Three very different women--Meg, a high-powered New York attorney; Zoe, a widowed film star desperate to make a comeback; and Alissa, the belle of Atlanta society--risk everything to rekindle their first loves. Original.
“First loves” è uno di quei libri che ho aggiunto in uno dei miei moti matti e sconclusionati, che mi hanno preso e che non ho proprio potuto dire di no. Netgalley è sempre una fonte inesauribile di novità e di libri fenomenali e quando mi capita per le mani un’occasione, soprattutto quando si tratta di una romance, non posso certo lasciarmela scappare. E questa ne è valsa la pena.
Per ogni donna c’è un primo amore. E per Meg, Zoe e Alissa quell’amore non è mai stato dimenticato. Ora queste tre amiche hanno stipulato un passo. In sei mesi hanno giurato di riconnettersi con gli uomini che hanno toccato le loro vite tanto tempo fa. Meg è baciata dal successo, ma vive una vita senza amore, perseguitata dall’unico uomo che ha mai voluto, un uomo che è ancora irresistibile… e apparentemente irraggiungibile, Zoe è stata una famosissima attrice, disperata di tornare sulla scena e spaventata di scoprire che cosa ne è stato del ragazzo del suo paese natale – la sola persona che significava più della fama per lei. Alissa, il tesoro della società di Atlanta, sembra avere tutto. Poi, in un momento scioccante, scopre che la sua vita è una farsa e che ha lasciato l’unico uomo che ha davvero amato. Ora queste donne rischieranno tutto – le loro famiglie, la loro reputazione e i loro cuori – per scommettere sulla magia del primo amore.
Questo è un libro complesso, che coinvolge tre donne e tre punti di vista, per costruire una trama ingarbugliata e assolutamente speciale, che unisce la storia di tre amori, alla vita di donne forti e indipendenti, che nonostante hanno tutto, vogliono di più. Perché una vita senza amore, è una vita piatta, privata dell’unica cosa che la rende meritevole di essere vissuta. Il primo amore non si scorda mai, ed è la verità. La prima volta che si provano sentimenti sconvolgenti e speciali per un’altra persona, la prima volta che si capisce cosa significa tenere davvero a qualcun altro al di fuori di noi stessi e della nostra famiglia, resta marchiato a fuoco dentro di noi. Sul primo amore sono stati scritti fiumi di parole e questo libro è molto interessante perché non solo riesuma dai ricordi il primo uomo di tre donne, ma fa di più, prova a far rivivere delle emozioni che si credevano dimenticate. C’è una cosa che accomuna le tre, proprio il fatto che certe sensazioni non sono mai state dimenticate, che quando le tre si raggomitolano sotto le coperte, di notte, ripensano ancora, come se fosse nel presente, all’uomo che le ha fatte cadere per la prima volta. Tre storie completamente diverse, tre esistenze che sembrano non scontrarsi, tre vite che diventano così ingarbugliate da finire per forgiare un rapporto d’amicizia, vera, di quelle che superano tutto. È proprio questo che rende la vicenda molto interessante, il fatto che sia corale e il fatto che non si limiti alla romance, ma anzi che questa sia solo la punta dell’iceberg che trova fondamento in qualcosa di più. Meg è la donna d’affari, un avvocato di successo talmente agguerrito e spietato che i giornali la definiscono come la donna di ghiaccio. Irreprensibile e seria, ha solo il lavoro nella sua vita. Sempre molto seria e competitiva Meg non si lascia mai andare, neanche con il suo amico Danny, che chiaramente vuole di più. Meg è stata toccata da un uomo, Steven, e quando lo ha perso si è letteralmente chiusa all’amore. Portando avanti solo storie fugaci, prive di qualsiasi significato, continua a rimuginare le sue scelte, ma non si rende conto di aver perso molto puntando solo al suo lavoro. L’incontro con Zoe ed Alissa le mostrerà come la vita sia fatta di molto altro. Ammetto che Zoe è il mio personaggio preferito, quello che delle tre mi ha colpito di più. Quella più avanti con gli anni, non è di certo quella con più esperienza. Il suo fidanzatino del liceo Jay con cui voleva condividere il sogno di una fortunata carriera artistica a Los Angeles è scomparso dalla sua vita proprio quando ha iniziato ad avere successo. Una carriera che l’ha resa popolarissima, tutti conoscono Zoe e desiderano avere un pezzo di lei. Ma un evento terribile l’ha costretta ritirarsi e ora che è pronta a riaffacciarsi sulle scene, con tutti i cambi di scenario che si possono immaginare, rispetto al mondo che ha sempre conosciuto lei, sente una certa nostalgia per il suo primo amore. Con un figlio adolescente che non si accontenta, e una carriera tutta da ridisegnare si accorgerà che rivangare il passato però non sempre è positivo, anzi a volte è totalmente sconvolgente. Alissa è la classica donna sposata, ricca, che gioca a fare la benefattrice, dove le serate di beneficienza sono solo una facciata per mostrarsi al meglio, la più giovane, la più bella, la più desiderata. Ma quando si affaccia sulla scena dell’alta società sua figlia maggiore ecco che improvvisamente inizia a perdere il suo potere. Un marito, Robert che per anni le ha nascosto un segreto inconfessabile, un gruppo di donne che si rinfacciano il privilegio di essere la migliore, ecco che per Alissa diventa tutto troppo. E scappa nella spa dove incontra le altre e si fa promotrice della loro promessa. Intenzionata a ritrovare Eric, è disposta a qualsiasi cosa, tutto anche perdere i suoi privilegi. Segreti che non avrebbe mai pensato tornano a galla ed errori nel presente che sembrano assolutamente irreali e impossibili si fanno strada per trasformare la sua vita da borghese in un gioco pericoloso dove niente come sembra e dove perdere tutto diventa estremamente facile.
