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Up Close and Personal
For generations, the Windsors have lived on their grand estate in South Carolina, as intertwined with the local life as sweet tea and pecan pie. Now, on the anniversary of her daughter Emily's death, Sarabess Windsor believes she may be the last to carry the family name, unless she finds her other daughter, who disappeared 15 years ago.
309 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2007
530 people are currently reading
1308 people want to read
About the author
Fern Michaels
420 books6,451 followersFern Michaels isn’t a person. I’m not sure she’s an entity either since an entity is something with separate existence. Fern Michaels® is what I DO. Me, Mary Ruth Kuczkir. Growing up in Hastings, Pennsylvania, I was called Ruth. I became Mary when I entered the business world where first names were the order of the day. To this day, family and friends call me Dink, a name my father gave me when I was born because according to him I was ‘a dinky little thing’ weighing in at four and a half pounds. However, I answer to Fern since people are more comfortable with a name they can pronounce.
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.
Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/
As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.
Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.
Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.
READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 186 reviews
March 6, 2019
A really remarkable story with believable and well developed characters....(paperback!)
October 30, 2007
I picked up this book, because I was in need of some good chicklit and this author seemed to have published many chicklit books and seemed sucessful. This book must not be a good example of her work. It sucked big time. The story was annoying and hard to keep track of. The 30 yr old heroine and 35 yr old hero had the lamest courtship I've ever read. The author had them act like the teenagers they were when the first fell in love, complete with lame dialogue and cheesy love scenes. The guy gets his shorts ripped off him by the girl's dog and then she makes a comment about him not wearing an underwear and about chaffing when going comando. The scene was about as romantic as a smelly wet dog. Also the story of the main hero and heroine really took second place to some battle between to bitter old women, one of whom was a villian and the other who was an eccentric do gooder. Both characters were shallow, badly developed and annoying. I am never picking up another book written by fern michaels.
February 11, 2014
I really didn't like this book at all, and actually found myself rolling my eyes throughout the "experience". It lacks a number of vital literary elements that would contribute to a great novel. The imagery was terrible, at times I had to reword awkward paragraphs so I could picture the scene. For example, Trinity and Jake would hold hands and "gallop" places. Now, if I'm not mistaken, normal, middle-aged adults would not gallop together to their enemy's work place for a full on confrontation. On several occasions characters in the book would take part in actions that are childish, causing disruption in the tragic plot. The characters weren't detailed, cheesy phrases were often repeated, and even the dramatic parts (ones that should have pulled at heart strings and tear ducts) were unpleasantly mild and boring. Personally, I think the book lacks purpose and I have wasted far too much time considering it.
February 25, 2020
I really like Fern Michaels, this book was really good, Sarabess was a B(*^
December 18, 2011
I find I more often love the idea of a Fern Michaels' book than the books themselves. I think she has wonderful story ideas, but does not lay them out well ... or is not edited well. I haven't decided. I am almost always interested in the plot, but am often and easily distracted (which is not my nature while reading).
This is another story that intrigued me, but lost me somewhere in the translation. I also felt like I'd "seen" it somewhere, so perhaps it was made into a movie? I'm unsure. I'll look it up some other time.
This is another story that intrigued me, but lost me somewhere in the translation. I also felt like I'd "seen" it somewhere, so perhaps it was made into a movie? I'm unsure. I'll look it up some other time.
July 1, 2012
There were points in this book where I stopped and asked myself whether I was just missing something - whether the novel is in fact intended to be hilariously funny with its unrealistic characters, bizarre tone shifts in dialogue, endless repetition, and unresolved scenes. Was it a farce? But it didn't provoke enough smiles for that. So I have had to conclude, though I read it to the end, that Fern Michaels just isn't my cup of (sweet) tea. Who her readership is, I have no idea, though based on her sales she clearly has a large one.
Saved from one star only because I reserve that for the truly incompetent, godawful, and unedited. This was edited.
