Lisa GabrieleCritiques

Sexual

Full Review on my blog!

First, I want to say that I love REBECCA by Daphne du Maurier. It's a book that I have read several times and I feel like I love it a bit more every time I read it. Second, this book, well we got off on the wrong foot I think. I had a hard time getting into it, found it hard to like the story and the characters. So, I took a break and then I came back to it a couple of month's later and I pick up where I left on, but this time did I choose the audio version. And, now the story felt much more to my liking.

If you have read Rebecca, then the story will have a familiar tone. However, I would say that the author has brilliantly made something new. It's more of a feeling of Rebecca than a retelling and that is a great move. It's an intense story and one thing that Lisa Gabriele has managed to do is to make the main female character, the nameless second Winter (just as with the first book) a bit stronger than the meek character in REBECCA. That has always been my problem when it comes to the story. I just like my female characters a bit gutsier.

So, the verdict. If you haven't read REBECCA or seen any of the movies/mini-series then you will have nothing to compare with, and that can be nice and you will probably be more surprised by the story than if you have read REBECCA. If you have read the book, then I will bet that the wedding scene in this book will make quite apprehensive since you probably know what will happen...

I was hoping for some cold and gloomy vibes off this version like the original. However, the ambiance never quite got there, but it did a few interesting things with the Max and Mrs. DeWinter characters, all while turning Rebecca on her head. Not a regret, but not a showstopper for me either.

Cassie se acaba de incorporar como reclutadora de hombres atractivos para el selecto club S.E.C.R.E.T. Tras descubrir que Will, el hombre al que ama, está esperando un bebé con otra mujer, se dedica a hacer realidad las fantasías eróticas de Dauphine Mason, el último fichaje del grupo.
Dauphine es propietaria de una tienda de ropa vintage en Nueva Orleans y su mayor preocupación es conseguir que los demás se sientan bien aunque ella se esté hundiendo por una ruptura que la dejó sexualmente insegura. Poco a poco se da cuenta de que para vencer sus miedos tiene que olvidar su amargo pasado. Y, al hacerlo, sus fantasías no solo reavivarán su llama sexual, sino que despertarán de nuevo sus maltrechos sentimientos.

Cassie es una joven viuda que es introducida en una sociedad underground donde las mujeres pueden llevar a cabo sus fantasías sexuales. S.E.C.R.E.T es el club donde las ponen en práctica. Sin juzgar. Sin vergüenza. Sin límites. De una forma Segura, Erótica, Convincente, Romántica, Eufórica y Transformadora. El principio es sencillo: una vez que se acepta entrar en la organización, cada mujer debe seleccionar las diez fantasías eróticas que quiere vivir.
Cada capítulo cuenta una fantasía sexual de la protagonista. Por cada una de las fantasías cumplidas, la participante recibe un abalorio para colgar en su pulsera como prueba superada...

Cassie se acaba de incorporar como reclutadora de hombres atractivos para el selecto club S.E.C.R.E.T. Tras descubrir que Will, el hombre al que ama, está esperando un bebé con otra mujer, se dedica a hacer realidad las fantasías eróticas de Dauphine Mason, el último fichaje del grupo. Dauphine es propietaria de una tienda de ropa vintage en Nueva Orleans y su mayor preocupación es conseguir que los demás se sientan bien aunque ella se esté hundiendo por una ruptura que la dejó sexualmente insegura. Poco a poco se da cuenta de que para vencer sus miedos tiene que olvidar su amargo pasado. Y, al hacerlo, sus fantasías no solo reavivarán su llama sexual, sino que despertarán de nuevo sus maltrechos sentimientos.

