Review by Darcie Czajkowski
Cassidy Lane has a life many would
covet. She is a best-selling author of five novels, lives in a cozy,
comfortable apartment in Manhattan, and has a loyal and supportive group of
friends and family. This is how the world sees Cassidy, not only those with
whom she is close, but everyone at her twenty-year high school reunion in Palo
Alto: Successful. Glamorous. The person who has it all.
Only Cassidy sees herself differently. When she walks into
the room where her high school classmates mingle, she is shrouded by memories
of being the smart girl that was never asked to prom. A thirty-eight-year-old
woman who is still single and searching for a happily-ever-after like the ones
she writes about in her novels. That is, until Brandon Forrester saunters in,
dressed to perfection, and catches Cassidy’s eye. Unsurprisingly, due to their
vast high-school class, their interactions were extremely limited, a notch
above complete strangers. Where was he hiding all this time? she
wonders.
Post-reunion, Brandon e-mails Cassidy,
telling her that he will be in New York for work and asking if she’d like to
meet him for a drink. Elated, Cassidy accepts, and soon thereafter is involved in a bi-coastal texting relationship. Cassidy thinks Brandon could be her
happily-ever-after and that she might finally get the ending that has
historically been reserved only for the characters in her stories.
But as her burgeoning romance fills her
with boundless hope, the writing of her latest book comes to a stalemate when
writer's block threatens her ability to deliver her manuscript within her
editor's tight deadline. And even when the words eventually resume their flow,
they lead to a story far removed from her typical sunshine-and-roses, fairytale
stories.
Which will it be for Cassidy? Happily
ever after? Or will her romance end in heartbreak, the type of ending that her
faithful readers never want to see?
Cassidy Lane is a likeable character,
someone whom I was rooting for to find love. She has everything in her life,
except romance and it's a piece that she greatly desires. While I was hoping
that Brandon would be the one for her, I also felt conflicted when he failed to
offer Cassidy the same attention and priority in his life that she afforded
him. As I was reading, I wished that I were Cassidy's friend so I could have
told her that she deserved to find a man who would treat her like a queen, that
a man who would check every box is possible to find. All of these thoughts and
feelings tell me that I was invested in this book. I felt like I knew Cassidy,
as if she was one of my friends. And for this ability to bring a character to
life to such a degree, Maria Murnane should be given tremendous credit. She
writes with realistic dialogue and tells a story with a satisfying end, even
with the inclusion of a minor cliffhanger which leaves the reader (me!) wanting
more. An easy-to-read, enjoyable story from Maria Murnane.
Purchase the book at:
About the Author:
A former PR
executive who abandoned a successful career to pursue a more fulfilling life,
Maria Murnane is the best-selling author of the Waverly Bryson series (Perfect
on Paper, It’s a Waverly Life, Honey on Your Mind, and Chocolate
for Two), as well as Cassidy Lane and Katwalk. At her speaking
engagements she shares the “story behind the story,” an entertaining tale of
courage, passion and perseverance that has inspired audiences across the
country to follow their dreams—no matter what.
A remarkable
personal story:
Perfect on
Paper, which Maria wrote during a year she spent playing semi-pro soccer
in Argentina, was initially turned down by several major publishing
houses. In an effort to prove them wrong, Maria self-published and
implemented a creative, grass-roots marketing campaign. And it worked! Within a
year Perfect on Paper attracted the attention of senior executives at
Amazon, who chose it out of more than 10,000 self-published titles for the
company’s venture into traditional publishing. They offered Maria a contract,
and since then the book has also been published in Germany, Hungary, Italy,
Serbia, Turkey, and Indonesia. Maria’s subsequent novels have also been
purchased by Amazon Publishing, each housed under the Lake Union imprint.
Maria was a Regents’ and Chancellor’s
Scholar at UC Berkeley, where she graduated with high honors in English
and Spanish and was an Alumni Scholar. She also received a master’s degree in
integrated marketing communications from Northwestern University. She currently
lives in New York City.
Connect with the author at:
