Sunday, May 5, 2019

Review: Maple Summer Wallace by Jessica Calla


After learning she has only six months to live, twenty-two-year-old socialite, Maple Summer Wallace, plans to spend her remaining time hanging over a roulette table in Vegas and squandering her family’s fortune. Her plan takes a wrong turn when she finds Veronica, her twenty-year-old housekeeper and daughter of her beloved nanny, Lola, hovering over the dead body of octogenarian Randolph Brentwood, the fifth richest man in the world.

Maple has never been a warm and fuzzy type of family person, and the last thing she wants to do in her final months of life is deal with Veronica’s mess. But long ago Maple made a promise to Lola that she’d always look out for her “little sister” Veronica. Still, the stubborn Maple, hardened from her own personal loss, resists involvement until she learns that Veronica is pregnant with Lola’s grandchild, an heir to the Brentwood estate.

To make good on her promise to Lola, Maple vows to help Veronica. With the assistance of Michael, a handsome and savvy PI, they journey up and down the East Coast, dodging the authorities, a shady lawyer, a cold-hearted hit man, and the powerful widow, Mrs. Brentwood. As Maple’s bitterness about spending her last days saving Veronica dissipates and her friendship with Michael develops, she realizes that on the way to death, she’s found something she’s never had—life.

(PLEASE NOTE: This is the Author's Women's Fiction Debut. It is NOT a Romance. Further, this book touches on serious subjects that may affect more sensitive readers.)




What I thought about Maple Summer Wallace

This book takes off very quickly with a murder in the first chapter and a terminal diagnosis for rich, socialite Maple Summer Wallace.  Instead of spending her last months spending her fortune in Vegas, she's on the run with Ronni.

What follows is a road-trip of epic proportions with Maple discovering so very much about herself and life. Her last journey is heart-wrenching and emotional as she works with her companions to save Ronni and her child and fulfills the promises she made to others.   There are plenty of twists and turns (which is why I'm being so vague -- these twists are amazing and need to be experienced by the reader -- so no spoilers here!)

I really enjoyed this story.  It moves along very nicely, the characters are intriguing and Maple's voice is fresh and kept me interested in turning the pages to the end. While there isn't a traditional HEA, there is an ending that made my heart swell a little with sadness and hope.  

An ARC was provided for review. 



About the Author...


Jessica Calla is a contemporary romance, new adult, and women's fiction author who moonlights during the day as an attorney. If she's not writing, lawyering, or parenting, you'll most likely find her at the movies, scrolling through her Twitter feed, or gulping down various forms of caffeine (sometimes all three at once).


Jessica is a member of Romance Writers of America, involved in the Contemporary, Young Adult, and New Jersey Chapters, and is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. A Jersey girl through and through, she resides in the central part of the state with her husband, two sons, and dog.





 

1 comment:

Northwoman said...

This sounds heartbreaking but also room to be inspiring.

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