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A Whole New Light

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From the heat of an Acapulco night...

Cyn McCall knew she could always count on her late husband's friend and business partner, Worth Lansing. He could make her laugh and forget her problems. She could tease him about his many romantic entanglements. The last thing Cyn expected was to find herself longing for a man who could never settle down.


From the Paperback edition.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1989

47 people are currently reading
2029 people want to read

About the author

Sandra Brown

327 books19.4k followers
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Sandra Brown is the author of more than sixty New York Times bestsellers, including STING (2016), FRICTION (2015), MEAN STREAK (2014), DEADLINE(2013), & LOW PRESSURE (2012), LETHAL (2011).

Brown began her writing career in 1981 and since then has published over seventy novels, bringing the number of copies of her books in print worldwide to upwards of eighty million. Her work has been translated into over thirty languages.

In 2009 Brown detoured from romantic suspense to write, Rainwater, a much acclaimed, powerfully moving historical fiction story about honor and sacrifice during the Great Depression.

Brown was given an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Texas Christian University. She was named Thriller Master for 2008, the top award given by the International Thriller Writer’s Association. Other awards and commendations include the 2007 Texas Medal of Arts Award for Literature and the Romance Writers of America’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

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5 stars
925 (20%)
4 stars
1,465 (32%)
3 stars
1,542 (33%)
2 stars
498 (10%)
1 star
108 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 347 reviews
Profile Image for Suz.
1,562 reviews865 followers
January 6, 2018
A short and snappy little romance from the late 80’s. Harmless beach holiday reading. Sandra Brown may have started more mildly in her writing, and not always a romantic suspense which I must have assumed. I enjoyed this one, nothing hard about it and ultra quick. Happy to find it at the Gloucester community bookstore whose profits go 100% to community groups in need; then happy to pass it on to a neighbour at my holiday. She actually gave me a whole bunch of books, and I gave her a memoir as soon as o got out of the car which was meant for the camp kitchen. Happy days.
Profile Image for Sandra.
746 reviews6 followers
January 22, 2016
Cyn McCall feels like she needs a change, her life has become too monotonous.

"I want something to happen. Something that will shake things up, turn my life around."

Cyn's husband Tim died two years ago. She has a four-year-old son, Brandon. And she's being hit on by an ob/gyn doctor who works at the same clinic that she does who thinks Cyn's uptight about sex. After visiting a good friend, Worth Lansing, he persuades her to go away with him for the weekend (just as friends) to Acapulco, to take a break and get away from it all. After thinking about it Cyn impulsively agrees.

Worth has been friends with Cyn for years. He was her husband Tim's best friend and they got to know each other well over the years. They had their happy times, and their sad times (like when Tim died in an auto accident.) And they were only just friends.

Worth got his tickets to Acapulco from a girlfriend who couldn't make it. So when he and Cyn arrive at their hotel in Acapulco they find they have a room with only one bed. But, since they are friends, they think they can deal with sleeping together. As they spend time together they start noticing things about each other, and start becoming attracted to each other. One day they eventually make love. But afterwards, Cyn is confused. She feels insecure, she thinks she can't compare to Worth's other lovers, she wonders if this ruined their friendship, etc....and she decides it's time to go home.

This was a sweet friends to lovers romance. I really liked Worth. He felt very guilty for wanting his best friend's wife, but he found himself genuinely caring for her. There were times when I was disappointed with Cyn though, and I didn't like how she treated Worth and jumped to conclusions. But eventually she noticed her mistakes. I thought Cyn and Worth were perfect for each other since they went through so much together and knew each other so well. Another enjoyable read by Sandra Brown.

