Where You Belong
A Novel
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4.1 • 23 Ratings
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
Barbara Taylor Bradford's unique blend of passion and intrigue has made her one of the most cherished storytellers in the world. Her new novel is vintage Bradford: a powerful, suspenseful story of one woman's search to find out where she belongs, in life, in love, and within herself....
Where You Belong
Val Denning, a willowy war photographer, left her American family--and cruelly unloving mother--for a life abroad and a life of danger. But Val's dazzling world of work, risk, and love has suddenly come apart. An assignment in Kosovo left her lover dead and Val adrift in Paris....Soon, in her grief, with horrific battle scenes etched in her mind, Val will realize that she was lied to by the man she loved--and that another man, a friend, has loved her for years. And now Val must start unraveling mysteries--of a man's life and lies, and of her own childhood. Caught between a new life and her past, Val is about to face the hardest choice of all: the choice between running away again, or truly starting anew....
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Injecting her new novel with timeliness, bestselling Bradford (A Sudden Change of Heart) makes her setting war-zone Kosovo, where gorgeous and talented photojournalist Valentine Denning is covering the action with two equally gorgeous men: American Jake Newberg and Val's lover, Brit Tony Hampton. All three are caught in an ambush on the ground, and Tony dies. Val doesn't even have time to grieve for her boyfriend before she discovers Tony lied to her: he was already married. Attempting to cheer Val, Jake takes her to a beautiful villa in Cap-Ferrat, and predictably, the heroine decides that he is really the one for her. The world intrudes on their idyll when they help Fran oise, the caretakers' daughter, to escape from her abusive husband. Meanwhile, Val is pestered by calls from Donald, the younger brother she resents because their mother lavished attention on him while ignoring her. Jake and Val jet back to New York, excited about a book project they've thought up, and knowing that Val has to face her family demons. There, Val is devastated when her mother finally reveals the secret of her lack of maternal feeling, and they tangle over who will take over the family cosmetics company. Val and Jake are separated when he goes back to Kosovo, but handsome artist Alexander St. Just Stevens adds intrigue to Val's lonely life. Despite a lively story line and a suspenseful buildup to various revelations, the narrative is formulaic and predictable; each new development is obvious. While this novel will probably satisfy Bradford's more loyal fans, it may not generate excitement for new readers.