For future reference, the protagonist is a 30-year-old woman who was not only conceived in order to provide bone marrow for an ailing first child, but was also the subject of a switched at birth plot that failed. After running away at 15, she managed to find herself, in true Dickensian fashion, in even worse circumstances, also complete with deceitful older people. A flaky auntie with a surprising amount of power in her community (and an overly insightful parrot) is one of so many people who line up on Trinity's (yes, Trinity) side that you can't help but feel almost sorry for the caricature of a villainess-mother, Sarabess, who is overthrown in the end.
Money ex machina is the solution to all problems, allowing for the exercise of generosity and forgiveness (except, of course, for Sarabess, who gets generosity but not forgiveness). Really, in many ways it's a nineteenth century sensational novel, but not written with nineteenth century skill.
Picked this one up for subway reading at a church booksale; I doubt if I'll bother with any others by this author.
Saved from one star only because I reserve that for the truly incompetent, godawful, and unedited. This was edited.
For future reference, the protagonist is a 30-year-old woman who was not only conceived in order to provide bone marrow for an ailing first child, but was also the subject of a switched at birth plot that failed. After running away at 15, she managed to find herself, in true Dickensian fashion, in even worse circumstances, also complete with deceitful older people. A flaky auntie with a surprising amount of power in her community (and an overly insightful parrot) is one of so many people who line up on Trinity's (yes, Trinity) side that you can't help but feel almost sorry for the caricature of a villainess-mother, Sarabess, who is overthrown in the end.
Money ex machina is the solution to all problems, allowing for the exercise of generosity and forgiveness (except, of course, for Sarabess, who gets generosity but not forgiveness). Really, in many ways it's a nineteenth century sensational novel, but not written with nineteenth century skill.
Picked this one up for subway reading at a church booksale; I doubt if I'll bother with any others by this author.
September 8, 2012
Wow. This was garbage, absolute garbage. I am actually impressed with how bad this book was. To say I am slightly surprised would be understating my feelings as I do believe Fern Michaels is reputedly a good writer. I can honestly tell you all that I will never be reading another book by her ... ever.
I do not even know where to start with my review of this. Well, first off, it was slow for anything to happen. There was like a hundred pages of all Jake before anything even happened involving Trinity (whom the book is apparently about). Then when he finds her the relationship the two of them has is not even slightly believable. Nor are the situations they end up putting themselves in, come on, as if any of that would happen! Now I like to read fantasy with dragons, and that stuff is more believable than the way these two got into fights. Ridiculous.
Also, the random side stories of tertiary characters that had absolutely no point to the story, and yet took up chapters within the book was ridiculous. Wow. My head is shaking right now, but you can't see that.
The only good thing I will say about this book was that the prose was easy to read. Had the book had such a bad plot and been poorly written I would not have even finished it. So, good writing Fern Michaels, but bad plotting.
Check out more of my reviews at: http://frannierocks.blogspot.ca/
I do not even know where to start with my review of this. Well, first off, it was slow for anything to happen. There was like a hundred pages of all Jake before anything even happened involving Trinity (whom the book is apparently about). Then when he finds her the relationship the two of them has is not even slightly believable. Nor are the situations they end up putting themselves in, come on, as if any of that would happen! Now I like to read fantasy with dragons, and that stuff is more believable than the way these two got into fights. Ridiculous.
Also, the random side stories of tertiary characters that had absolutely no point to the story, and yet took up chapters within the book was ridiculous. Wow. My head is shaking right now, but you can't see that.
The only good thing I will say about this book was that the prose was easy to read. Had the book had such a bad plot and been poorly written I would not have even finished it. So, good writing Fern Michaels, but bad plotting.
Check out more of my reviews at: http://frannierocks.blogspot.ca/
November 29, 2007
Attorney Jake Forrest tries to find Trinity Henderson who ran away from home at 15 and must return before her 30th birthday to collect her inheritance. Complicating matters is Trinity's real mother, Sarabess Windsor, who bore Trinity as a marrow donor to save her first daughter Emily and does not want Trinity back.