Il particolare da non dimenticare? Un ballo di beneficienza.
Una contemporary romance diversa dal solito, che indaga profondamente la possibilità di ricostruire qualcosa che si pensava perduto, la speranza di un nuovo incontro casuale e irreale e la necessità che diventa meraviglia e che trasforma completamente la prospettiva. Un romanzo corale che ha molto da dire e che vi lascerà senza parole. Buona lettura guys!
Ringrazio Netgalley e Random House Publishing Group per avermi concesso l’opportunità di leggere questo libro in anteprima in cambio della mia onesta opinione.
First Loves is a re-release of a previously published book. I’m putting that out there upfront because I’m finding this happening more and more and reading an older book in today’s time can be challenging. They reference things that were “hot topics” at the time. Things that we use every day are sometimes never mentioned or used like for instance in this book, cell phones. Sometimes the views on things we take for granted now will shock you or even seem archaic. In this book there is a man who is gay, his wife discovers this accidentally and just the discussion of how if this is ever found out and some of the terms used really grated on my nerves. I realize this can still be a sensitive issue for some people but for me, expecting public outrage and shunning just floors me. I’m old enough to know that things have changed drastically over the years but because I’ve always had gay friends, I’m pretty sensitive about this topic. That being said, I let myself forget about my outrage over this subject matter because I loved the rest of this story. It is unique, it is entertaining, and it is pretty uplifting.
This is the story of three women; Meg, Alissa, and Zoe. Three women who probably would have never met but personal circumstance have them all visiting the same spa at the same time. They form a very unlikely friendship that grows stronger with each day. The all wind up confessing that they once had what they considered their one true love and he got away. They make a pact to track them down and just see what happens.
The book starts out with us see each of these characters prior to their visit to the spa. We see what their life if like and get to know quite a bit about them. While at the spa, we learn more, but it’s what happens after they leave the spa where things become very intriguing.
I found it interesting watching these three form such an unlikely friendship and despite their very different lives they are all missing two things; one is love and the other is friends who know them as they are at this moment in their lives.
Once home they start to search for the men who got away from them. It’s an easy task for Meg; fairly easy for Zoe, but Alissa has to hire a private detective who is a friend of Meg’s to help her. I will say that each of them find these men and the reunions vary greatly.
Throughout it all the women remain in touch and their lives become even more entwined. I don’t want to spoil the ending but they all don’t get what they expected when they find these men but they all three wind up finding love.
I enjoyed First Loves very much; the characters were well written, the plot was entertaining, and the ending very satisfying. I wish prior to it being re-released it would have been updated and re-edited. The story is very good, but because it is dated, it takes away from what is an excellent premise.
This is the book of three unlikely friends who meet at a spa, and connect over each of their feelings of a lost first love. First we meet Meg, a celebrity criminal defense attorney from New York. Meg lives for her work - junior partner at a prestigious firm - she has no serious relationships, very few friends (other than her best friend Danny) and no close family to speak of. When she begins to question if she even really likes her job, in her loneliness she starts to think about her first love and the heated affair she had with her law school professor 10 years earlier.
Next we meet Alissa, a socialite from the South who finds herself in a loveless marriage for all the wrong reasons. When her life is shaken up, she begins to think about her first love - the boy she moved to San Fransisco with when she was 18. The boy whom, a few months later, she left on the corner of Haight and Ashbury to return to her trust fund and the pressures of her family.
Finally, Zoe joins the story. A "retired" film actress, Zoe has spent the past 15 years hiding from the press and raising her son in seclusion. When her husband commits suicide, Zoe is forced to move out of the shadows and face the world again. But Zoe has demons of her own, and she's petrified of returning to the limelight. She thinks of her first love, who left her with no warning and no note, when she began to make a name for herself in Hollywood.
All three women are living with serious regret. They form a tentative friendship, and encourage each other to try to re-connect with their long lost first loves. But, things aren't always as they seem and sometimes things are better left in the past, as all three women find out. As they track down their former loves, they learn a lot of themselves, their friendships and what true love really means.