Previously released as a Loveswept romance from 1989.
Profile Image for Geo Just Reading My Books.
1,494 reviews335 followers
October 2, 2020
Cyn și Worth se cunosc încă din facultate, de pe vremea când aceasta era iubita prietenului său. Prieteni de o viață, au trecut prin multe împreună iar Worth i-a fost aproape atunci când Tim, soțul ei, a murit într-un accident de mașină.
Dar, prietenia le este pusă în pericol după un weekend petrecut la Acapulco, când cei doi cad pradă atracției apărute fulgerător între ei. După o noapte pasională, cei doi se luptă cu emoțiile apărute între ei. Mai ales Cyn.
O lectură ușoară și relaxantă ce te face să speri că dragostea plutește în aer pentru fiecare.
Gelozie, lupte interioare, atracție arzătoare, totul condimentat cu suspansul oferit de barierele pe care Cyn trebuie să le depășească... Dacă o face sau nu, rămâne de văzut.
Profile Image for Vintage.
2,716 reviews723 followers
Read
July 22, 2019
DNF at Chapter 3.

Despite a bajillion cranky retirees living in Northern Arizona, there are few traditional hard rock radio stations or old time Fill Me Up, Buttercup R&B, and too many stations in general that have static due to the mountains. Only so many times you can listen to Best of Queen, the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack or Harry Potter so I rely on books on CD. Actually no limit to Harry!

This was kind of dated and sexist which I guess go hand in hand. Plus given this is Sandra Brown, I have a hard time not believing that the smarmy sexist doctor isn't really a serial killer, or that the H and h will uncover a mass grave in Mexico or a plot to overthrow the government. This is early days SB.


May come back to it later.
Profile Image for Robin.
1,985 reviews98 followers
June 3, 2017
It's been two years since Cyn McCall lost her husband Tim to an automobile accident. The love for her son and the support of her husband's best friend, Worth Lansing, kept her going in her time of grief. Now she is restless and her mother keeps telling her it is time to get on with her life. When she talks to Worth about it, he invites Cyn on a weekend trip to Acapulco. But the trip turns into more than either of them counted on when they see each other in a whole new light. Is it the exotic locale or is it time to move on from the past?

This is one of Sandra Brown's older category romances. I usually stay away from these because of Brown's overly dramatic dialogue. This one was very enjoyable and didn't have the over the top dialogue that I see in her older books. I'm guessing this was a later book where she was transitioning into the writer she is today. My rating: 4 Stars.
Profile Image for Linda (NOT RECEIVING NOTIFICATIONS).
1,906 reviews329 followers
July 25, 2016
Originally published in 1989 under the 'Loveswept' label, A WHOLE NEW LIGHT takes the formulaic theme of a young widow getting involved with her deceased husband's best friend. Because there is some outdated material, my guess is those 35 years old and up would enjoy this romance the most. Or if you are a young 'old soul'.

Cynthia 'Cyn' McCall was contentedly married to Tim when her husband was tragically killed in an accident. Fast forward two years later and she is stuck in a rut. Her widowed mother lives with her, she has a job working with young pregnant girls that wipes her out sometimes, mothering her little boy has her anxious at moments and she is attempting to have a social life. And along comes Dr. Josh, with an ego as big as a mountain, who accuses her of having an issue with sex. Because she wants to take things slow.

Once Tim's best friend and a happy third wheel, bachelor and womanizer-extraordinaire Worth Lansing has been Cyn's closest friend for quite awhile. Before, during and after, Cyn cannot remember a time when he hasn't been there. Able to joke and share things, he has two free plane and hotel reservations for a getaway weekend in Acapulco, Mexico. After seeing how Cyn is behaving, he convinces her to go with him. As friends, of course.

Needless-to-say, they have loads of fun but before their stay is over the relationship changes from friends to lovers. It is nothing either one expected to happen. Cyn chooses to not address the issue while Worth does his best and pursues her. Worth makes the story worth reading. No pun intended.

Honestly, if this was a longer I would have probably rated it lower. Cyn's self-esteem and problems with dwelling on the past make her have some unlikable moments. But because it is only 212 pages and covers a period of a few weeks, time flew by.