Cassie se siente segura. Gracias a S.E.C.R.E.T consiguió librarse de sus miedos, porque hace tiempo que sabe que estar sola no significa sentirse sola. Además, todo es diferente desde que rompió con el pasado para apostar por su relación con Will, el amor de su vida. El problema es que Will ha descubierto las actividades de Cassie en S.E.C.R.E.T. Y cree que no puede querer a una persona con un hisotorial oculto tan… intenso. Como le dice su mentora, en todo sufrimiento hay oportunidades enterradas, solo hay que saber buscarlas. ¿Tendría que encontrar la manera de arreglar las cosas con Will? ¿O lo mejor sería regresar con Jesse, alguien que la sabrá consolar sin juzgarla?
Por el momento, Cassie vuelve a S.E.C.R.E.T para ayudar a la última en descubrir las ventajas de la organización: Solange, una mujer divorciada que creía haber dejado atrás lo mejor de su vida sexual. Pero que pronto llegará más lejos que cualquiera de quienes la han precedido. S.E.C.R.E.T nos habla de fantasías consumadas y de placer sin límites, de esos segundos que provocan un latigazo de deseo por debajo del ombligo y de lo que ocurre después, cuando el cuerpo decide que es hora de dejarse llevar. Sí, este libro habla de satisfacción sexual plena, imaginativa y sin prejuicios. Lo mejor es que las protagonistas son mujeres que eligen tener encuentros íntimos según sus propias normas. Y, por supuesto, también es una gran historia de amor. ¿Qué más se puede desear?

Sounds lame to say it but the most interesting thing about this novel was the idea of SECRETS. The plot wasn't much and the characters didn't live up to the promising idea.

Just too much of the same as the first book.

The Winters is a page-turning tribute to Rebecca, with a blend of modern and gothic secrets.

Our unnamed protagonist is working as a crew hand in the Cayman Islands, when a handsome, recently widowed banker comes in looking for a boat, and it’s love at first sight. After a speedy courtship, Max Winters asks her to marry him and move back to New York with him.

But the Cinderella story twists on Long Island, where she finds her new home is a monument to her husband’s first wife, and inhabited by their moody, hostile daughter. There’s a contrast between the subtle distance from the household servants (telling her to enjoy her visit, for example) and the open animosity from Dani, but the house is unfriendly and unfamiliar. Max has secrets, too, in case being a New York banker with undisclosed business in the Cayman Islands didn’t tip you off.

This is such a gothic story — the family estate is only accessible by a winding, deserted bridge, part of the house is a locked-off memorial to the first Mrs. Winter, there are loads of dark roses delivered constantly in her memory, there’s the threat of insanity and imprisonment, and there’s a massive greenhouse that no one may ever enter again. This isn’t a historical novel, this is a modern-day Long Island banker and politician, living his best brooding-gothic life.

The narrator is never named, and she doesn’t say her age or at times, even her appearance is vague. I often find this kind of device a bit gimmicky (I want to read a story, not watch a trick), but it works here because for so much of the story, she is passive, mostly acted-on by others and not really a driving force. By the time she develops some agency, I’d forgotten the omission.

I loved the reveals and secrets, even though if you’ve read Rebecca, there are some clues. There are also hints of Jane Eyre here, which adds to the mood. The modern setting makes it harder to accept some of gothic-horror red flags (Surely there’s some rational, everyday reason no one can ever enter the greenhouse? Maybe it’s structurally unsound and Max just wants her to be safe?) which adds another layer of suspense because the narrator’s never quite able to trust what she sees, hears, and discovers in the mansion.

I almost gave up on this book about a third of the way in. The book had slowed down by that point, and I just wasn't finding myself interested any more. I'm happy I gave it more time, and I mostly enjoyed where the book went. This is an updated version of Rebecca, set primarily in New York. The resolution was really satisfying - much more so then in the original - but the unnamed narrator comes across as a much simpler character here. She's a good person, who manages (somehow) to make friends out of everyone else in the book, and who ends up with an appropriately happily ever after ending. The second Mrs de Winter is a more complex character, and her ending is much more gray. I think I would have preferred a little more of that in this book.½

I really enjoyed this book so much. It took me by surprise in a great way. Mrs. Winters is the voice of this story. This book had a gothic/psychological thriller vibe. Now, if this does not get your attention; the storyline itself will grab you.

I was trying to figure out what the mystery surrounding the former Mrs. Winter was all about. I will tell you that you should just forget about trying to figure the mystery out and just sit back relax and enjoy reading this book. There was an aire of the gothic vibes felt the whole time I was reading this book. Not to mention the fact that it was like a movie playing in my head.