This story was an enjoyable read for me. I think everyone can relate to the story - thinking of the past and wondering what might of been. This is especially so when it comes to first loves. I really liked Meg and Zoe's characters. They were strong women, bright and independent. I did not relate to Alissa's character, though. I found her to be cold, calculating and manipulative. Maybe because I can't relate to her life? I'm not sure what it was, but I found myself not loving the parts of the book told from her perspective. Without giving too much away, each of the characters get their HEA, although not the ending they were expecting. ALthough I love a good happy ending, I found this one a bit unauthentic and cliched.
Overall, an enjoyable read.
*This book was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I am a fan of interwoven stories, books with more than one storyline at their heart. They can be fantastic, working together to create a beautiful, multi-faceted narrative. However, when the stories become confusing and you have no idea where you are and what’s going on, that just waves a massive red flag for me.
First Loves was originally published in 1995 by Bantam Fanfare. While some of the references were a bit dated (for example, the Atlanta Olympics hadn’t occurred at the time the story was written), this was not the issue that led to me not finishing the book. I do love me some good old school category romances with references to puffy sleeves, Magnum moustaches and questionable hairstyles.
I just couldn’t follow it. The three stories, rather than working well together, just seemed to fight each other for page space. I just ended up confused trying to work out what was happening.
One thing I will say in the book’s favour is that it did cover some very dark topics – marital infidelity, homosexuality, HIV, suicide – that weren’t often covered in a lot of the older category romances I’ve read. It is great to see authors willing to push boundaries in romance novels. However, these meatier topics couldn’t save the day for First Loves as far as I was concerned.
My rating: DNF
Note: I was provided with an advanced reader copy of this book by Loveswept via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
**Provided by Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Loveswept for an honest review**
2.5 STARS
This book had three stories intertwined, but you could tell that this was an older book that had been re-published. Many things like the use of cell phones and email were not included for example which are a major part of many ordinary lives, not just professional.
I liked Meg although she was afraid of her feelings and of letting loose with a man, letting her love him. I loved Zoe, I thought she was a wonderful character and really felt the warmth of her character. However I hated Alissa. I thought her spoilt and too aggressive, I did not like her character at all.
Danny was a wonderful friend to Meg and managed to see the best out of Alissa when others couldn't, how he saw past her nasty facade i'm not sure. Steven had never lost his love for Meg, but he didn't try hard enough when they first split up, but redeemed himself in the end. Erik, well. He was just a numpty who was selfish because he couldn't handle that his love became more famous than him.
That said, i found the story a little boring and found it dragged a little. Was a little too happy when the book had finished.
First Loves is a book about friends who meet at a resort and immediately become friends. At the spa, they swear to find their first loves. Their first loves were magical and reminiscing about them made the girls eager to track them down. One of the girls is in a marriage that is falling apart, another was forced out of the acting spotlight due to a tragedy, and the third friend is coping with the suicide of her husband. The three main characters had narratives that were woven together in a flawless way. The book was a page turner and I couldn't put it down. Like in real life, the girls face happiness and sadness, but throughout the novel, they have each other to turn to. I can't wait to recommend this book to my sister and closest friends.
First Loves is a re-release from 1995 and you could tell. This book had several dated references that needed to be revamped. I love the Love Swept line by The Random House Publishing Group, but come on guys did you have to pick this one? I fell like the synopsis is misleading on this book. I usually love intertwining stories, but this one was dreadful. I didn’t finish it, but did read about 75% before deciding that this story was not going to get any better. I had hope with each page turn, but the fizzled out fast. This book deals with some taboo subjects such as AIDS, teen sex, infidelity, homosexuality, and suicide. There was a lot going on to say it best. Be your own judge if you want, but this book was a waste of time.
First Loves by Jean Stones is a story about three completely different women who meet at a private resort spa while they are at the most difficult times in their lives. As they become friends they make the odd decision about looking up their first love, the men they believe could’ve made a difference in their lives if they had chosen a different path.
Meg is blessed with being a very successful lawyer. But she is considered an Ice Queen by the media and her previous lovers. By the media because she defends and wins even the most obvious and famous murder suspects, and by her lovers because she doesn’t ever let go and love them as they fall in love with her. Read More...
This was kind of a dragging read for me. At several points I found myself hating some of the characters and smacking my head. They are not without their redeeming qualities... some just don't find it till the VERY end. Still, I fell in love with most of the characters. At times it was very frustrating to read this book, the situations made my heart break and my anger flare. It annoyed me and definitely made me think. If a book makes you feel, it's a good one in my opinion. Maybe not one you'll read again, but one you can think back on from time to time; So worth a read. The point of the book is a big one.
Cute story, although sometimes a bit hard to follow at times because there are so many perspectives. I would have liked to see those perspectives separated by chapter alerting the reader to who was telling the story at the time. Overall, I enjoyed watching three very different women develop a friendship and learn to open their hearts again. Love how combining their lives as friends brought each their own HEA!