Ms. Brown's strength is making all her characters believable. There is a nice secondary story with Cyn's mother and an older neighbor. And, of course, Worth is a sweetheart when Cyn gives him a chance. If you enjoy the writing style of Brenda Novak, Marilyn Pappano, or Nora Robert's older contemporary romances, you should like this story.
Profile Image for Saly.
3,437 reviews579 followers
February 8, 2012
Rating 3.5

I like friend to lovers story and this fit this theme. The fact I appreciated the most was these two were truly best friends, joking about the hero's success with women, he being there for her when her husband and his best friend died and the best part was that both of them had never harboured feelings of more than friendship before they both take a trip out of town & are thrown in close proximity. This change of environment makes them see each other in a new light with both thinking it's one-sided when it all ends in a passionate encounter.

Afterwards of course things are awkward since both of them need time to process and it was funny seeing the heroine attaching nefarious purposes to the hero's intentions and later on when the heroine's mother got married both of them got dates and were jealous as hell. I liked it when they finally got it all out and realized they had moved past friendship, the hero came to this realization faster.

A short book.
Profile Image for Alexis-Morgan Roark.
Author 3 books455 followers
July 28, 2010
My only problem with this funny, sexy book is that Cyn's husband had to die for these two to come together.

I laughed. I teared up a little. I marvelled at how absolutely BLIND Worth had been for YEARS!

This is a great read that is quick, a little predictable, but LOADS of fun!!
Profile Image for Cheri.
507 reviews75 followers
June 24, 2017
It's just a short, fun, romantic beach read. Perfect for a summer vacation go to book.
Profile Image for Bona Caballero.
1,614 reviews68 followers
March 18, 2022
Con esta novelita, Sandra Brown se despidió de las genéricas tipo harlequin, en diciembre de 1989; fue el Loveswept n.º 366. Y lo hizo, a mi modo de ver, por la puerta grande, con una historia de amigos a amantes muy decente, de las que creo que merecería la pena traducir. Brown andaba ya sobrada.
Worth Lansing le pide a su amiga Cyn McCall que le acompañe en unas vacaciones. Entonces empiezan a mirarse con otros ojos. La pasión está ahí, pero también las dudas.
Lo que más me gusta es lo bien definidos que están los personajes para un formato tan breve, lo realista que suena todo. Cuando piensas que la novela va a caer en lo tópico, o ridículo, salen con algo divertido, o natural, o chocante, o se echan unas risas como ocurre en la vida real entre personas que se llevan bien.
Crítica más amplia, en mi blog.
Profile Image for Roxana.
59 reviews2 followers
January 17, 2026
5/5
I loved it! Cyn and Worth were absolutely fantastic. They made me laugh, get annoyed, feel happy, and even emotional; all wrapped into a short, fast-paced, and well-balanced story. The relationship between Worth and her son, Brandon, was especially heartwarming and well developed.
The plot was engaging, with a strong ’80s-’90s vibe, Acapulco felt like a dream setting, and the events that took place there were right up my alley.
I also really enjoyed the relationship between her mother, Ladonia, and her new husband, Charlie. I also enjoyed the schemes devised to make them realize they were meant for each other.💜📚
Profile Image for Amyiw.
2,823 reviews68 followers
November 29, 2015
The blurb interested me and it was available from Digital Editions (library) and the title fit a challenge. The blurb of a friends to lovers, where the guy talks the woman into giving them a chance... not quite. She is a self righteous, prude. He knowing this eggs her insecurities on. They so don't belong lovers and after the total mistake, they shouldn't be friends anymore either. They are both idiots, and mean spirited.

So the very beginning of the book was looking up but her reaction started the ruin, his reaction to her reaction just cemented it. When they finally get together again, oh god it is a disaster. The author writes it that way... really. So it was just not particular good or OK when they finally work out their stupidities.

