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danubooks 's review for:
Relative Strangers
by A. H. Kim
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
She has nowhere to go but home….
….but then she discovers that her family home no longer belongs to her family. In this modern-day twist on Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility, Amelia Bae-Wood finds herself without any money and with an arrest record. She hitchhikes her way to her family’s home in California, partly in response to her older sister Eleanor’s plea to return for the sake of their widowed mother, and arrives to find only a note on the gate. It seems that their recently deceased father had a son outside of wedlock who, as the eldest child, is claiming that he is the rightful heir to the estate and the courts have agreed. Eleanor has taken their mother to a place called Arcadia, where her friend Leo runs a cancer retreat center and has offered them the use of a cottage on the grounds. Amelia joins them there, as does Eleanor’s teenage daughter Maggie, making for a tight fit in the small living space. Each of the Bae-Wood women are at a juncture in their lives that requires some soul-searching and focus; mistakes will be made and tears shed before they can move ahead.
As in the original Austen novel, in Relative Strangers we have the sensible sister Eleanor who works hard, puts the welfare of others before her own, and is the one keeping the family afloat. We also have the artistic, sensitive sister Amelia who lets her emotions dictate her decisions, which generally doesn’t end well for her. There are several men circulating in their vicinity….the handsome and seemingly kind Jett who has some complications from the past mucking up his present; Leo, the warm and generous friend; Leo’s friend Brandon, the somewhat stuffy but also kind and helpful gentleman; and Hari, the charming and good looking heartbreaker. It is hard as the reader not to imagine which individuals would make the best match, and the characters themselves wonder along those same lines. But there are secrets in everyone’s past, and those who seem well-suited on the surface may in fact not be. Do the characters have the same destinies as the Austen characters with which they align? You won’t hear that from me, you’ll have to read the novel to discover the answer to that question. Along the way, you will enjoy getting to know the different characters with all of their talents and quirks, salivate at the descriptions of the food coming out of Jett’s kitchen, and discover the natural surroundings along the Northern Californian coast where the various dramas unfold. A lighthearted, romantic story that explores the bonds of family, sisterhood, and surviving losses, Relative Strangers is a fun read that will appeal to readers of Julia Sonneborn and Curtis Sittenfeld as well as to those who enjoyed watching Amy Heckerling’s “Clueless”. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Graydon House for allowing me access to an early copy of the novel.
….but then she discovers that her family home no longer belongs to her family. In this modern-day twist on Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility, Amelia Bae-Wood finds herself without any money and with an arrest record. She hitchhikes her way to her family’s home in California, partly in response to her older sister Eleanor’s plea to return for the sake of their widowed mother, and arrives to find only a note on the gate. It seems that their recently deceased father had a son outside of wedlock who, as the eldest child, is claiming that he is the rightful heir to the estate and the courts have agreed. Eleanor has taken their mother to a place called Arcadia, where her friend Leo runs a cancer retreat center and has offered them the use of a cottage on the grounds. Amelia joins them there, as does Eleanor’s teenage daughter Maggie, making for a tight fit in the small living space. Each of the Bae-Wood women are at a juncture in their lives that requires some soul-searching and focus; mistakes will be made and tears shed before they can move ahead.
As in the original Austen novel, in Relative Strangers we have the sensible sister Eleanor who works hard, puts the welfare of others before her own, and is the one keeping the family afloat. We also have the artistic, sensitive sister Amelia who lets her emotions dictate her decisions, which generally doesn’t end well for her. There are several men circulating in their vicinity….the handsome and seemingly kind Jett who has some complications from the past mucking up his present; Leo, the warm and generous friend; Leo’s friend Brandon, the somewhat stuffy but also kind and helpful gentleman; and Hari, the charming and good looking heartbreaker. It is hard as the reader not to imagine which individuals would make the best match, and the characters themselves wonder along those same lines. But there are secrets in everyone’s past, and those who seem well-suited on the surface may in fact not be. Do the characters have the same destinies as the Austen characters with which they align? You won’t hear that from me, you’ll have to read the novel to discover the answer to that question. Along the way, you will enjoy getting to know the different characters with all of their talents and quirks, salivate at the descriptions of the food coming out of Jett’s kitchen, and discover the natural surroundings along the Northern Californian coast where the various dramas unfold. A lighthearted, romantic story that explores the bonds of family, sisterhood, and surviving losses, Relative Strangers is a fun read that will appeal to readers of Julia Sonneborn and Curtis Sittenfeld as well as to those who enjoyed watching Amy Heckerling’s “Clueless”. Many thanks to NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing/Graydon House for allowing me access to an early copy of the novel.