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Foster Saga #0.5
Double Exposure: From A Gift of Love
From bestselling author Judith McNaught. Stepsisters Cory and Diana Foster run Beautiful Living magazine. Diana handles the business side of things and Cory organizes the gorgeous photo layouts that the magazine is known for. When Diana arranges a photo shoot for the "perfect wedding", Cory is reunited with an old flame and a chance for romance to spark again.
Audio Cassette
First published January 1, 1996
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714 people want to read
About the author
Judith McNaught
88 books7,785 followersYou can find Judith McNaught in facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorjudith...
Judith McNaught is a #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author, with more than forty million copies of her novels in print, in over eighty countries and more than thirty languages. She was also the first female executive producer at a CBS radio station. McNaught is credited with inventing the modern Regency Historical romance subgenre.
Judith McNaught is a #1 New York Times Best-Selling Author, with more than forty million copies of her novels in print, in over eighty countries and more than thirty languages. She was also the first female executive producer at a CBS radio station. McNaught is credited with inventing the modern Regency Historical romance subgenre.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews
August 31, 2024
This is a short story in true JMcN fashion.
The first half of the book tells the story of Corey's Foster infatuation and young love from the first time she met Spencer Addison when she was 13yo till the day five years later when he broke her heart.
The second half of the book is about their meeting ten years later during a weekend wedding.
As much as I love JMcN's narration and story telling (the woman can create complicated and addicting, if long, stories either in historical or contemporary settings), I can't but feel disappointed in her short stories. As it happened with Miracles the second half of the story felt rushed.
I don't know if the author had to fulfill a certain quota of words and she discovered in the end that she was running out of them so she had to resolve matters quickly, but the HEA came out of character for both MC's. The end left me unsatisfied and with a lot of questions. I just feel sad because both the MC's and the second characters had great potential to expand in the story that it troubles me that they were left unexploited.
I realy hope that in the next book Remember When, which thank the Lord is quite longer, we might get a glimpse of what happens with Corey and Spence after their HEA.
Just leaving here some photos inspired by the story...
The first half of the book tells the story of Corey's Foster infatuation and young love from the first time she met Spencer Addison when she was 13yo till the day five years later when he broke her heart.
The second half of the book is about their meeting ten years later during a weekend wedding.
As much as I love JMcN's narration and story telling (the woman can create complicated and addicting, if long, stories either in historical or contemporary settings), I can't but feel disappointed in her short stories. As it happened with Miracles the second half of the story felt rushed.
I don't know if the author had to fulfill a certain quota of words and she discovered in the end that she was running out of them so she had to resolve matters quickly, but the HEA came out of character for both MC's. The end left me unsatisfied and with a lot of questions. I just feel sad because both the MC's and the second characters had great potential to expand in the story that it troubles me that they were left unexploited.
I realy hope that in the next book Remember When, which thank the Lord is quite longer, we might get a glimpse of what happens with Corey and Spence after their HEA.
Just leaving here some photos inspired by the story...
October 22, 2017
I had already read "Remember When" before reading this book. I found it quick and abrupt. The emotions of the characters involved changed so quickly, it hardly gave me the time to adjust to the story. When I started reading this book I thought it was a sequel to "Double Standards" by Judith Mcnaught but it was not.
Within 66 pages, Judith Mcnaught introduced so many characters. The first half of the book was fun to read about how the teenage girl fell for an older guy but the second half was weird. The guy fell in love with her cause of her beauty, not her heart or personality.
All I can say about this novella is that it is a typical Mcnaught.
Within 66 pages, Judith Mcnaught introduced so many characters. The first half of the book was fun to read about how the teenage girl fell for an older guy but the second half was weird. The guy fell in love with her cause of her beauty, not her heart or personality.
All I can say about this novella is that it is a typical Mcnaught.
Want to read
September 22, 2018This book is being re-issued as
The Sweetest Thing in October, 2018. I really hate when they change the cover AND the title. It makes it so hard to track.
The Sweetest Thing in October, 2018. I really hate when they change the cover AND the title. It makes it so hard to track.