Speaking of the ending. It did not disappoint. From start to finish, I had a great time reading this book. In fact, it got me out of my reading slump. Author, Lisa Gabriele pens a haunting story that will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat until the very last page!

I loved Rebecca by Du Maurier, this did not quite live up to that, one of my all time favourites.
However, this was good with a fast pace and a clever plot

Do you know that feeling when a book leaves you reeling, defying your expectations, demanding to be read at all hours and staying with you long after you finish? That for me was The Winters. Wow! Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca has long been one of my favourite novels, and I when I came across the title of this book, my first thought was 'Oh no, someone has tried to update my beloved book'. I haven't been impressed by previous sequels and prequels - Susan Hill's Mrs De Winter was deathly dull and Sally Beauman's Rebecca's Tale was cracked - but I had to give this a try, ready to post a three star review - or worse.

How wrong I was! This is how seriously impressed I am - I think Lisa Gabriele's retelling might actually be better than the original! Shock horror! The nameless narrator in Du Maurier's book is primarily why I love the story so much, because I can identify with such crippling shyness and lack of confidence, and I wondered how such a nonentity could ever be successfully dragged into the modern day, but once again, I was wrong. Still nameless, but now of Cuban heritage, Lisa Gabriele has crafted a narrator with slightly more independence that her predecessor, but the overpowering need to be loved, to be safe remains, only for different reasons: 'Imagine having the courage to talk back to people you don’t like, who don’t like you, or better yet, not reacting at all, simply shrugging it off and moving on with your day'.

“Born on a boat, lives on an island, now an orphan, working for a witch. You’re a Grimms’ fairy tale set in the Caribbean," Max Winter summarises his new fiancee's life. They meet in the Cayman Islands, where the narrator works for an Aussie businesswoman who runs a boat rental service for tourists. Max Winter, a state senator from Long Island, is still in mourning for his glamorous wife Rebekah, who died in a car crash near their home, Asherley, two years ago. He meets the narrator and falls in love with her, wining and dining her on the island until she is forced to choose between her livelihood and her love for Max. He proposes and takes her home to his own island in East Hampton, where his magnificent gated property waits - and so does Max's daughter, Dani.

The twists and turns in this version of Du Maurier's classic both took me by surprise and improved on the original for me, so I won't say any more. BUT - for modern readers who hate that Max apparently gets away with murder in Rebecca, and his new wife supports him, there is a satisfying turn of events. Dani was the real delight for me, however. Obviously she is the updated Mrs Danvers, coming between Max and his new wife with memories of his beautiful lost love, but she has the stronger claim - she is Max's teenage daughter, lately bereaved of her beloved mother, and not just the housekeeper who could easily be dismissed. She is catty, vindictive and unbalanced, living in her mother's old bedroom and wearing her clothes. When she seems to soften and allow her stepmother into her life, there is always the suspicion that she cannot be trusted. And when she claimed the kitten that the second Mrs W saves from imminent dispatch with an axe, my heart was constantly in my mouth that she was going to hurt the poor thing (I can't animal cruelty as a shorthand for psychopathy). I was relying too much on my knowledge of the original novel, however.

There are some worthy references to Rebecca, especially the dress scene, which almost tips over into Jane Eyre territory (not one of my favourite novels). My favourite moment, when the narrator forgets that she is Mrs [De] Winter now is missing, but her internal fantasies are just as strong: “I’m telling you, a little drama just played itself out on your face. I saw it. What were you thinking?” Max asks. I love that spilling over of daydream into reality, when her face journey betrays her thoughts!

I can't really say more about the plot, but READ READ READ! Even the familiar opening chapter, with the narrator in exile, is not what you think. I'm going to buy the paperback version with the roses on the cover, just so I can return to this amazing retelling in the future. Rebecca has been replaced once again!

