Emily as well as the person she was meeting.
Pammie was far from endearing, and I wasn’t overly fond of Adam, but they were both fascinating characters. It was frustrating watching Emily fight an uphill better as Adam turned a blind eye to his mother’s manipulation. It was hard to imagine that this bright young man was missing all the in-your-face clues, but it is often difficult to come between a boy and his mother. Jones’ exploration of this relationship added to the story and made it more than just another quick summer read, and the twist and turns kept me going until the very end.
-Beverly
Publisher - Minotaur Books
Date of Publication - August 21, 2018