The Summary

A good daughter, Nina Gregory has always been. Nina learned the value of family, reputation, and legacy from her father, the opulent Gregory Hotels' owner, who raised her. Tim, her passionate lover and childhood best friend, shares the same sentiments. However, Nina's father leaves a secret behind when he passes away that completely astounds her. Nina finds herself torn between the world she adores and a passion that has the potential to change everything as she soon starts to see the men in her life, her father, her boyfriend, and unexpectedly, her boss, Rafael, in a new light.

My Review

Finding your identity within the norms and expectations of your family is the focus of this book. presents readers to a critical period in Nina Gregory's life. Sadly, I was unable to emotionally connect with this extremely well written piece of work.

For me, it lacked substance. This was a rather superficial story that didn't make me feel anything particularly deep. The primary plot of the novel didn't begin until approximately halfway through. Nina's life changed when her devoted father passed suddenly and information about his enigmatic past came to light. It's common to feel disoriented after a significant loss, but Nina's trajectory didn't feel right.

Despite all of her "problems," Nina occasionally comes across as conceited. I'm aware that I should have had some sort of empathy for her, but I didn't. She struck me as being quite flat, almost as if she were simply "going thru the motions" with everything rather than being a person with a soul and emotions. It could have just been the way the character was written.

The development of the characters happened too soon and abruptly. In spite of the fact that the book's characters seem to have fascinating backstories, I think it failed to emphasize any of them, which rendered all of the relationships and mistakes completely uninteresting.

There are no substantial story points, everything is still light and flimsy, and I have little interest in any of the characters. Actually, I was on the verge of giving up as I was going too far. Santopolo writes captivatingly, which is a blessing. She consistently keeps me engaged in the story, regardless of the premise. She simply has a gift for crafting digestible yet gripping tales.

I ultimately felt that this was a tremendous miss. I'll undoubtedly read another book by Santopolo. Sadly, I just wasn't made for this one.

My ratings score:

★★★★★ Fantastic! Made me go through a lot of emotions & the entire book is incredibly beautifully done! 

★★★★ Memorable! Despite its shortcomings, this book was incredible and taught us a lot. 

★★★ Good work! Nothing particularly remarkable, but still nice.

★★ Meh... Mediocre with great room for improvement.

★ Extremely Poor.