Change of Heart

I have read and enjoyed several of Linda Hill's books -- this one is no exception. Fearing the loss of her appeal to advertisers, British model Julia Westgate lives her life deeply in the closet. A very lonely life to live, Julia only ventures out in the world of women when she is in disguise -- and she never reveals her true identity. Of course, this means she rarely ventures out at all. While on location in the United States, Julia's alter ego Jules meets journalist Cory Hayes. Out of character for both, they spend the weekend intimately, and Cory is astonished to find herself alone in bed on Monday morning. Jules didn't leave any contact information either. Cory has a less than stellar love life and is deeply touched by her weekend with Jules. So much so, that she cannot seem to move past the weekend fling. Surprised, she finds Jules' face on the cover of a magazine at the grocery checkout. After doing a little research to find out who the woman really is, Cory volunteers to cover a story about a local model photo shoot and reacquaints herself with the woman. Neither is sure how to act or relate to the other, but both are sure they want to recapture the feelings from their weekend together. I gave this one 4 stars instead of 5 becaus the story is a little far fetched and the characters lack dimensionality. However, I truly did enjoy this book. Even considering the lack of depth, Hill is a master with the written word and is able to draw the reader in with ease. This might not be a true classic, but it is certainly worth the time it takes to read it.

I have a friend who is a model and she read this book before I did. Linda Hill has done an excellent job of capturing the up and down of a model's life, including the torture of the beauty regimen and the hard work of photo shoots. Julia is the model and she's in the closet. She's getting older.Cory is a reporter, and much like me in many ways. When she realizes that the woman she spent a terrific weekend with -- but who disappeared without a word when it was over -- is a supermodel, she feels justified in digging into Julia's life. Revenge has its rewards, after all. There are some twists and turns here and the dialogue very readable and realistic. The characterizations are strong and the careers of the women -- yes, they have careers! -- were well-researched. I'm not a big romance novel fan, but I'll be looking out for Ms. Hill's next one.