Synopses & Reviews
Bestselling author Judith Michael's most moving and captivating novel spans the pastoral beauty of the Pacific Northwest . . . the glitter of Broadway . . . the spectacular vistas of Sydney, Australia . . . and the myriad acts of love that will reunite a lost woman with her dreams, her destiny, and the one man who truly believes in her talent--and in their love. . . .
When director Lucas Cameron finds letters to his grandmother from her protégé--the brilliant young actress Jessica Fontaine--who had vanished mysteriously after a tragic accident, he is intrigued, and determined to find her. When finally they meet, they have one magic week of passion and love. But still Jessica cannot return with Lucas to his world--and he cannot share hers--unless they discover the many kinds of love, and the inner strength, that can triumph over the past and open the way for their hands and hearts to join.
Review
"Acts of Love is a story about a once-famous actress, Jessica Fontaine, disfigured in a terrible train wreck, who slowly makes her way back into the theater with the help of a good man's love. That, unfortunately, is the lion's share of the plot, which becomes entirely predictable within the first 100 pages or so. I found myself wondering how the author was going to stretch the resolution of the story to fill 375 pages. Perhaps the plot's predictability would not have been so frustrating had not the characters seemed so silly. Clearly, the reader was supposed to admire their strengths and sympathize with their failings, yet I found myself feeling that much of the plot could have been avoided with the early intervention of a social worker soon after Jessica's accident (which, incidentally, happened before the beginning of the book). Though the parts of the book which discussed the process of bringing a play to the stage were interesting, the interactions of the main characters remained unsatisfying. This book might provide good reading for the beach, especially if one is watching the children, but at best, it is only a mediocre read." Reviewed by Daniel Weiss, Virginia Quarterly Review (Copyright 2006 Virginia Quarterly Review)
About the Author
Judith Michael is the pseudonym of a husband-and-wife writing team, Judith Barnard and Michael Fain. They live in Chicago and Aspen.