DAUGHTERS
OF FORTUNE
BY
TARA HYLAND
THE
BLURB:-
William Melville's
daughters are heiresses to the world's most exclusive fashion
dynasty. Beautiful and rich, they are envied by all. But behind the
glittering facade of their lives, each girl hides a dark secret that
threatens to tear their family apart.
Smart, ambitious
Elizabeth, the eldest, knows how to manipulate every man she meets,
except the one who counts: her father.
Gentle, naïve Caitlin,
the illegitimate child, struggles to fit into a world of privilege
while staying true to herself.
Stunning, spoilt Amber,
the party girl with a weakness for bad boys, is more fragile than
anyone realizes.
As each of them seek to
carve out her own destiny, they face different choices, which will
take them in wildly different directions. But as old wounds
resurface and threaten to destroy the Melville empire, their paths
will cross again. Because the simple truth is that, no matter how
far you go, you cannot escape the claims of family.
THE
REALITY:-
I liked this book. The
basic structure was very similar to my novel, The Reject's Club, in
that there are three main characters. The layout was also of the
same ilk, with separate sections devoted to different timescales.
The way the chapters were formed, with each semi-dedicated to one of
the characters, but not exclusively so, and with new people also
flitting in also rang a resounding bell. Boring lecture over! I
will now discuss the story.
I read this during time
off from work and managed to flatten it in a few days, despite it
being nearly 600 pages long. That's child's play to me! Though not
the most enthralling story I have ever read, it certainly made me
want to turn the pages.
I sympathized with all
the characters and their various issues. Elizabeth and Amber clearly
needed more attention and recognition from their businessman father,
and the latter's descent into depravity, due to the neediness of her
nature was truly heart-wrenching. Parents take note- some young
women are very, very vulnerable and insecure, and need your
protection. I loved the sections detailing Caitlin's boarding school
(I BEGGED my parents to send me to boarding school- the idea of
independence, midnight feasts et all was
very alluring, but sadly they couldn't afford it. I think I would
have done much better there that at the state secondary school that I
was forced to attend). The incident Caitlin had to suffer was
well written and you really felt for the poor girl as men can be such
revolting turds sometimes. As a fashion designer, I could really
relate to this character. I wish I had attended the same course as
she did- learning the basics of pattern cutting and sewing in the
first year before even being allowed to attempt some designing, and
then being forced into being original. My course was about copying,
copying and more copying. There was no structure to the course and
you were expected to “just know” certain things. I didn't have
to pay fees as it was all state funded at the time. If I had then I
would have asked for my money back, it's as simple as that. Sadly, I hear the place is still
exactly the same.
With a good ending that
taught me a few things about the workings of the stock market (the
author's field of expertise) I was impressed by this book and am
looking forward to reading more by Tara Hyland.
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