There are certain tropes that stand the test of time like
second (or even third) chances and closeted actresses caught between who they
are and who they are expected to be.
Drop dead gorgeous, award winning albeit notorious actress
has a dramatic fall and an epic wardrobe malfunction in public at a huge party
and into the arms of the host, a tech and business whizkid, Suzanne Mason.
This was almost exactly how the two women has first met twenty years
back.
At twenty, Jennifer Lamont had made up her mind that she's
going to be a leading light of Hollywood. While Tinsel Town is still a ways
away, the sizzling, stunning young lady is making quite a place for herself in
the world of modelling. Jennifer is dedicated to her goal and sincerely attend
acting, dancing and other assorted classes to make sure her skills are finely
honed for her inevitable career. One of her gigs is to wear a designer's
clothes and appear with him at parties. So, on one such regular work evening,
Jennifer finds herself at a party hosted by one Suzanne Mason, a computer
wunderkid who's already made millions in her twenties and is on an upward
trajectory. The straight-so-far Jennifer is drawn into Suzanne's charismatic
orbit and they get deeply involved. But at that point in time, the twain were
not to be.
Twenty years, two intense and dramatic stints together
later, it seems that the twain. who obviously nurture deep feelings for each
other, are destined to remain star-crossed and keep passing by each other like
ships in the night. The biggest point of contention between them has always
been Jennifer's chosen career and her refusal to jeopardise that by stepping
out of the closet. Suzanne being in a field where ultimately work trumps over
personal lives and more is forgiven, refuses to understand, empathise with or
even offer any sort of support to Jennifer.
But many things can change with time and lead one to their
destiny.
We love – absolutely love (in all caps) – the way Jennifer
Lamont has been written. She is ruthlessly ambitious and remorselessly uses
people and unapologetic about her choices and actions. At the same time she is
brutally honest about who she is and faces herself without flinching. She
brilliantly epitomises both possible interpretations of the Bard’s
(Shakespeare’s) famous line ‘To thine own self, be true’ – she is true to who
she has chosen to be and she doesn’t lie to herself about who she is. We love
that Kallmaker doesn’t make ambition a dirty thing and creates a winsome person
in La Lamont who doesn’t sacrifice her ambition and still remains a deeply
feeling person.
Despite her relentless climb, Jennifer’s core remains
vulnerable. At no point does she seem hard. She manages to be honest, pragmatic
and even funny. (In fact, the only thing that bothered us was the success came
to her after a long, arduous period). She makes her choices and faces the
consequences without once becoming self-pitying or pitiful. (In fact, she is so
likeable that we wished she didn’t have any sort of negativity visiting
her).
Jennifer’s hotness jumps off the pace and you can
practically see her sizzle and stun. She has so much charisma that
she eclipses everyone else. That is everyone, except her relationship with
Suzanne Mason.
The relationship between the two leading ladies is another
triumph in this book. The chemistry is undeniable and huge but what we were
fascinated by was the connection between the two.
Admittedly, their meetings are very, very few but the
conversations between them establish an ease and a special depth in their
relationship. So much so that the insta-attraction and very fast love between
them almost doesn’t register as such.
We also liked the fact that both, Jennifer and Suzanne, do
not exactly fulfil all of each other’s emotional needs and wants (which is very
realistic) but they fill all the needs and wants (physical and emotional) that
really matter. While we can wax further eloquent about Jennifer and
the book, suffice to say that we thoroughly enjoyed this one and unhesitatingly
recommend it.
PS: Overlook the references to dated technology – this one
is about love, not technology.
⭐⭐⭐⭐★