A contemporary romance with lots of family relationship issues. Fern Michaels knows how to tug your heart strings. Very cute subplot about a cat and dog that bond. Highly recommended.
A contemporary romance with lots of family relationship issues. Fern Michaels knows how to tug your heart strings. Very cute subplot about a cat and dog that bond. Highly recommended.
June 2, 2009
I found this book to be quite enjoyable. I loved the very realistic relationships between characters. I liked the romantic edge but appreciated the fact that this was no romance. The webs of affection were cleverly woven throughout the characters as well as the small town rumors and gossip. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Sarabess get hers! There was a bit of language in the book and some sexual insinuations, but nothing graphic, which I really appreciated.
August 31, 2007
Normally I love fern michaels books. But this book....i could hardly wait for it to be done and over with(i know i know if this book was so bad i shouldnt have bothered completing it - but i complete whatever i start reading unless it is absolutely unpalatable). Other than describing each and every emotion of the main characters, the book has nothing else.
July 3, 2009
Want a good book to read while hanging out by the pool or lounging on a Saturday afternoon? This is it!! Up Close and Personal has a very engaging plot with a perfect combination of mystery, drama, humor and romance to keep you captivated to the very end.
October 12, 2009
I learned not to read any more Fern Michaels. I did not enjoy this book at all.
May 30, 2012
Cute storyline. I enjoyed reading this book.
July 20, 2014
An easy summer book to read. Everyone is looking for the missing heiress to the Windsor fortune. What everyone finds out is what makes the book a fun, easy read.
October 18, 2015
A feel good story and an easy read.
Read
April 3, 2016There was to be a double wedding in Crestwood, SC. Harold Winsor and Mitzi Granger, Rifkin Forrest and Mitzi's sister. Then Sarabess Winsor came to town and both boys fell in love with her. Harold had the most money so he and Sarabess married. They had a child named Emily who had aplastic anemia. They had another child thirteen years later to have a marrow transplant donor for Emily. The bone marrow transplant was done but it didn't save Emily's life. She died anyway. Sarabess mourned her endlessly. She spent a lot of time in her room, crying.
When Emily was alive, Sarabess made other kids come play with Emily. Emily was mean and spiteful. The other kids didn't like playing with her. Trinity and Jake at one point refused to have anything more to do with her.
Sarabess had no time for anyone else in her life so Harold went back to Mitzi and they began a long lasting affair. Rifkin never got over his love for Sarabess and would do anything for her. He didn't begin sleeping with her until a couple of years after his wife died but it was obvious even when his wife was alive that he was in love with Sarabess. Jake was Rifkin's son but they didn't get along due to his dad's embarrassing association with Sarabess. Sarabess was not liked by anyone in town. She once brought some beautifully decorated cupcakes to their annual Police Carnival and not a soul ate one. They had to be thrown out.
Sarabess had Trinity in order to have the transplant and then paid a nurse to trade her daughter with another baby in the hospital. The other baby was supposed to be brought to her house and raised by Lillian and John Henderson. Sarabess told the Henderson's that the baby was hers and paid them to raise Trinity. Trinity found out that she was Sarabess's daughter when she was 15. Trinity over-heard when the Henderson's asked for more money to get braces and for college money for Trinity. Sarabess refused to give them money for someone that she had just for her bone marrow. She cared nothing for Trinity and told them so.
Trinity was picked up by a couple who had no children but always wanted them. They took Trinity home and told everyone that she was their niece Lily Summers. They found someone the same age as Trinity who had died in a car accident and basically stole her identity. They paid for Trinity to get braces and go to college.
To get back at her husband, Rif, his wife left her house and all her possessions to their son Jake. Howard had Mitzi as the executor of his will and put her in charge of his money. His money and possessions would be passed to Trinity when she turned 30 if she returned to town.
