Always Something There to Remind Me

March 7, 2011
Harbison (Shoe Addicts Anonymous) serves up a deliciously light blend of 1980s nostalgia and women's fiction. Parallel story lines pair teenage Erin Edwards, suffering the intense and melodramatic throes of first love with Nate Lawson, and contemporary 30-something Erin, an event planner and single mom. When contemporary Erin's good-looking if otherwise bland beau proposes, Erin's first thought is of Nate, and she finds herself waffling in the present as she dwells in the mysteries of the past: what happened to the perfect love she shared with Nate, and why can't she forget him now? Harbison packs the teenage flashbacks with age-appropriate miscommunications and emotional indecision, and cleverly uses an otherwise thin present-day story line involving the sweet 16 party of a spoiled teen to bring Erin to a point of understanding. Unsurprisingly, the adult Erin and Nate have a chance reunion, but a nice twist leads to some uncharacteristically unpleasant complications that are nonetheless neatly resolved. Harbison raises the emotional stakes and gives this story a little more bite than readers may expect without losing her fun, breezy style.

June 15, 2011

A harried events planner pines for the high-school heartthrob who got away, but is the feeling mutual?

Erin Edwards works for a world-class luxury resort in Virginia, coordinating lavish weddings, bar mitzvahs and birthday parties, like the Sweet 16 bash the hotel is hosting for Roxanne, the world's brattiest teenager. Fielding Roxanne's outrageous requests (helicopters, horses in the water park, a flock of eagles), Erin recalls her own much less entitled teenage years, overshadowed by her passion for Nate, her first lover. Although she went on to other loves and is the single mother of a daughter, she's never found Nate's equal in any man. Rick, her daughter's best friend's father, a prominent Washington, D.C., lawyer, has proposed and is waiting for an answer. There's nothing wrong with Rick, except that he's not...Nate. The book alternates between the mid '80s, as the courtship of Nate and Erin charts its rocky course, and the present. Although '80s Erin can't tamp down her longing for Nate, she still chafes at the fact that they never have a real date—instead they hang out with his Animal House–eligible contingent of friends. Nate is Romeo without the flowery speeches or depth. In the present, Roxanne refuses to believe that her ex-boyfriend can't be somehow forced to attend her party. Witnessing Roxanne's self-delusion leads Erin to ponder if Nate shares her nostalgia for their past.  Convinced he moved away long ago, she can't resist revisiting Nate's former home. But as she passes the house, who should appear but Nate, slightly more grizzled. They fall back into bed without so much as a word, but then she finds his wedding ring. Should she have just let sleeping Nates lie? Although there are some trenchant social observations here, Erin's ever-churning ruminations and regrets begin to pall. Harbison makes a vivid case for Nate's sexual prowess but fails to illustrate any other traits that would qualify him for soul-mate-hood. 

Readers will be casting their votes for Rick—and not the guy who got away.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

February 15, 2011

Two decades ago, Erin blew it with the love of her life by making a mistake he simply could not forgive. Now that her longtime boyfriend has just proposed, Erin finds herself thinking back to Nate and wondering what could have been. Okay, standard plot, but Harbison is very popular, and this book should get a boost from the summer 2011 release of the movie based on her second book, Shoe Addicts Anonymous.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 29, 2011
Twenty years after her breakup with Nate Lawson, Erin Edwards has a successful career, a beautiful daughter, and a stable relationship. But when her boyfriend pops the question, Erin is surprised to find herself haunted by the past and the first love she thought was lost forever. Orlagh Cassidy—who has read many of Harbison previous titles—again turns in a fine performance. But her emotive, leisurely narration can’t disguise the book’s obvious weaknesses, abundant clichés, and absurd plot points. Cassidy portrays Erin’s conflicted emotions with empathy and sincerity and displays excellent comedic timing, particularly in scenes involving a spoiled rich girl’s birthday party and a reality television show. But in the end, Cassidy’s fine effort can’t overcome the banality of the prose. A St. Martin’s Press hardcover.

May 1, 2011

Erin has spent the last 20 years unable to forget her first love, Nate. Despite having a successful career, a teenage daughter, and a great new boyfriend, she still gets lost in memories of Nate and their turbulent teen romance. When he appears back on the scene, Erin obsesses over what could have been. Told in chapters alternating between the past and the present, Harbison's (Thin, Rich, Pretty; Hope in a Jar) latest will be enjoyed by readers who came of age in the 1980s, but too many teen sex scenes may make some readers uncomfortable (or worse, bored). [See Prepub Alert, 1/24/11.]

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2011

A harried events planner pines for the high-school heartthrob who got away, but is the feeling mutual?

Erin Edwards works for a world-class luxury resort in Virginia, coordinating lavish weddings, bar mitzvahs and birthday parties, like the Sweet 16 bash the hotel is hosting for Roxanne, the world's brattiest teenager. Fielding Roxanne's outrageous requests (helicopters, horses in the water park, a flock of eagles), Erin recalls her own much less entitled teenage years, overshadowed by her passion for Nate, her first lover. Although she went on to other loves and is the single mother of a daughter, she's never found Nate's equal in any man. Rick, her daughter's best friend's father, a prominent Washington, D.C., lawyer, has proposed and is waiting for an answer. There's nothing wrong with Rick, except that he's not...Nate. The book alternates between the mid '80s, as the courtship of Nate and Erin charts its rocky course, and the present. Although '80s Erin can't tamp down her longing for Nate, she still chafes at the fact that they never have a real date--instead they hang out with his Animal House-eligible contingent of friends. Nate is Romeo without the flowery speeches or depth. In the present, Roxanne refuses to believe that her ex-boyfriend can't be somehow forced to attend her party. Witnessing Roxanne's self-delusion leads Erin to ponder if Nate shares her nostalgia for their past. Convinced he moved away long ago, she can't resist revisiting Nate's former home. But as she passes the house, who should appear but Nate, slightly more grizzled. They fall back into bed without so much as a word, but then she finds his wedding ring. Should she have just let sleeping Nates lie? Although there are some trenchant social observations here, Erin's ever-churning ruminations and regrets begin to pall. Harbison makes a vivid case for Nate's sexual prowess but fails to illustrate any other traits that would qualify him for soul-mate-hood.

Readers will be casting their votes for Rick--and not the guy who got away.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)