The author set herself a high bar in tackling a modern reimagining of Daphne du Maurier’s classic psychological thriller, Rebecca, with its famous first line—“Last night I dreamed I went again to Manderley.” Gabriele’s first line, “Last night Rebekah tried to murder me again” is startling, if lacking the original’s poetic power.
Nevertheless, a novel is more than its opening line. I reread the set-up for du Maurier’s gothic thriller to reacquaint myself with the story and her style, so I could assess whether Gabriele’s new novel stands up to the original, since it so deliberately invites the comparison. I ended up with a mixed opinion.
As in the original, Gabriele’s (again, unnamed) narrator, a rather unsophisticated if sincere young woman, does not fit easily in the social set of her new fiancé, wealthy New York Senator Maxim Winter. Winter dismisses her feelings of being out-of-place, despite (or is it because of?) her stark dissimilarity to his late wife—the beautiful, charming, and talented Rebekah. I didn’t really warm up to the narrator—odd, since the book is written in the first-person—nor did I find her a wholly convincing character.
As in the original, most of the story takes place at a legendary and enormous family residence. The Winter estate, Asherley, was built on its own island at the far eastern end of Long Island, facing the sea.
In a brilliant move by Gabriele, the narrator’s antagonist is not the confidant of the late Mrs. Winter, the housekeeper (Mrs. Danvers in the original); in Gabriele’s version, the principal opposition to the marriage and to the narrator herself comes from Max and Rebekah’s teenage daughter, Dani. Many of us have seen how fraught relationships with step-children can be, and this was a persuasive adjustment to modern times. There is a lot going on with Dani, though her rebellious teenage machinations are hard to forgive, for narrator and reader alike.
While the set-up of the two novels is reasonably similar, their plots begin to diverge about half-way through. Even so, having Dani volunteer to help the narrator find a wedding dress evokes nail-biting echoes of disaster that play out in a completely unexpected way.
Gabriele’s writing style is, of course, markedly different from that of a novel written eighty years ago. Still, I miss du Maurier’s long loopy sentences and lush descriptions. In the new version, you see the Winter mansion through modern eyes and a more practical, less dreamy affect. In place of a wall of blood-red rhododendrons, you have a profusion of vases full of Rebekah’s favored deep red roses. Tastes differ as to whether a more florid style better fits a romantic story about a woman blinded by love—or is she?—and haunted by her dead rival.
Gabriele’s narrator is a refreshingly modern woman, appreciative of Max Winter’s extreme wealth, but not overawed by it. Even so, she finds herself trapped by circumstances. In today’s world, a difficult housekeeper would be dismissed; it’s not so easy to divest oneself of a step-daughter, even a calculating, substance-abusing, and foul-mouthed one like Dani. Gabriele, having set aside the evil housekeeper, finds new ways for Rebekah’s memory to torment the new Mrs. Winter, while the ghost of du Maurier’s Rebecca necessarily haunts The Winters.

I was hooked with the first stunning line and it held my interest to the end. Full review at: https://thelastpageturnedbookblog.blogspot.com/2018/12/review-winters-by-lisa-ga...

If this book had been a straight-up suspense novel and not a retelling of one of my all-time favorites, Rebecca, I likely would give it 4 stars. But, in comparison to Daphne du Marnier, this novel can't quite hold its own. This book reworks the story from a contemporary and American perspective. Some of the characters are much the same and others have been altered significantly from their original roles. The book invokes a number of illusions to the original and left me with a longing to dig into my copy of Rebecca and reread it yet again. Overall, it was a good read, but it pales in comparison to its inspiration.

I just loved this book. This author did an amazing job with this story.

Fascinating alternative version of Rebecca. Marked down because of what was done to one character.

Thank you, FirsttoRead, for my complimentary review copy.

Although touted as a modern re-telling of Daphne du Maurier’s classic novel, Rebecca, this was entirely new for me. I have neither read the original nor have I seen any of the film adaptations.

Told from the perspective of the main protagonist, who remains nameless throughout the novel. She is a rags-to-riches young woman swept off her feet by the older, affluent and charismatic Max Winter. Whisked away from her life in the Grand Cayman Islands, she literally becomes a fish out of water when she finds herself at the luxurious Asherley estate in The Hamptons. Although her previous life, working as a boat tour operator and living in shared accommodations, was hardly ideal, it was home.

Beyond the expected changed dynamics of a new relationship, the soon-to-be Mrs. Winter has other challenges to contend with. The presence of the inimitable Rebekah, the first Mrs. Winter, is everywhere. The change in routine, loss of autonomy, and staff at her beck and call...only add to her alienation. Last, but not least, Dani, Max’s teen daughter, is less than welcoming.

