Jealousies

by Justine Harlowe

A tumultuous novel of two sisters, torn apart by ambiion, betrayal, and their consuming passion for the same man....

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Jac K]

I recently stumbled upon this on a list "he married someone else"; it sparked a memory of me sneaking this out of my mom’s room and reading. 😊 It took some effort to find a copy, but I located a scanned book on Open Library. It was published in 1986, and has many tropes I love like today, but dated, (wordy, fade to black scenes, and missing real dialogue or accountability for unsavory actions) It was "ok"... it did eat up my afternoon, and I’m glad I revisited it… if nothing else to have a laugh with my mom.

Shannon and Kerry grow up w/ a less than desirable childhood. Shannon is the beautiful, more favored sister, and Kerry is jealous, which makes her a pretty crappy person. The blurb gives us a hint that they are both gunning for the same man, and that Kerry betrays her sister to get what she wants. The prologue starts with the present (1985) and hints to a big sister showdown, then we fall back 10 years with Chapter 1, and SLOWLY make are way back. Although there’s a lot of deception; I just couldn’t get invested and had pretty minimal feels. It was also confusing at times because it skips around a lot… time jumps… character jumps.... that usually aren’t labeled. For instance, a chapter will be labeled NYC and we’re following Kerry, but mid-chapter a new paragraph will be Shannon, who might be in Paris the next month. Early on they separate, and the book follows their separate journeys leading up to the 1985 meeting. Overall, I skimmed a lot, and don't have the heart to leave a low rating so I think I just won't rate. IMO, there was too much non essential stuff (side plots, unneeded characters) that congested everything, and wasted too much time. I would’ve preferred it more streamlined with less overall pages, but more pages dedicated to the ending… and less clinical dialogue with some emotion. The book is 453 pages, and we don’t even get back to the present until pg.445, then it’s a race to the finish.

The rest is going to be my notes; I couldn’t save bookmarks and want to have a record of things in case I ever want to revisit the book. I’ll put it all in spoilers… but feel free to ignore.

Book 1
Prologue- Kilgarin Castle, Ireland 1985
Ch. 1 Koonwarra, New South wales 1975 …Meet Zan, an English Lord in town for the summer; both are smitten, but he likes Shannon. This is the start of the major resentment of Kerry; she’s pissed Shannon is moving to Sydney and wont take her along. Z & S have affair for summer.. he returns to England; she stays to work.
Ch. 3 1977 Shannon returns home because she plans on moving to England. She brings Kerry some gifts and tells her she will save $$ and take care of her, but Kerry’s pissed, she wants to go to London too. She rips the dress and throws it back in S’s face. Shannon slaps her calling her an ungrateful wench “I worked hard to buy these things”… Kerry regarded her hatefully “ I’ll pay you back one day for that, I swear.” This is the last time they ever speak or Shannon sees Kerry again until the end.
Ch. 4 London, England 1977- Shannon she sees Zan again, and still loves him. (Page 113) Shannon hears of Rosemary for the first time, (we’ve known he’s engaged since page 54) He’s going to marry Rosemary, the two part ways…Shannon offered modeling contract.
Ch.6 Kerry is now living in Meadows, Maryland with Aunt doing horse crap.
Ch.7 Paris, July 1979 Shannon meets Amadeo a rich older business man. She also receives a letter from Kerry requesting that she pay for her college.
Ch. 9 Paris, May 1980- S is trying to get a 5-yr contract that will set her up so she can finish K’s school and retire from modeling. A gives her a ring, but tells her it’s not an engagement ring… he wants to support her so she can quit modeling and travel with him. Shannon tells him no-thanks…she’s no whore. A is enraged has rape-ish sex with her…he feels terrible. S demands off his yacht and runs into Z.

Book 2
Ch. 1- Seillans France 1980 (Pg. 213) Zan and Shannon reconnect, spend a week having an affair. They love each other. Zan will ask Rosemary for divorce…he’s unhappy. They promise to meet back at location each year. BUT Rosemary overhears a phone convo between the two and goes to her friend Jonquil for help splitting the two up. (Rosemary doesn’t like Z, why does she want to stay married? Pride?) J meets with Zan, tells him he’ll be penniless if he leaves, and Shannon is used to rich guys… he shouldn’t be hasty. Then flies to Shannon (pg. 235) tells her Zan sent her and wants to hit the brakes for awhile… he loves Rosemary. Then rushes back to Z, says she spoke to S, and she wants to hit the brakes for a while. Shannon is heartbroken.
Ch. 3 Paris Sept. Amadeo runs across a pregnant, emaciated Shannon… assumes the baby is his, and that because of his rapey behavior she didn’t tell him. He nurses her back to health… she says baby’s not his- she loves Z and someday they’ll be together…A vows to support her even though baby isn’t his. He hides the engagement ring so she doesn’t see.
*Baby Patrick born in America on 2/14.
Ch. 6 S meets up with Z again, (at their pre-determined date) he loves her still…they fall into bed and he explains how he needs Rosemary’s $$ but they can be together in a year or 2. They will continue to see each other 1 week a year, and have phone calls. Meanwhile- A has a blood typing test and confirms that Baby Patrick is Amadeo’s son and not Z’s. In his hunt to tell S, he discovers she’s with Z and decides not to tell her.

Book 3
*Somewhere K marries Mark and has a kid*
Ch. 2 New Years 1984- Mark and Kerry run into Zan and Rosemary in NYC. She doesn’t tell him she’s S’s sister. (pg.377) K asks Z for midnight dance have NY’s kiss. She loves him… he’s the man for her. (pg.385) The 2 go out to dinner and Z tells her why they can’t have an affair) Yea- he already has a wife and mistress.
Ch. 3 England 1985 -All couples- Rosemary & Z, Shannon & A (not a romantic couple she still pines for Z) and Kerry & M are together for a polo match. Z is injured, Shannon runs to him and (pg. 397) Kerry sees them together and realizes Shannon is the reason Zan won’t be in an affair with her. Furious she runs her mouth to a reporter who’s runs an expose about the affair. Rosemary demands that Z write letter to break it off. Z assumes Baby Patrick is A’s and S lied. (pg.409) she receives letter…devastated again. (pg.414) Rosemary dies… Kerry swoops in. She intercepts a call from Shannon and eludes that she is the new woman in Z's life.
Ch. 4 Jonquil visits S, learns Patrick is Zan’s (S still thinks its his kid) rushes to tell zan. Z quickly dumps Kerry, and races to Shannon. They leave together for his country home…they get engaged. (pg. 445) back to prologue. Kerry confronts Shannon tells her Z loves her; she’s the woman he’s been involved with. Shannon doesn’t understand why Kerry hates her so much, she supported her all those years. This is news to Kerry, the clouds part and now she’s a good person. She tells Shannon that Amadeo is a much better fit for her, and POOF S agrees. Meanwhile, A sends a telegram informing that he is Patrick’s father which Z intercepts and rushes to the sisters. Upon hearing the news, Shannon says Oh my, well I’d better get back to A. Zan and Kerry decide they’re in love. Shannon rushes back to A, and they love each other too.

My thoughts.
I feel bad for Shannon, like everyone dumped on her. She’s been waiting for years for Z, only slept with A once all those years (like 6 or so) Amadeo has redeemed himself since that 1 night he got angry so IMO he's the better catch anyway. Kerry and the equally unfaithful Zan deserve each other- good riddance.

[Diane Wachter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Justine Harlowe, PB-B, @ 1986, 1986. Romance. Okay.