New York Times bestselling author Jude Deveraux brings us the charming The Girl from Summer Hill, the first book in her new Summer Hill series.
Following a bad breakup with a boyfriend jealous of her career success and a falling out with her too-demanding-to-be-borne-a-moment-longer boss, chef Casey Reddick has sworn off men for the foreseeable future. She is charmed by the town of Summer Hill, Virginia, and by the little guest house on the Tattwell plantation that the owner’s cousin is letting her stay in. All Casey needs is peace and quiet and a great kitchen in which she can cook to her heart’s content, and she’s good to go. Then one morning, she discovers a naked man showering on her front porch.
Tate Landers is a megastar in Hollywood and the owner of Tattwell, and he is back in Spring Hill for the first time in a long while. His cousin Kit is putting on a production of Pride and Prejudice at the local theater, and in a moment of weakness and familial love, Tate promised he would play Mr. Darcy. The last thing he needs is a woman he mistakes for a reporter spying on him from the guest house, especially when he's showering, and especially when that woman turns out to be his new leading lady.
The Girl from Summer Hill is a story within a story. Deveraux has set up the main conflict to mimic Pride and Prejudice as our sparring lovers act out that very story onstage. Will The Girl from Summer Hill knock Pride and Prejudice off its throne? Of course not—that’s a classic for a reason. But conscripting Austen’s plot doesn’t take away from the clever and well-executed hook on which Deveraux hangs an engaging, page-turning story.
