About this item
"Late one spring, Hallie Hartley learns she's inherited a beautiful old house on Nantucket from an ancestor she never knew she had. She learns of her luck from Jared Montgomery, who arranges for her to take on his cousin James Taggert as a private physical therapy client for the summer. Hallie expects a spoiled, frivolous playboy, but Jamie surprises her by being kind, considerate, and humble-- not to mention incredibly strong and handsome. But Jamie's hiding something-- every night Hallie hears him crying out in his sleep. Finding that only her presence can calm him, Hallie begins spending the night with Jamie, sneaking away every morning before he wakes up. It's not until Jamie's extended family descends onto the island to celebrate a lavish wedding that she discovers the truth-- Jamie was a soldier, wounded in combat while saving a friend, and has suffered from PTSD since his return. Jamie withdraws, embarrassed by his vulnerability, while Hallie questions how she can trust him after he's lied to her all summer. But as the two team up to solve another of Nantucket's enchanting mysteries, whether it's the romantic island setting or possibly the work of some meddling matchmaker ghosts, Jamie begins to realize maybe he's found the one woman who can love him for who he is, scars and all"--
About the Author
Jude Gilliam was born September 20, 1947 in Fairdale, Kentucky. She has a large extended family and is the elder sister of four brothers. She attended Murray State University and received a degree in Art. In 1967, Jude married and took her husband's surname of White, but four years later they divorced. For years, she worked as 5th-grade teacher. She began writing in 1976, and published her first book, (1977) under the name Jude Deveraux. Following the publication of her first novel, she resigned her teaching position. Now, she is the author of 31 bestsellers. Jude won readers' hearts with the epic Velvet series, which revolves around the lives of the Montgomery family's irresistible men. Jude's early books are set largely in 15th- and 16th-century England; in them her fierce, impassioned protagonists find themselves in the midst of blood feuds and wars. Her heroines are equally scrappy -- medieval Scarlett O'Haras who often have a low regard for the men who eventually win them over. They're fighters, certainly, but they're also beauties who are preoccupied with survival and family preservation. Jude has also stepped outside her milieu, with mixed results. Her James River trilogy ( and ) is set mostly in post-Revolution America; the popular, softer-edged moves to 19th-century Colorado and introduces another hunky-man clan, the Taggerts. Deveraux manages to evoke a strong and convincing atmosphere for each of her books, but her dialogue and characters are as familiar as a modern-day soap opera's. "Historicals seem to be all I'm capable of," Jude once said in an interview, referring to a now out-of-print attempt at contemporary fiction, 1982's . "I don't want to write family sagas or occult books, and I have no intention of again trying to ruin the contemporary market. " Still, Jude did later attempt modern-day romances, such as the lighthearted (her first murder caper) , the contemporary female friendship story , and the time-traveling . In fact, with 2002's , Deveraux seems to be getting more comfortable setting stories in the present, which is a good thing, since the fans she won with her historical books are eager to follow her into the future. Jude married Claude Montassir, with whom she had a son, Sam Alexander Montassir, in 1997. They eventually divorced. On Oct. 6th, 2005, Sam died at the age of eight in a motorcycle accident. Jude has lived in several countries and all over the United States. She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and has an additional home in the medieval city of Badolato, Italy.
