Review by Booklist Review
Alice Storm has been estranged from her billionaire father for five years, so no one in her family expects her to show up on Storm Island, off the coast of Rhode Island, for his funeral . . . service . . . event . . . whatever her mother, Elisabeth, is calling it. The night before she arrives, Alice, emotionally raw and distracted by strong, tattooed forearms, has a one-night stand with a stranger. Except when she arrives on Storm Island, she realizes he's not a stranger. He's Jack Dean, the late Franklin Storm's fixer. He's there to deliver the task each family member must complete before the will is read. Alice's task seems simple enough--stay on the island for a week--but her casually cruel family and the fact that she knows how to live without Storm money make it hard to remain. And if one Storm doesn't complete their task, no one gets the money. MacLean makes a departure from historical romance (Knockout, 2023), but her dedicated readers will recognize her strong characterization--hardheaded Alice, serious Jack, uptight Elisabeth--and her ability to spin a tight plot with enough surprises to keep the pages turning. And there's romance too (you didn't think the one-night stand was for nothing?) in this pitch-perfect summer read.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Romance novelist MacLean (Knockout) delivers a clever tale of a woman whose life is upended by her late billionaire father's last wishes. Alice Storm, a New York City public school teacher who's estranged from her family, returns to her childhood home in Rhode Island after her father, Franklin, dies in a hang-gliding accident. At the train station in nearby Wickford, she strikes up a conversation with a handsome tattooed stranger and spends the night with him. The next morning, after taking a skiff to the family's private island, she's greeted by her overbearing mother and three siblings, and is shocked to re-encounter the stranger, who turns out to be Jack Dean, Franklin's managing director and fixer, whom her family detests. He's there to give them the terms of their inheritance--a set of tasks each of them must follow if they are to receive any of Franklin's wealth. Alice's directive sounds simple--stay on the island for the whole week--but proves difficult because she and her family despise each other. Though furious that Jack didn't tell her who he was, she slowly falls for him over the course of the week, while bracing for another surprise from Franklin. MacLean sets a brisk pace and seamlessly blends family drama with a winning love story. It's perfect for the beach bag. Agent: Holly Root, Root Literary. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
In her contemporary fiction debut, romance novelist MacLean (Heartbreaker) paints a glamorous, scandalous picture of a messy family whose wealth has given them everything except for love. Artist Alice Storm, who has never fit in among her family, races home to her ancestral home on a private Narragansett Bay island after learning of the accidental death of her eccentric, self-made father, Franklin. After a one-night stand with a stranger she meets on the train, Alice arrives on the island to a chilly reception from her family: old-money mother Elisabeth, dutiful eldest sister Greta, tarnished golden-boy brother Sam, and new-age-y youngest sister Emily. The family's grief is interrupted by Jack, Franklin's fixer, bearing a game that the remaining Storms must play if they want to inherit Franklin's billions. If they want to compete, they must remain on the island for a full week. Over the course of the week, the Storm family's chaos and secrets weigh on Alice, but even stranger is that Jack happens to be her one-night stand from the train--just an unlucky coincidence…or is it? MacLean doesn't completely abandon her romance roots or trademark humor, but the family relationships drive this fun plot. VERDICT This steamy love-child of Succession and Elin Hilderbrand is a perfect beach read.--Lacey Tobias
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
After her tycoon father's death, a woman reunites with her estranged family for a dramatic week on their private island. Alice Storm hasn't visited her family in five years, but this is no normal house she's avoiding. Her father was Franklin Storm, founder of a world-changing technology company, and their home is a private island off the Rhode Island coast. When Alice went against her controlling father's wishes, she was cut off and banished. She's been supporting herself as a teacher and artist, trying her best to forget that she was ever a Storm--that is, until Franklin's death. Now she's back with the family she hasn't spoken to in years--her icy mother, Elisabð rule-following older sister, Gr bratty, power-hungry older brother, Sam; and spiritual younger sister, Emily, who never met a crystal she didn't like. Among them, Alice is the rebel--the only one who managed to ignore their father's wishes and escape the island. But it turns out that, even in death, Franklin is still calling the shots. He's left them challenges they must complete if they want to earn their inheritance, and if any one of them fails, the whole group loses. Alice's task seems almost impossible, even though it's simpler than the others': She just has to stay on the island, with her family, for the entire week. All this information is delivered by Jack Dean, Franklin's right-hand man. He's also the guy Alice accidentally slept with before realizing who he was (whoops). Now she's stuck with her family and a man she's deeply attracted to even though she hates him for being involved in her father's company--and she has to make it through her father's funeral (or "celebration," as her mother insists on calling it). MacLean's first foray into contemporary family drama has notes ofSuccession along with the steamy romance she's known for in her historical novels. The Storm family is full of complicated, flawed characters, and sticking them together on an island for a week leads to lots of delightfully dramatic fights, secrets, and reveals. A compelling story about grief, sex, and money, but also the power of family and forgiveness. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
