The Idea of Love, Patti Callahan Henry
The Idea of Love, Patti Callahan Henry
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

The Idea of Love
A Novel

Author: Patti Callahan Henry

Narrator: Andi Arndt

Unabridged: 7 hr 42 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/23/2015

Categories: Fiction, Women, Family Life


Synopsis

From New York Times bestselling author Patti Callahan Henry, The Idea of Love asks, "Can two people come together for all the wrong reasons and still make it right?"

Ella's life has been completely upended. She's young, beautiful, and deeply in love--until her husband dies in a tragic sailing accident. Or so she'll have everyone believe. Screenwriter Hunter needs a hit, but crippling writers' block and a serious lack of motivation are getting him nowhere. He's on the lookout for a love story. It doesn't matter who it belongs to.

When Hunter and Ella meet in Watersend, South Carolina, it feels like the perfect match, something close to fate. In Ella, Hunter finds the perfect love story, full of longing and sacrifice. It's the stuff of epic films. In Hunter, Ella finds possibility. It's an opportunity to live out a fantasy--the life she wishes she had. And more real. Besides--what's a little white lie between strangers?

But one lie leads to another, and soon Hunter and Ella find themselves caught in a web of deceit. As they try to untangle their lies and reclaim their lives, they feel something stronger is keeping them together.

About Patti Callahan Henry

PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY is a full-time writer, wife and mother and the New York Times bestselling author whose novels include Between the Tides, Driftwood Summer and The Perfect Love Song: A Holiday Story. She lives with her husband and three children in Mountain Brook, Alabama, where she is working on her next novel.


Reviews

There comes a time in everyone’s life, a tipping point, when an earth shattering event or information shifts who you are and how you feel about yourself. Sometimes we can’t predict or even see these changes happening around us. When we do, however, see those changes, feel them, and embrace them, it......more

Novelists set themselves a particular challenge when they begin a story with two unsympathetic protagonists. On the plus side, this gives the characters plenty of scope for growth. The downside, however, is that it makes it hard for readers to want to stick with characters who are rather unlikable.......more

Goodreads review by Judy

A special thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. THE IDEA OF LOVE by master storyteller, Patti Callahan Henry, a contemporary magical story of unexpected love and life (with a beautiful front cover drawing you in) -- of two people searching for......more


Quotes

“Patti Callahan Henry seamlessly combines mystery, family love, and personal journey all in one engrossing tale. From the intriguing beginning to the touching ending, The Stories We Tell is filled with the warmth, heart and compassion that have become the trademark of her novels.” —Diane Chamberlain, author of Necessary Lies on Patti Callahan Henry

“Patti Callahan Henry's THE STORIES WE TELL is a lyrical exploration of love and longing, secrets and suspicion, family and friendship, all told with the author's trademark insights into the hollows and curves of the heart and mind of a working woman who must balance the demands of motherhood, wifedom, sisterhood, and yes, the deepest cravings for artistic expression. I always love the stories PCH tells!” —Mary Kay Andrews, author of Ladies' Night on Patti Callahan Henry

“THE STORIES WE TELL fearlessly explores the textures of the human heart, finding a path toward hope through a Savannah that is jagged with class issues, faith misused, and broken trust. Henry loses you in a landscape peopled with secret keepers, storytellers and liars, and proves that in the end, love is the only reliable compass. This is everything you expect from Patti Callahan Henry---lyrical writing, characters worth rooting for, a sure-footed belief in the power of goodness--plus a twisty plot that will keep the pages turning long into the night.” —Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Someone Else’s Love Story on Patti Callahan Henry

“Book clubs rejoice--your next pick is here! THE STORIES WE TELL unfolds in surprising ways; Patti Callahan Henry understands the delicate balance of power inside a marriage. They can look so externally perfect they can even fool even the people living inside them... for a little while. I loved her portrayal of a strong woman who isn't afraid to be successful, even when others find it threatening, and who is bold enough to seek the truth, even when living inside the lies is safer and more comfortable.” —Joshilyn Jackson, New York Times bestselling author of Someone Else’s Love Story on Patti Callahan Henry

“Henry has mastered the art of the slow reveal, leading the reader down unexpected paths. Readers who enjoy southern women's fiction à la Joshilyn Jackson (Someone Else's Love Story, 2013) will appreciate this emotionally satisfying novel.” —Booklist on Patti Callahan Henry

“The Stories We Tell is the book we have waiting for Patti Callahan Henry to write . . . the complexities of the relationships in this book are the heart of it . . . all of these relationships are handled with deftness and clarity by Henry. She goes inside her characters' heads and paints word pictures that truly bring them to life.” —Huffington Post Books on Patti Callahan Henry

“Richly layered and deeply accessible, The Stories We Tell is a moving exploration of love, family and finding the courage to move on.” —Shelf Awareness on Patti Callahan Henry