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In His Eyes (2012)

by Emmie Dark(Favorite Author)

4.11 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0373717989 (ISBN13: 9780373717989)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Harlequin

review 1: Fans of angst and second chances would like this book. The heroine returns to her hometown after leaving ten years ago as a troubled teenager. Intending only to stay long enough to bury her grandfather, bottle his wine and sell his estate off, her plans hit a snag of sorts in the shape of the estate's neighbor. The hero wants to add her grandfather's vineyard to his estate's holdings, but with their messy shared history, secrets come out and what once seemed so straightforward turns out to be anything but.Lots of emotion in this one. The secrets behind Zoe's banishment as a teenager are a big ones, with shockwaves that leave cracks in both of their adult lives. Their revelation forces them to reexamine assumptions they'd labored under for ten years and unleashes all sorts ... moreof feelings they don't really want to deal with right now. Upstanding, responsible Hugh just wants to buy her family's vineyard and get back to his role as CEO of his family's winemaking business. Restless, rebellious Zoe wants to wrap up their business then get back to California, and away from the bad memories. Walking down memory lane is hugely uncomfortable for them, but they just can't seem to stop the momentum and go back to how they were before the secrets came out.I thought Dark did a good job pacing the characters through their journey of rediscovery. She dispenses bits of intrigue and backstory gradually throughout the story, neither character ever launches into a monologue of angst nor are the salient details dangled just out of the reader's grasp over and over. I felt that the characters discussed and processed their feelings in ways that were unique to their personalities - Zoe giving up information and emotion only under duress, and Hugh relentlessly pursuing further discussion to try to make things right. It's a dynamic that not only suits the storytelling, it shows me a couple well-matched for an HEA. Their communication styles complement each other perfectly.The dialog felt a little forced at times, especially when Mr. Plot Expediter Morris is on screen, and I didn't love how the conflict was finally resolved. I wanted more initiative from Zoe after she flew back to California. That Hugh instead flew to her to make a declaration felt more like the author indulging her own love of the Grand Gesture than the natural outcome for the characters. It was heavy on the style and short on substance. It's also SOP for the genre.I picked this up on a whim during an ebook sale, and I'm glad I did. This new-to-me author is now on my list of Harlequin authors to keep an eye on.
review 2: Very good book. Zoe returned for the first time in ten years to settle her grandfather's estate. She was planning to bottle the last of his wine, sell the place and leave just as fast as she could. The last person she wanted to see was Hugh. When her grandfather sent her away, she had tried to reach him, but never got a response. So she moved on with her life and tried to forget him. Now she has discovered that the winery is in worse shape than she thought, and that there's only one person willing and able to buy it - Hugh. They had quite a few issues between them, but when they finally talked about them they discovered they'd both been lied to. This led to a temporary truce between them as they worked to finish the wine. It also gave the attraction between them a chance to reignite. When yet another secret was revealed, it created a storm that sent Zoe running back to California. Zoe had to deal with a lot of emotions in this book. Grief at her grandfather's death, and the anger she still felt at the way he treated her, the love/hate feelings for Hugh from their time as teenagers, and the hurt that he hadn't tried to find her when she left. Hugh was dealing at first with the guilty feelings from what he had been told had happened to her back then, to the grief when the truth came out. They both had to deal with the shock from the latest secret. When Zoe ran, she had to decide how to deal with all the feelings churning inside her. Hugh finally had to confront his own demons before he could come after her. I loved the ending and how they finally made everything work. less

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