“Her heart loves one man. Her head loves another.”

Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen

About this book: (from the publisher) When Felicity steps off the train on the way to meet her husband, she is so sure of everything in her life. Where she is headed, what she will order at the restaurant, the first words her husband will say to her when she arrives, their happy future together.

But then she catches a scent of perfume in the air, and suddenly she is overcome by forgotten emotions-passionate memories of another man she loved many years ago.

As the feelings continue to surface again and again, Felicity begins to question the life she thought she knew so well. She doesn’t doubt that she loves her husband, but does she owe it to herself to explore these overwhelming emotions that have taken hold of her? Or is her mind simply playing tricks on her heart?

How can she know where love truly lies? And when she finds out, will it be too late?

About the author: Julie Cohen grew up in Maine, USA, and studied English at Brown University, Rhode Island and Cambridge University in England. She moved to the UK permanently to research fairies in Victorian children’s literature at the University of Reading, and then taught English at secondary level. She now writes full time and is a popular speaker and teacher of creative writing. She lives with her husband and their son in Berkshire. She is also the author of Dear Thing.

Genre: Fiction/Contemporary/Women’s Fiction

If this book were a movie, I would rate it: PG-13 for some profanity

Reminds me of: the novels of Kate Hewitt

[Tweet “Another delightful novel from @Julie_Cohen to appeal to both head and heart”]

Reflection: Julie Cohen’s debut novel, Dear Thing, delighted me {read my review here}, and so when her sophomore novel arrived in my mailbox, I saw it as a gift and looked forward to what I hoped would be a novel that lived up to her first.

I was not disappointed.

I liked it for so many reasons: its well-developed, interesting characters; the luminous but not self-conscious prose; the superb craftsmanship, with every piece of the story attended to in clever, I-didn’t-see-that-coming detail. This is warmhearted women’s fiction at its finest, the kind that explores all sorts of relational nooks and crannies, including mothers and in-laws, old loves and new ones. But the true marvel of Julie’s writing is how she ties up every loose end in a satisfying yet credible way. Both emotional and insightful, Where Love Lies raises questions that’ll leave readers pondering well after they’ve turned the last page.

Some who have read Julie’s Dear Thing might see some similarities and call her books formulaic. I don’t. I see them as examples of good branding — of knowing what works and then consistently and creatively delivering it. With her first two novels, Julie Cohen has established herself on a roll. I’m already anticipating where her third book may take us.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin for providing me a free copy to review. All opinions are mine.

After words: Have you read either of Julie’s novels?