Mitzi had hired private detectives to find Trinity with no luck. Mitzi talked to Jake, her nephew, and asked him if he could help. It had been years since they last tried. Jake went and talked with the Henderson's and found out that Trinity had taken $300 from them when she ran away and she had sent them the money back. He told Mitzi and Mitzi went to Lillian and got the envelope from her that had been sent with the money. Mitzi took it to the police chief because he was a friend of hers and he got the name of the town from it. Jake went there posing as a magazine reporter to get people to talk about someone who had come to town 15 years earlier. Jake found Trinity who was now baking cakes at the bakery of her new family using a different name.
Trinity found out Jake was in town and decided to return home thinking that he wouldn't look for her their. Jake knew that Trinity had taken off again and he didn't know where to go so he also headed back home. He talked to Mitzi about the conversation he had with Lily and Mitzi determined that Trinity might have returned home. She called together the senior citizens of Crestwood to find where Trinity was staying.
Trinity had stopped to get gas on her way home and a dog had jumped in her car. She took her to the vet and he told her that he had a sister that owned a cottage that she might be able to rent. She was one of the seniors who was friends of Mitzi and told Mitzi about her the new renter. They figured out pretty quickly that it was Trinity.
Jake went to see her and kind of spied on her to prove to himself that it really was her. Trinity decided that if she was back in town and he was looking for her that she would just pay him a visit. She did and ended up punching him in the nose and hitting him a few times. She then ran off and went to see Mitzi. Trinity was mad at Jake because she had a crush on him when they were younger. Jake told her when he went a way to college that he could call her anytime she needed him. She called when she found out about her mother and Jake was drunk. A roommate answered the phone and Jake blew her off. It was a couple of days before he remembered the call and guessed it was Trinity. When he finally called her, she had already run away. Sarabess stopped the Henderson's from searching for her by threatening their jobs.
Rifkin went to Mitzi and asked that more money be given to Sarabess. Mitzi refused. Sarabess then went to Mitzi to ask for more money and again she was turned down. Mitzi found out that she needed money to find someone named Grace Finnegan. Mitzi was determined to find out why.
Mitzi, Jake and Trinity went through some old files that he had in Mitzi's attic and found out nothing. Lillian had given them the paperwork provided to get Trinity into school and they determined they were all forgeries. Her birth certificate wasn't there either.
Sarabess had forged Harold's signature on another will stating that his money was to be left to her and Rifkin filed it to contest the will that Mitzi had. Rif didn't know that it was forged. Mitzi was worried when Sarabess came back to town and she didn't seem to care about a DNA test being done to prove that Trinity was her and Harold's daughter. Mitzi figured out that Sarabess had to have paid a nurse to switch the baby girls and the nurse hadn't done it. She had just taken Sarabess's money.
Sarabess, in the meantime, had hired private detectives to find Grace. She went to Grace after she had been located and paid her more money to not speak to anyone asking about the girls. She paid her with about $15 thousand in cash and a couple hundred thousand in jewelry. What she got in return was the address of the lady who supposedly had her daughter. Sarabess went to see her and found out then that she had paid the nurse to switch the babies and she hadn't done it. The baby the Henderson's raised was actually her real daughter. Sarabess was really angry at this point.
The DNA test proved that Trinity was indeed Harold and Sarabess's daughter. The judge who had the forged will told Rif that the will was forged and Sarabess and Rif would both end up in prison if they went ahead with fighting the original will. Rif knew at that point that Sarabess had just used him. He was in love with her but she had made a fool of him. He went to see Sarabess to try and see if she had any feelings for him and found out that she didn't. He was devastated and told Sarabess he was done with her and he was going to try and mend his relationship with his son.
Trinity went to see her mother and her mother just repeated the fact that she hated her because she let Emily die. She never mentioned being sorry for anything that she had done to Trinity. Trinity told her mother that she had thirty days to get out of her house. Trinity fixed up the house and turned it into a school for handicapped children. She doubled the Henderson's salary and asked them to stay and run the school for her.
