Review: An epic love story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 07 7, 2014
Complimentary copy provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.Tessa Lockwood is in her early 20s and has already been married for a handful of years to her journalist husband, Peter. When the opportunity arises for Peter to go to work for a freelance news organization, and Tessa is able to transfer to a different position in the company she works for, they find themselves in San Francisco. Tessa had been working at the Gregson resort in Tucson, but has been transferred to the company’s US headquarters where she will be working on a team with five other people that support the top executives for the company, including the big boss, Ian Gregson. When Tessa meets her new boss for the first time, she can’t help but develop a crush on the rich, powerful, handsome man. But of course, not only is Tessa married, he is way out of her league.Ian Gregson is quickly approaching forty. He is tall, dark, and handsome, and also very, very single. There are no prospects for him to settle down with anytime soon, though he’s often seen with a different woman on his arm at every gala and gathering he attends. He’s far too invested in his career to worry about settling down, that is until Tessa steps into his office. He is instantly smitten with her, but upon learning that she is married, he knows that nothing can ever happen between them. And oh yeah, there are those pesky non-fraternization rules between company employees (especially when management is involved) to deal with…the rules he made.For two years Tessa works for Ian without incident. He doesn’t task her with anything that will ever get Tessa close to him, for he doesn’t want to tempt himself having her near. Tessa had a really rough go of it growing up. She’s the only child of a bipolar mom who died in a house fire at the age of sixteen. Tessa’s marriage was one of convenience and while she and Peter had been married for nearly seven years, there was never really more than a best friend level of love there. Peter spends most of his time away from home on assignment, so he finally tells Tessa that he is ready for a divorce so that she can be free to go and live the life that he deserves.Tessa is crushed, but when Ian finds out that she is a newly divorced woman, he sets about a plan to seduce her and finally be with her. They have their challenges and Ian has his work cut out for him, as Tessa is a very broken person. She has been poor nearly all of her life, at times homeless, but has trouble accepting help from others. She has no education other than a certificate from a community college so she constantly berates herself for not being able to live the type of life her gossipy co-workers do. She struggles to make the rent and wears thrift store clothes. She keeps to herself instead of making friends with others, as she is embarrassed with her current situation.Splendor is a romance novel. There are no real twists, turns, angst, or suspense; it is simply the tale of the beginning of a relationship that is seen as taboo to some, and the way that relationship plays out. If you prefer angst in your books, or love triangles, this is not the book for you. Splendor is a very sweet tale of a couple that has to endure several hardships in order to make their relationship work. There is no cheating, despite Tessa’s marriage.There is no doubt that Ms. Nissenson is a great writer. By the end of the book I felt as though I really knew the characters of both Ian and Tessa, however there were many themes that were revisited again, and again, and again, that the book really became a lot longer than it needed to be (it is a LONG book). We know that Tessa is beautiful and has the most amazing rack of any woman that has walked the planet. We know that Ian has gazillions of dollars and would do anything for Tessa, buying her anything her heart desired. We know that Ian is much older than her and he has insecurities as such. There was a lot of redundancy that could have been removed yet still not have affected the plot.Another thing that really bothered me about the book was the incessant brand name dropping of what every character wore. It honestly got to be way too much. We understand that Ian shops at Neiman Marcus, we know that is a high end store, we know how much the clothes cost, we don’t need to know the designer and what collection they came from. It detracted from the message of the book.I enjoyed the book and if you’re a fan of romance (especially May/December), you likely will too. This is the first book I have read by Ms. Nissenson, and although it is the second in a series, it can be read as a standalone without having read the first. The main characters from the first book do make many appearances in this book, but it really is not necessary to have read the first. This one was a solid four stars.