STORY SUMMARY
Sabrina Nielson is turning 30 years old. She and her best friend Jessica have a tradition of taking each other out for their birthday dinners. But this time, Sabrina arrives at the little restaurant in NYC and sees some unexpected guests at the table: her college professor Conrad, her ex boyfriend Tobias, her estranged father Robert, and Audrey Hepburn her favorite actress.
It's been almost a decade of Tobias and Sabrina and their love affair. The New York life she has always dreamed of for her self and that she has worked really hard for, doens't appear to be in her future. Her best friend Jessica has moved on to marriage and motherhood, her own family might as well be strangers, and marriage for her seems as far off as ever.
The wine is poured and the appetizers are ordered and served; dinner food is ordered and the conversation begins. It becomes quite clear that there is a reason these 6 people have gathered around the table. But what is it??
MY THOUGHTS
This isn't a fave genre of mine nor is it a fave book. It was just ok. I got very bored with the "highs and lows of first love" and it just seemed to be a bit contrived in regards to the topic of love. I honestly didn't get the sense that Sabrina even really knows what true love is. Her entire relationship with Tobias seems steeped in lust.
I mean...a 10 year romance that doesn't result in marriage?
Yet, the whole exploring the relationship between them was okay although it was the bulk of the book. Sabrina seems more in love with the fairy tale aspect of romance, than she does with real love and what it truly is which is commitment.
The characters (other than Audrey Hepburn who happens to be a fave of mine and my daughters and husband) are not that fully developed. I was wishing the author had gone into more detail with the friendship between Sabrina and her dad, or Sabrina and Conrad. The whole book centers on going back to the past and showing the reader each step of this romance between Sabrina and Tobias. One chapter is the present, the next the past. It seemed to just drag.
It does have some humorous parts along with some sad parts.
It's a romantic fantasy where the character finally comes to grips with reality.
It's an easy read but with some heavy themes: alcoholism, abandonment, cheating, cancer, death of a loved one.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some mature content).
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 7.
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