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When the shy, bookish brunette snags the handsome Prince Charming, it sounds like the perfect ending to a fairy tale --- but in Jane Green's newest novel, TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, this is where the real story begins. Alice has loved Joe Chambers from the moment she laid eyes on his perfect face. When he actually returns her affections, she is so overwhelmed that she allows him to transform her into his idea of a "trophy wife."
Unfortunately, the charming words that swept Alice off her feet are sweeping many other women off of theirs. Joe has a slight problem with fidelity, and Alice has a slight problem with reality. Although Joe feels constant guilt for acts of indiscretion, he continues to pursue women, leaving his devoted wife alone. One particular affair gets slightly messy and results in Joe being relocated to a New York office, and a Connecticut home. Alice's dream of a house in the country has finally come true.
Joe's behavior sadly does not change, as he continues to chase desirable women. It is during this time that Alice begins to experience a great deal of change. She is rediscovering the woman she once was and revisiting her old dreams and desires. She is learning that what really matters and what truly makes her happy cannot be found in her new image but in her old passions. Alice begins to develop a sense of fulfillment and purpose in life, and it's not in her Prince Charming.
As Joe continues to fall for one woman after another, Alice turns a blind eye and seeks love and fulfillment in self-discovery and from an unexpected man. She learns that, no matter how hard you try to fit into someone else's expectations of you, the only opinion that really matters is your own.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD, Jane Green's sixth novel, explores the worlds of identity, fidelity and love. Green has created an extremely likeable character in Alice Chambers. This novel is filled with wonderfully stylish references to Jimmy Choo shoes, Saks 5th Avenue and the ultra-glam world of New York City. Green gives her readers glimpses into the lives of the wealthy and glamorous women who frequent the pages of Vogue and Vanity Fair. She allows her readers to see that not all fairy tales are what they seem and that happy endings can be found in the most unexpected places.
--- Reviewed by Jocelyn Kelley
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