6/25/2018

Verliebt Bis In Die Fingerspitzen by Sarah Morgan

I actually wasn´t sure if I really wanted to read Holiday in the Hamptons, after the last book in this series hadn´t been that good. And the cover did ad to it. For me, it is too abstract. I like the ones the UK editions show a whole lot more. But tastes are different, and that is good. And besides, the novel between the book cover is, what matters, right? So, if you are looking for a romantic novel with a beach feeling, a beautiful landscape, and figures who know that life isn´t all flowers and sunshine, then this is your perfect read for the summer.

Verliebt Bis In Die Fingerspitzen*

by Sarah Morgan
From Manhattan With Love Series #5
Translation Ivonne Senn
Original Title Holiday In The Hamptons*
Publisher Mira TB on June 4, 2018
Genre Novel
Pages 396
Format Paperback
Source Publisher

Goodreads

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Dog sitter Fliss learned something as a child: do not show anyone how vulnerable you are. Do not show your feelings to anyone. When she learns that her Ex Seth begins as a doctor in the local veterinary clinic, memories burn like the sun on her skin: the tender hours on the beach, the smell of the sea. Promptly she flees from New York to the Hamptons. But there she meets Seth, of all people. Confused, she slips into the role of her twin sister to avoid the painful encounter: the encounter with the biggest mistake of her life … (personal translation by ©Vi at Inkvotary)

Story

Fliss is completely confused. Her ex is working in Manhattan, her Manhattan, and she is overwhelmed by all the emotions that run through her. Way too much to deal with and so she does what she does best: she runs away. But if that isn´t enough, she is telling everybody, that she is her twin sister Harriet, and actually believes, that no one will notice. Her hope, to spend some peaceful weeks with her Grandmother, vanishes the moment she literally runs into her Ex again. This time her panic is even worse, and her personal nightmare starts all over again.

Style

Sarah Morgan´s language and writing style are easy to read and well written. There is fun between the pages, awkward moments, witty dialogues, and characters who sometimes drive you crazy, while others are a bit annoying. Set in the beautiful landscape of the Hamptons, the summer feeling is close, and you can literally smell the sea, hear the birds, and feel the grass. Yep, the author managed it very well to bring everything you think of when thinking of a perfect summer into the picture. There are some dark tones too, because of Fliss´ past, but it belongs to her and fits in perfectly. The only thing I couldn´t get an answer to was, why her father had been all her life so angry with his family. The things, that her Grandmother told her, were partly an answer, but not all of them.

Characters

There are moments in this novel, where I was not very happy with Fliss. Sure, she is a wonderful woman, knows how to deal with animals and the way she takes care of her Grandmother is absolutely beautiful. But the way how she acts sometimes was getting hard to take after a while. Fliss believes very strongly that she is a bad person, worthless and useless. And that she has, at all costs, to defend her twin sister whenever someone is only looking at her. That way, she keeps Harriet from living real life without even noticing it. Fliss looks for solutions whenever a client, her sister, brother, or her mother is in need of it, but when it comes to her own person, she isn´t dealing with her problems at all. She buries them deep down inside her, ignores them, and believes then, that they are solved. Which means, over the years, she´s become a woman closed like an oyster and not capable of dealing with anything personal. The worst thing about her: she can´t even open up to her twin sister because she doesn´t want Harriet to feel her pain or anything bad at all.

After a while, I started feeling pity for Fliss. It must be hard to live in a shell like that and not being able to trust your own family. Protecting what´s yours is good and well-meant, but when you do it because of the wrong reasons, it isn´t good at all.

Conclusion

This novel is emotional without being too dark and too heavy. There is still a light tone in it, and you are very well entertained. And still, I sometimes had the feeling, that this wasn´t new. Can´t quite name it, but I am not digging any deeper into it. Despite that, this is the perfect read for an afternoon at the beach. A summer read for all those, who like romance and some problems combined with it.

Happy reading

*This book was kindly provided to me by Mira TB in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Thank you. Therefore, the cover of the German edition is shown first in this review.

*Title was originally published Holiday in the Hamptons by Harlequin on June 15, 2017 

Sarah Morgan

Sarah Morgan dreamed as a child of being a writer and although she took a few interesting detours along the way, she is now living her dream. She loves being outdoors, preferably on vacation so she can forget the house needs tidying. Sarah Morgan writes hot, happy contemporary romance with humor and sensuality. She has sold over 14 million copies of her books and was nominated four years in succession for the prestigious RITA© Award from the Romance Writers of America which she won twice; in 2012 and 2013. She also won the RT Reviewers´ Choice Award in 2012 and has made numerous appearances in their `Top Pick´ slot. Together with her husband and children, she lives near London, England.

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