July 13, 2022
Reread on July 12, 2022: This makes zero sense. How on earth did Spencer trick Corey into a real marriage ceremony when she didn't sign any documents? I'm so confused.
April 30, 2021
After reading the first book, I was just fascinated by the family and was terribly excited to read what happened in those 14 years that ripped from the first book and the fate of the girls. And what was missed in the first part with is revealed in this one.
But that's where my delight ended. I just can't tell you how disappointed I was with this novella. The reunion turned out to be so implausible, just a complete farce with the grandmother's ridiculous confession and the nephew's letter. If it had happened a year later as a teenager or if Cory had acted like an adult instead of an infantile teenager after his grandmother's funeral and given her support by saying he wasn't alone, he had her and her family, it would have been such a romantic love story: they would have started dating, he would have been her first in everything and then they would have gotten married. I would say BRAVO to the author. But after 12(!) years, everything looks implausible, ridiculous, crumpled. Where does he get his feelings from after 12 years? If this man loved her, he would have won her over when she was still young, not seen obstacles in age or underage boys, etc. All the arguments and explanations didn't convince me and it all looked very silly.
I don't understand why Judith McNaught ruined this story.
But that's where my delight ended. I just can't tell you how disappointed I was with this novella. The reunion turned out to be so implausible, just a complete farce with the grandmother's ridiculous confession and the nephew's letter. If it had happened a year later as a teenager or if Cory had acted like an adult instead of an infantile teenager after his grandmother's funeral and given her support by saying he wasn't alone, he had her and her family, it would have been such a romantic love story: they would have started dating, he would have been her first in everything and then they would have gotten married. I would say BRAVO to the author. But after 12(!) years, everything looks implausible, ridiculous, crumpled. Where does he get his feelings from after 12 years? If this man loved her, he would have won her over when she was still young, not seen obstacles in age or underage boys, etc. All the arguments and explanations didn't convince me and it all looked very silly.
I don't understand why Judith McNaught ruined this story.
April 1, 2011
I just needed something very light now, something what does not need to think about.
Then J.McNaught came to my mind as I was fond of this kind of books in my early teens. If I compare this one with my old impressions of her others book, it is very, very weak. Or maybe I have just changed a lot since that time...
In one word: readable.
Then J.McNaught came to my mind as I was fond of this kind of books in my early teens. If I compare this one with my old impressions of her others book, it is very, very weak. Or maybe I have just changed a lot since that time...
In one word: readable.
September 26, 2015
I really like that this one tied Remember When together. Making the story even better was getting to find out more about Cory. Cute fun read
January 18, 2022
Corey, la inolvidable hermana de Diana y su flechazo con Spencer. En La Orquídea Blanca solo vimos q ella estaba enamorada de Spencer Addison y se iba a casar con él, y luego ya la encontramos años después, casada con Spencer y asentada en la felicidad matrimonial.
Esta es la historia de ambos y la verdad me encantó de principio a fin. Corey adolescente y todas las cosas que hizo para estar cerca de Spence y luego la desilusición y luego el reencuentro, es exactamente el tipo de historia q pensé que debieron tener ambos.
Spence resulta un idiota, es cierto...pero es EL IDIOTA de la historia, lo q lo hace nuestro idiota y al final todo sale bien. Corey resultó exactamente como tenía q ser, creativa, hermosa, vivaz, actuando antes q pensando. Creyendo inocentemente q había superado a Spence y fallando miserablemente.
Solo Judith McNaught escribe así.
Gracias!!!! Necesitaba esto desesperadamente!!!
La única crítica q le puedo poner a esta historia es q es demasiado corta y nos perdemos grandes escenas de todos.
Esta es la historia de ambos y la verdad me encantó de principio a fin. Corey adolescente y todas las cosas que hizo para estar cerca de Spence y luego la desilusición y luego el reencuentro, es exactamente el tipo de historia q pensé que debieron tener ambos.