So to add to the poor relationship that starts with chemistry and ends on a flop, I felt a little preached to the whole book. She is a pregnancy counselor, but it seems a bit one sided on the "how do we keep this" side. When I hear about her counseling 16 and 17 year olds, I'm just horrified. Yes, she doesn't actually come out and say, keep you baby, but it sure seems like that is her thoughts. The first was a teen that had 3 abortions and then decides to keep the 4th at 17 years old. She thought this was a good thing and she deserved the "best" doctor, for free. Hmm... sounds like supporting the right decision to me, not.

I know people in my family that had babies and gave them up for adoption, also friends that had abortion and teen pregnancies, that kept the baby. None of it is easy but I can tell you the easiest. The best thing is to not get pregnant in the first place, but it should not be glorified. So this seemed like it was a glory to babies book and a bit religious until the end when the guy picks up the "bible" in the waiting room and starts reading the story of Jonah to the little boy. Then I knew I had been correct about the subtle pushes in the religious direction throughout the book. The slight anti-abortion feel, the sex is only for marriage vibe, the prayer. I had felt preached to during the book slightly and at the end I felt sucker punch as it was no longer subtle. ending only added to this vibe.

The positive -It was short. But it certainly wasn't very sweet.

I had this author on my shelf but will not be reading more.
Profile Image for Arch .
100 reviews45 followers
March 30, 2009
This is my first Sandra Brown that I've read. This book had me laughing. I don't know if Sandra intended on making her readers laugh with this, but I did.

Worth and Cyn (Cynthia) are best friends. Cynthia is a widow. She was married to Worth's best friend, Tim. He had been dead for two years. They had a son together - Brandon.

Cyn had been in an icky mood and her mother told her the she needed to move on with her life. She had a bad day at work and needed to talk to someone that would understand her and that person was Worth. She tells him about her day and what her mother said and he agreed. He had a date with a woman name Greta, but she cancelled it and left him tickets to go to Acapulco, Mexico. He gets the ticket and decides he wanted to go and he wanted Cyn to go with him.

On the trip, they were walking in friendship shoes, but not for long. They sleeps together, but the next morning Cyn regretted what they have done and she wanted to go home. So, they both leave. Her problem was that she didn't believe that she could touch the women that Worth was use to being with.

They have tension between them. Their tension may seem childish to some people, but I would think that's how best friends who cross that line would act towards one another. They wanted to be friends and not go there again, but at the same time, they were fighting their feelings for one another. They were trying to push each other away, at the same time, wanting the other close.

I honestly believe that best friend turn lovers would be harder to do, then two strangers hooking up. This is a person, you have seen as your best friend all these years. Someone you didn't see as girlfriend or boyfriend material, until something change.

One part that had me laughing so hard and laughing for a while, is when Worth and Cyn was in his bedroom and he asked her to touch him in a certain spot. He yelled and poor Cyn thought that she was hurting him. Come to find out, he was having a charley horse. LOL, poor worth. That's a bad time for a charley horse to appear.

I know about Charley Horses and they are painful.

Cynthia and Worth gets married. Her son Brandon calls him father, which was touching to him. Brandon may have only been four years old, but he knew that Tim was his real father, but to him, Tim was his father, when he was a baby and now Worth is his father for the rest of his life.

This book is a very quick read and strictly romance. Oh, and funny, well at least to me it was.