Trinity had always had a crush on Jake and he also liked Trinity. They finally admitted that were in love with each other. They each had trouble in relationships with others because they had unfinished business between them.
Rifkin and Jake decided to work on their relationship. Rif helped with the school too after his retirement. Jake became the lawyer in town. Mitzi even decided to give Rifkin another chance at being a friend.
When Emily was alive, Sarabess made other kids come play with Emily. Emily was mean and spiteful. The other kids didn't like playing with her. Trinity and Jake at one point refused to have anything more to do with her.
Sarabess had no time for anyone else in her life so Harold went back to Mitzi and they began a long lasting affair. Rifkin never got over his love for Sarabess and would do anything for her. He didn't begin sleeping with her until a couple of years after his wife died but it was obvious even when his wife was alive that he was in love with Sarabess. Jake was Rifkin's son but they didn't get along due to his dad's embarrassing association with Sarabess. Sarabess was not liked by anyone in town. She once brought some beautifully decorated cupcakes to their annual Police Carnival and not a soul ate one. They had to be thrown out.
Sarabess had Trinity in order to have the transplant and then paid a nurse to trade her daughter with another baby in the hospital. The other baby was supposed to be brought to her house and raised by Lillian and John Henderson. Sarabess told the Henderson's that the baby was hers and paid them to raise Trinity. Trinity found out that she was Sarabess's daughter when she was 15. Trinity over-heard when the Henderson's asked for more money to get braces and for college money for Trinity. Sarabess refused to give them money for someone that she had just for her bone marrow. She cared nothing for Trinity and told them so.
Trinity was picked up by a couple who had no children but always wanted them. They took Trinity home and told everyone that she was their niece Lily Summers. They found someone the same age as Trinity who had died in a car accident and basically stole her identity. They paid for Trinity to get braces and go to college.
To get back at her husband, Rif, his wife left her house and all her possessions to their son Jake. Howard had Mitzi as the executor of his will and put her in charge of his money. His money and possessions would be passed to Trinity when she turned 30 if she returned to town.
Mitzi had hired private detectives to find Trinity with no luck. Mitzi talked to Jake, her nephew, and asked him if he could help. It had been years since they last tried. Jake went and talked with the Henderson's and found out that Trinity had taken $300 from them when she ran away and she had sent them the money back. He told Mitzi and Mitzi went to Lillian and got the envelope from her that had been sent with the money. Mitzi took it to the police chief because he was a friend of hers and he got the name of the town from it. Jake went there posing as a magazine reporter to get people to talk about someone who had come to town 15 years earlier. Jake found Trinity who was now baking cakes at the bakery of her new family using a different name.
Trinity found out Jake was in town and decided to return home thinking that he wouldn't look for her their. Jake knew that Trinity had taken off again and he didn't know where to go so he also headed back home. He talked to Mitzi about the conversation he had with Lily and Mitzi determined that Trinity might have returned home. She called together the senior citizens of Crestwood to find where Trinity was staying.
Trinity had stopped to get gas on her way home and a dog had jumped in her car. She took her to the vet and he told her that he had a sister that owned a cottage that she might be able to rent. She was one of the seniors who was friends of Mitzi and told Mitzi about her the new renter. They figured out pretty quickly that it was Trinity.
Jake went to see her and kind of spied on her to prove to himself that it really was her. Trinity decided that if she was back in town and he was looking for her that she would just pay him a visit. She did and ended up punching him in the nose and hitting him a few times. She then ran off and went to see Mitzi. Trinity was mad at Jake because she had a crush on him when they were younger. Jake told her when he went a way to college that he could call her anytime she needed him. She called when she found out about her mother and Jake was drunk. A roommate answered the phone and Jake blew her off. It was a couple of days before he remembered the call and guessed it was Trinity. When he finally called her, she had already run away. Sarabess stopped the Henderson's from searching for her by threatening their jobs.
