Winner Takes It All

by Karen Mason

The sequel to Summerset. Louisa Cusack has died, leaving behind a family struggling to cope without her. Her son Christian has made Sheridans the brewery into a global success, but when he becomes desperately ill, it is up to his daughter Alex to take over the reigns. Meanwhile, Tom Montague, the disowned grandson of the Cusack’s nemesis, Sorcha Sheridan D’Arbo, has been accepted back into the family fold with a mission to infiltrate the Cusacks and destroy Sheridans. Will Alex rise to the challenge of running Sheridans and will Tom and his evil cousin Jackson succeed in their plan to gain back what they feel is rightfully theirs?

278 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Karen Mason was born in London in 1971 and still resides there. She has been writing since childhood and won her first accolade aged seven when she came second in the Blue Peter 'Write a Limerick for Goldie the Dog' competition. Fifteen years later she came second in the now defunct Me! Magazine, 'Write a Blockbuster' competition with an early novel called Violet's Children. She first published her novel Summerset in 2008 and has gone on to release Mad About the Boy, Two Become One, Winner Takes it All - the sequel to Summerset, Mrs Osbourne Regrets, The True Tale of Jezebel Cole, Only You, Paradise Lost, The Line of Passion Trilogy, The Never Forget saga - Never Forget, The Exciting Life, Never Tear Us Apart and The Lucky Ones. And also, the Phillipa Hardcastle mysteries - Scorpio Rising and Teenage Kicks.

May 2014 sees the release of Where The Heart Is, the next instalment in the Never Forget saga.

Reviews

[Kelly Moran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author Karen Mason placed second in the Me! Magazine, Write a Blockbuster competition, and since has gone on to publish her novels, Summerset, Mad About the Boy, and Two Become One. She resides in London where she was born.

In this sequel to her first novel, Summerset, Winner Takes It All continues the story of the Sheridan and Cusak family’s bitter rivalry. In 2007, Louisa “Lou” Cusak has died, leaving behind a family struggling to cope without her, and wondering just what secrets she’s buried. Her son, Christian, has turned the Sheridan’s brewery into a global success, but when he decides to retire, he challenges his two eldest children, Alexandra and Michael, to prove to him who deserves to run the company. The Sheridan’s have their own plan to steal back the company they see as rightfully theirs. But the plan to have Tom Montague, (grandson to the Cusak nemesis, Sorcha Sheridan), infiltrate the company goes awry when Tom falls in love with a member of the Cusak family. Deep rooted secrets begin to emerge and now everyone is questioning not only where their loyalties lie, but who to trust in this sordid family saga.

Though this is a sequel to another book, this book stands alone and it is not necessary to read the first one in order to understand it. However, I highly recommend reading the first book, as you’ll get more out of the story if you do.

There are a lot of characters in this book and, at times, it can get pretty confusing, especially the first two chapters, keeping track of them. Luckily the author laid out each one and a bio before the book begins so readers can keep track. The author is also from England, so some of the phrasing and jargon may take a bit to get used to for US readers. There were a few grammatical editing errors, but I had the advanced reading copy.

Though I did really enjoy the first book, Summerset, I found this one more engaging than the first. The characters were strong and you won’t find any over-romantic mush in this tale. The feud between these families, and the lengths they go to to destroy each other, make for a fascinating read. Karen Mason has an unusual writing style in which dialog propels her books along, seeming as if you are listening in on a secret conversation. The setting was superb and the plot flowed smoothly. A recommended read.

[P.A. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Way to many characters to keep up with, and all the character descriptions in the beginning did was cause more confusion.