Judith McNaught

Judith McNaught is the master of emotional peaks. I have noticed that her plots are very soapy, but they work because of realistic emotional reactions by the characters. the plots hinge on the fact that these books are coming of age stories where teenagers are trying to navigate relationships with more experienced adults. They are misunderstandings that snowball into each other because while a nineteen year old may seem older than her years, she only has the experience of a nineteen year old girl. The thing about nineteen year old girls is that they are really good at knowing when they are in love, but usually don't know that there is more to a relationship. The problem for the main character is that she loves her husband, but she is unable to trust him because of past actions. Her husband's problem is that he is older, a genius, but is also kind of bad at relationships by making snap judgements and being kind of unforgiving. His main problem is that he forgets that he is married to someone who is much younger than him and hasn't figured out the things he has, so he treats her like they are on equal footing even though they are not. There is knowledge he has that she doesn't simply doesn't because she is sheltered and inexperience and she gains experience throughout the story. It's kind of like how the plot of Romeo and Juliet doesn't make any goddamn sense until you realize that Romeo and Juliet are overwrought thirteen year olds trying to be adults. This is the same thing. The plot seems to be a bit out of control with all the big things that are happening, but you have to remember that things are spiraling out of control because the main character is nineteen. Normally a large age gap is something I ignore in romances because it is extremely uncomfortable but this story simply doesn't work without it.… (plus d'informations)

I kept thinking we had come to the end only to have essentially the same plot repeat on itself. It was good, but much too long.

*SPOILERS*
Honestly, the 'love' story in this book hasn't aged very well. Yes it is passionate but it actually reads more like an abusive relationship than anything else. They routinely punish each other for every imagined transgression and I was honestly disgusted by the way the strong 'heroine' has to give him some indication that she's forgiven what was essentially rape. The context, his reasons, they don't matter the brutality he showed in that moment ruined him for me and I do not understand how it didn't ruin him for Whitney.… (plus d'informations)