As she slowly finds her footing in her new home and tries to win over the temperamental Dani, our protagonist finds that all that glitters is not gold. There are secrets and layers that, when revealed and peeled away, will shake her to the core.

I enjoyed this book enough that I’m tempted now to read the inspiration, Rebecca. The fact that the protagonist/narrator is never named is curious, but fits the storyline. The descriptions are vivid and characters well-developed. I loved that the plot twists and turns so much I couldn’t predict what would happen next.

Cross posted from rabidgummibear.wordpress.com
A group of women aged 30-80 or something like that gather in a mansion where they help other women rediscover their sexuality with some drop dead HOT men! Sounds awesome right? The cherry on top was that this took place in New Orleans, LA and that for me is awesome. I was able to easily imagine what all the buildings looked like and the locations.

We join Cassie at 35 having not had sex for 5 years and a widow working at a cafe. She came out of a terrible marriage of abuse that has left her feeling drab and worthless expressed by her plain clothes and just lack of life. Cassie finds a journal that was left behind by one patron she often admires. Total shocker the book is full of naughty stories and the customers experience. Cue S.E.C.R.E.T. becoming a part of Cassie's life and yes we know it's corny that the group was named secret, but in the end it was okay.

The things I liked? Oh boy this book was hot. I really enjoyed it and every step Cassie took on the path of S.E.C.R.E.T. was pretty amazing. Cassie becomes a great character by the end and we see a lot of growth in her as a person. I loved how the book focused on Cassie finding herself again in not only a sexual way but also as a person. The scenes in the book are incredibly sexy as well.

The things I didn't like is a short list. I hated that Cassie's age kept being shoved in our face. I felt it wasn't that important of a fact. I also didn't like that the ten steps took a year, but I suppose rediscovering yourself sexually from a position like Cassie was previously in would take a while. The end sucked I mean it was terrible at the time I didn't know there was a second book coming so I was livid. I wanted to throw my e-reader across the room and pitch a fit. So remember the ending sucks, but we get book 2 sometime soon.

Overall 4/5 stars. I enjoyed this book a lot. It was refreshing and different. I enjoyed that it was focused on her rediscovering her sexuality not some man running her life.

I was really looking forward to reading a contemporary re-telling of Du Maurier's Rebecca, but Gabriele's novel, for me, lacked the sense of oppressive dread which permeated the original. And the revelations about the truth of Rebekah's fate were overly-complicated and convoluted. While it's admirable that Gabriele did not slavishly adhere to the events and characterizations of the original, the result was a novel that felt like it was trying too hard and never quite found the balance between faithful update and original work.

I'm not a big fan of modern retellings of well known novels. It has been a long time since I read Rebecca, so I dont remember all the t. What I do remeber is the Gothic tone, the sense of forboding that creeped through the pages. I didn't find that here. What I found was a young, naive woman, a politician that seems lost after his first wifes death, Rebekkah of course, and a rather bratty teen. The story does build, but it wasn't really suspenseful until the end. The buildup is slow, and at times interesting enough to keep me reading. Didn't quite know what was going on and who was telling the truth. The ending was definitely the best part, where all the action happens, and I admit to bring fooled. Quite a clever twist on the original Rebecca.

So good, different, it is hard to take on such a well thought of novel, and the author did put her own spin, interpretation on this retelling. But for me, the atmosphere just wasn't there.

This modern retake on Daphne DuMaurier's classic Rebecca features a nameless orphan who meets a wealthy older man in the Caymans and moves to his ancestral family home, a private island in Long Island Sound. Instead of the treacherous Mrs. Danvers, there's a horror of a fifteen year old daughter, missing her mother, who had died in a single car accident. The twists are all familiar - the abusive treatment, the husband's seeming ambivalence about his dead wife, a mysterious greenhouse, and even boats play a major role, just as in the original. There's a good twist at the end. But I feel compelled to read the real thing again. It would be impossible to create another novel as brilliantly plotted, since Rebecca set the highest standard for this type of gothic tale. I smell a movie.½