Spence resulta un idiota, es cierto...pero es EL IDIOTA de la historia, lo q lo hace nuestro idiota y al final todo sale bien. Corey resultó exactamente como tenía q ser, creativa, hermosa, vivaz, actuando antes q pensando. Creyendo inocentemente q había superado a Spence y fallando miserablemente.
Solo Judith McNaught escribe así.
Gracias!!!! Necesitaba esto desesperadamente!!!
La única crítica q le puedo poner a esta historia es q es demasiado corta y nos perdemos grandes escenas de todos.
December 26, 2025
2.5⭐️ As usual, McNaught did an excellent job of setting up the character’s backstory. But, as usual with novellas, the character development is on warp speed and leaves you wondering “What kind of person just decides they’re in love after spending ten minutes with a person they haven’t seen in 12 years?!” You might also wonder: “How can you actually trick someone into getting married? Why would she forgive him for such a betrayal merely because he put up a Christmas tree for her? Are we supposed to like these people??”
I really wish that McNaught had rewritten this as “The Sweetest Thing”, but at this rate I doubt she will ever publish anything new again.
I really wish that McNaught had rewritten this as “The Sweetest Thing”, but at this rate I doubt she will ever publish anything new again.
February 23, 2019
As an adult, I wished the novel didn’t dwell too much on Corey’s teenage days instead it develop more on the romance on her and Spence’s reunion and after. Pretty much a mellow romantic short novel. There shouldn’t be much details on Diana given in the beginning since she wasn’t the central characters unlike I thought. 3 star goes to cos I have mixed feelings with this. Towards the end, I was pretty much scanning to see how it ends. Having read Paradise and Whitney, my love from JM, I only wish this book was also equally as good as those two.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2023
This made me ask following questions:
Why aren't people more straight forward when discussing their lives ? Why the rush to lie, cover-up and then pine over the mistakes you made ?
Very generic read. It was not insufferable though, maybe because it wasn't awfully long.
Why aren't people more straight forward when discussing their lives ? Why the rush to lie, cover-up and then pine over the mistakes you made ?
Very generic read. It was not insufferable though, maybe because it wasn't awfully long.
February 17, 2019
The book ended so abruptly. 😭
October 19, 2019
Maravilhosoooo!
May 28, 2021
Molesta un poco el hecho de que cuenta casi lo mismo que Remember When...
November 9, 2025
It was ok. Spencer and Corey did everything in reverse order which didn’t quite hit the mark for me.
Want to read
November 28, 2025available in reissue of A Gift of Love in paperback
March 14, 2017
Short and insipid.
August 30, 2022
Quite fun. Nice feel good short story. Not quite as good as the other 3 in the book but still enjoyable.
I read this as part of the 4 story anthology called "Simple Gifts" written by 2 of my favorite authors Jude Deveraux and Judith McNaught.
I read this as part of the 4 story anthology called "Simple Gifts" written by 2 of my favorite authors Jude Deveraux and Judith McNaught.
July 3, 2009
This is the first of a to book sequel. I read the 2nd book first, which is called Remember When. Nice light story.
August 16, 2011
satu kata........keren :)
December 29, 2011
That was a really fast read. It was a nice story with a happy ending and it was perfect for a winter morning at home.
February 5, 2012
Pretty gd, liked f/l emtnl grwth, humor, Gran
February 28, 2012
A sweet side story about Corey, Diana's stepsister.
She really deserves him =)
She really deserves him =)
March 9, 2013
short and sweet. nott wvery book needs to be of 500+ pages! and only a few authors can write a short story this beautifully!
May 5, 2013
dønn ka faen leste eg
dette var waste of time
ble sykt skuffa
judith mcnaught what is this
dette var waste of time
ble sykt skuffa
judith mcnaught what is this
October 28, 2013
The secret to appreciating this book is to manage your expectations. I find this highschool-ish but enjoyed it still. Again, manage your expectations (aka read blurb).
November 13, 2014
1.5 stars
December 4, 2016
Interesting
February 23, 2015
Super romantic and beautiful yet tragic love story!
November 28, 2022
A re-read with better rating because it’s chrismastime
Displaying 1 - 30 of 30 reviews