This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Meiwilli.
1,645 reviews5 followers
September 25, 2023
If this ain't the worst CRAP (Can’t Read Another Page) I've ever picked up and attempted to read! Cyn and Worth are the most boring two people on the planet! Cyn is such a prude I can't believe she was ever married and has a son. She acts like a blushing virgin! On the real, she's a widow who hasn't had sex since her husband died (playing the still grieving, martyr, best-mom in the universe)! I think the vows say until death do us part...And Worth is a freaking gigolo and Brown wants us to try and wrap our mind around this setup?As if two adults, male and female, can't figure out how to share a room for a couple of days and keep a friendship. Might have been interesting if the dialogue wasn't completely TERRIBLE! HORRIBLE, STUPID, WASTE OF MY TIME, NON-SENSE ROMANCE NOVEL...0.5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Jean.
338 reviews2 followers
May 10, 2014
Sadly shallow. Repetitious regrets. Predictably predictable. I love Chick Lit but I resent authors who think women are feather-brained. This was not typical Sandra Brown quality in terms of plot and/or character development. (I mean, seriously, who would pay the money for a plane ticket change to leave Acapulco on an earlier flight for the SAME day she had planned on leaving just to get away from a guy?)
1,349 reviews
September 1, 2017
Bleeech!! For those reviewers that found Cyn to be unlikable, shallow and just obnoxious, im with you! There was nothing romantic about this romance
Profile Image for V knihach.
453 reviews17 followers
September 24, 2021
Moja tretia kniha od Brownovej. Ako inak, štýl písania skvelý!

Toto však nebol krimi príbeh ako Krvavé spomienky alebo Tichý muž, ktoré som čítala. No vôbec mi to nevadilo.

Romantika ako vyšitá.

Úžasný príbeh 29 ročnej vdovy Cyn, ktorá žije s matkou po smrti manžela. Matka je tiež vdova,ovdovela po smrti zaťa, takže to bol dvojitý úder. Zatiaľ, čo matka sa spamätala a žije si svoj život so všetkým čo príde, jej dcéra sa utápa v žiali a je verná svojmu mŕtvemu manželovi Timovi… Brandon, malý syn Cynthie,je v podstate spomínaný len okrajovo… Jej a Timov najlepší priateľ,Worth, veľký sukničkár,sa jej ponúkne, že by mali spolu stráviť víkend v Acapulku, ktorý mu darovala klientka…

Viac neprezradím,no vrelo odporúčam aj takúto staršiu knihu všetkým romantickým dušiam. Nie je to len o iskrení medzi hlavnými postavami príbehu,ale najmä o Timovom tieni a výčitky svedomia oboch hrdinov. Vtipné scénky a iskrivé chvíle sú doplnené dialógmi, ktorými dej naozaj napreduje. 

Vrelo odporúčam! Ideálna romantická oddychovka v rozsahu 160 strán
Profile Image for Gizella Tóth.
Author 99 books38 followers
February 26, 2015
Felfoghatatlan. Mondanám, hogy spoiler következik, de annyira nem szól semmiről ez a könyv, hogy bármit írok is, azt nem lehet spoilernek nevezni.
Adva vagyon ugye a hősnő, aki özvegy - itt még nagyon érdekelt a dolog, mert nora új trilógiájában a három nőből kettő szintén az, így kíváncsi voltam, Sandra hogyan dolgozza fel ezt a témát - nos, sehogy - a hölgy cirka kétszáz oldalon keresztül vagy az önsajnálatban fetreng vagy a féltékenység cakkozza, persze néhányszor szeretkeznek is a főhőssel, aki elég ostoba ahhoz, hogy menthetetlenül beleszeressen a szépséges hisztérikába (egy rejtély... ha tényleg ilyenek vagyunk mi nők, kész csoda, hogy csak ennyi meleg pasi van a földön!) pedig a pasi elég normálisnak tűnik... - ezzel sikerült is felvázolnom a teljes cselekményt - egy-két oldalt még rászánt az írónő arra, hogy a főhősnő anyja megtalálta az igazit és férjhez megy (üde színfolt a tömény unalomban) - illetve, amikor végre történne valami (Cynthia kórházi piszológus, aki a megesett lányoknak ad tanácsokat - egyik paciense piszok gazdag, de érzelmekben nulla családból származik - a lány végső kétségbeesésében a szobájába zárkózik és öngyilkosságra készül - a rendőrség Cyn segítségét kéri...), akkor is ott vége a cselekménynek, hogy a rendőrség riasztja és a hapi felajánlja, hogy elviszi - a következő fejezetben már újra otthon vagyunk, a hapi néhány dicsérő szóval hízlalja Cyn egóját, hogy milyen ügyesen bejutott a lányhoz, milyen ügyesen megoldotta a helyzetet, de hogy ezt hogyan tette...??? - szóval elképesztően nagy csalódás ez a könyv
Profile Image for Emma.
906 reviews58 followers
September 24, 2018
sexist and dated - 2*

