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A Black Tie Affair – Sherrill Bodine
Grand Central,
January 2010
ISBN-13: 978-0446618595
ISBN-10: 0446618594
Reviewed by Mary Gramlich
February 2010
Fate is a magical and wonderful mystery in our lives that throws out surprises we never expect and occasionally some bloopers we could live without. Athena Smith is getting a huge dose of both right now and she will have to take the good with the unexpected and roll with the way things play out. She may have been named for the Goddess of Wisdom but past mistakes make her question that particular title as it applies to her.
Athena has finally gotten permission to inspect and display the Bertha Smith antique dress collection at the Fashion Institute of Chicago where she is the curator. But the catch is the dresses are part of the Clayworth family collection and this forces her to interact with her childhood love Drew Clayworth. Drew is the man that she has always loved but also the one she can never forgive because he broke her heart and caused hurt beyond recovery.
Drew is equally leery of having Athena back in his life as well but fate has stepped in and brought them back together reminding him of everything he had and lost. He loved her so much but had to let her go when the tragedy of losing his parents in the Fastnet. This ultimate sailboat racing event was something he pushed his parents into and felt guilt when it took their lives. All this grief that Drew put upon his shoulders did not leave room for Athena or her love. Now they are thrown back together when the dresses that Athena wants to display are stolen and apparently causing whoever touches them to have a chemical reaction that makes the wearer act in interesting and “truthful” ways.
The search for the dresses becomes an adventure in more ways than one and both Athena and Drew are reminded that they are so much better together than apart despite the road blocks facing them. They may be able to sail out together but not on calm waters the way things keep popping up to toss them around.
This book makes you believe in the magic of love and the wonder of everything happening for a reason. Some life events are mysterious and some wonderful but true happiness at being reunited with the love of your life not much else can go wrong – or so we hope. What a great book with wonderful characters and amazing underlying mystery. The tie-in to the next book in this series is enough to make you wish time moved faster and the next book was about to be released. It is not fate that has Ms. Bodine writing such a great story but the talent of a good writer.
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