Rifkin went to Mitzi and asked that more money be given to Sarabess. Mitzi refused. Sarabess then went to Mitzi to ask for more money and again she was turned down. Mitzi found out that she needed money to find someone named Grace Finnegan. Mitzi was determined to find out why.
Mitzi, Jake and Trinity went through some old files that he had in Mitzi's attic and found out nothing. Lillian had given them the paperwork provided to get Trinity into school and they determined they were all forgeries. Her birth certificate wasn't there either.
Sarabess had forged Harold's signature on another will stating that his money was to be left to her and Rifkin filed it to contest the will that Mitzi had. Rif didn't know that it was forged. Mitzi was worried when Sarabess came back to town and she didn't seem to care about a DNA test being done to prove that Trinity was her and Harold's daughter. Mitzi figured out that Sarabess had to have paid a nurse to switch the baby girls and the nurse hadn't done it. She had just taken Sarabess's money.
Sarabess, in the meantime, had hired private detectives to find Grace. She went to Grace after she had been located and paid her more money to not speak to anyone asking about the girls. She paid her with about $15 thousand in cash and a couple hundred thousand in jewelry. What she got in return was the address of the lady who supposedly had her daughter. Sarabess went to see her and found out then that she had paid the nurse to switch the babies and she hadn't done it. The baby the Henderson's raised was actually her real daughter. Sarabess was really angry at this point.
The DNA test proved that Trinity was indeed Harold and Sarabess's daughter. The judge who had the forged will told Rif that the will was forged and Sarabess and Rif would both end up in prison if they went ahead with fighting the original will. Rif knew at that point that Sarabess had just used him. He was in love with her but she had made a fool of him. He went to see Sarabess to try and see if she had any feelings for him and found out that she didn't. He was devastated and told Sarabess he was done with her and he was going to try and mend his relationship with his son.
Trinity went to see her mother and her mother just repeated the fact that she hated her because she let Emily die. She never mentioned being sorry for anything that she had done to Trinity. Trinity told her mother that she had thirty days to get out of her house. Trinity fixed up the house and turned it into a school for handicapped children. She doubled the Henderson's salary and asked them to stay and run the school for her.
Trinity had always had a crush on Jake and he also liked Trinity. They finally admitted that were in love with each other. They each had trouble in relationships with others because they had unfinished business between them.
Rifkin and Jake decided to work on their relationship. Rif helped with the school too after his retirement. Jake became the lawyer in town. Mitzi even decided to give Rifkin another chance at being a friend.
March 24, 2021
Didn’t enjoy this one, which is disappointing as I do generally like this author’s books.
I’m not sure what era this was set in, I got almost Little House on the Prairie vibes from the story, but must’ve been in the last 30 or 40 years, there was mention of gps in the car and mobile phones - so maybe the 80’s or 90’s but seemed way older the way the characters acted and spoke.
I disliked that names of the characters which is odd I know. I read the book but also listened to some parts on audio book - the audio book narrating was awful.
The main character constantly whined, wanting to know who she was.
Couple have a sickly child. Wife decides to have another child to potentially save the sick child. The sick child is a horrid child and no-one wants to be with her-she’s spoilt by her mum and learnt to act out to get her own way or to get things. Child dies.
The ‘spare’ child, Trinity, has never known she was the sickly child’s sister or that they shared the same parents, and lived under a different name and with a different couple. She ran away from home. Some people tried to find her but they never did.
Then an inheritance comes into play, if Trinity returns before she is 30 she will inherit her father’s estate. She does return and then a weak ‘fight’ for the inheritance eventuates.
I’m not sure what era this was set in, I got almost Little House on the Prairie vibes from the story, but must’ve been in the last 30 or 40 years, there was mention of gps in the car and mobile phones - so maybe the 80’s or 90’s but seemed way older the way the characters acted and spoke.