I actually enjoyed the basic story. Cynthia is a young widow who is good friends with her husband's best friend. There is nothing romantic or sexual between them and then suddenly there is. I was able to buy into that and also into their guilt about it.

What I did not like at all was the really sexist attitudes about men. Nor did I like the way religion was used as an indicator of Cynthia's worthiness as a human being. Her mother was a piece of work and I hated every paragraph with her in it.

The narrator was ok. Not great but not the worst either.
Profile Image for Nonieღserenity2bliss.
2,035 reviews377 followers
February 23, 2010
An easy, good romance story with almost predictable ending. Not her best, but still one of my personal favorite. As this book was first published in early 90s, the characterization (not to mention the fashion, haha) is different than most contemporary romance written today. But don't let that deter you from giving this book a try.

A good book is a good book regardless when it was first released :)
Profile Image for Lyuda.
539 reviews178 followers
August 3, 2016
3.5 stars
Nice, short and satisfying read. This is a story of two best friends (widow and confirmed bachelor) who came to see each other in a different light during their unplanned trip to Acapulco. The mixed emotions, reluctance and even guilt that they experienced when their feelings changed for each other were well portrayed. It was also interesting and kind of sad for me to revisit before 9/11 commercial flight experience.
Profile Image for Mel.
1,706 reviews4 followers
January 27, 2023
I’ve taken to listening to books on audio that I know I read like 20 years ago, maybe even 25 years ago, to see if they hold up. I really liked reading Sandra Brown back in the day, especially these Love Swept titles. But hoo boy, they do NOT hold up. The misogyny, the slut shaming of other women, it’s horrendous. They’re entertaining but also just really terrible and it’s interesting to reread them all these years later and realize how terrible they are.
Profile Image for Lizzie Lucier.
73 reviews5 followers
December 2, 2008
My GOD this book was obnoxious...I am usually an easy to please reader, but some of the comments made by the "hero" of this book made me want to slap him, he was crass and rude... I could not wait to finish it.
91 reviews14 followers
May 21, 2017
I found the heroine deeply unlikable. She complained about everything, relentlessly and with little reason, to the point that I had a hard time understanding why the love interest actually liked her.
151 reviews
June 12, 2017
I randomly, quickly selected this one after Tara showed me how to download from my phone when I didn't have one checked out from the library. Found this one simple and poorly written. Ironically about a young widow. Wouldn't recommend.
4,130 reviews11 followers
June 14, 2018
Too predictable, too silly.
Profile Image for Jelena Antic.
206 reviews17 followers
March 1, 2018
Ovo sam vec procitala, ali zaboravila da jesam 😁😁😁
Profile Image for Anita.
2,659 reviews223 followers
January 6, 2023
Sweet and sexy romance of the friends to lovers trope. I felt the heroine was a little on the angst side, but I loved the hero. He played her just right and I don't even think he was really playing her.

Cynthia McCall has been a widow for two years and although she loves her son and her job, she feels something is missing from her life. When deceased hubby's best friend invites her on a spur of the moment trip to Acapulco. She is nothing more than a good friend to Worth Lansing and knows his rep as a player is well earned, but he wouldn't dare to try and play her.

All bets are off when they hit the white sand and hot nights of the beach resort and Cyn and Worth find themselves confronting a desire neither one expected to feel for the other. Finding a way through or around this unbidden passion is what makes this story so wonderful.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 347 reviews

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