I disliked that names of the characters which is odd I know. I read the book but also listened to some parts on audio book - the audio book narrating was awful.
The main character constantly whined, wanting to know who she was.
Couple have a sickly child. Wife decides to have another child to potentially save the sick child. The sick child is a horrid child and no-one wants to be with her-she’s spoilt by her mum and learnt to act out to get her own way or to get things. Child dies.
The ‘spare’ child, Trinity, has never known she was the sickly child’s sister or that they shared the same parents, and lived under a different name and with a different couple. She ran away from home. Some people tried to find her but they never did.
Then an inheritance comes into play, if Trinity returns before she is 30 she will inherit her father’s estate. She does return and then a weak ‘fight’ for the inheritance eventuates.
September 26, 2018
A good easy to read book. Fern Michaels knows how to keep me interested. I didn’t find this book particularly thought provoking but I enjoyed the characters and found the story compelling. I don’t know how Trinity could stay away from Crestwood for so long leaving behind everyone she knew as her family or how Sarabess has no maternal feelings whatsoever towards her daughter but it made the story interesting.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 10, 2019
The book description doesn’t do it justice. I thought it was a very good book, the characters were believable. Loved the ending, it gave more details than most books. Girl finds out she was born to give the sister a chance at life...but she was thrown away, comes back as heir to the Windsor Estate.
May 2, 2023
I liked this book and couldn't stop reading it. It's amazing that some people are so kind that they can forgive a lot of sins. Trinity was more forgiving than I would have been. I would not have refurbished Sarabess' expensive house, especially since she has an allowance. The woman should learn the hard way to live on a budget like every other person. All in all it was a delightful book!
September 22, 2023
The first half of this book was interesting and gripping. Unfortunately, it progressively devolved and became influenced by too many superficial, predictable, overly dramatic, bougie and sappy elements for my taste. I make a point to finish every book I start. If not for this, I probably never would have finished it.
February 6, 2018
My only question is whether or not the cover artist actually read the book. I feel like the cover should correctly depict the main characters. While the woman is kind of close, the animals are so far off it's misleading.
July 17, 2018
I quit reading Fern Michaels a few years ago, because the last two were too racy for my taste. However, when I found this new one on sale, hard copy for only $2, I couldn't resist. Now I remember why she is so popular. It was a story I found hard to put down. PS It wasn't racy. 😉
January 8, 2019
Fern Michaels has been a favorite author since discovering the Sisterhood books. Have read Up Close and Personal before, but was like new reading it again. Love her writing, humor, and animals always included. Thanks Ms. Michaels!
September 2, 2019
I enjoyed this book even though some of its ratings were low. Trinity ran away at 15 and at the age of 30 she got a surprise of her life. There was deceit in the family and she found out who really was her parents and who her real true love was.
April 13, 2020
Fluffy, southern chick-lit...perfect predictable, implausible, brainless reading during Covid quarantine! I dislike reading on electronic devices, so grabbed a few books out of a neighborhood Little Library, and this was one of them.
August 4, 2020
Nice afternoon read!!
I enjoyed this book, cover to cover!! Nice plot!! None dies!!.Oops!! Spoiler alert??? Lol. Great characters!!.All of them are unique &pay an integral part in the story 😉 I really liked this book!!! So will you!!🤗
I enjoyed this book, cover to cover!! Nice plot!! None dies!!.Oops!! Spoiler alert??? Lol. Great characters!!.All of them are unique &pay an integral part in the story 😉 I really liked this book!!! So will you!!🤗
October 3, 2022
Enjoyed the storyline and it would have been just as good without any curse words (using God’s name in vain). The story had an actual objective that was resolved without resorting to using so much sex to hold the reader’s attention. Good book!
February 7, 2017
I can see that I am "in a funk reading" as this is another one that is so lame it should not even rate.
September 7, 2017
Fun book. Nothing too deep but entertaining.
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