Melody had always believed her mother, Haille, and dear stepdaddy had died in tragic accidents — that's why she'd come to stay with her secretive Logan relatives on Cape Cod. But then a friend recognized Haille's picture in a catalog and kindled Melody's hopes. Maybe her mother hadn't perished in a fire in California after all, but was in some desperate trouble that kept her out of reach....
Melody's dream of finding her mother seemed as flimsy as the scrap of paper that was her only clue. And despite the pampered life Melody was offered as a guest in a Beverly Hills mansion, nothing could soften the blow of the moment she stood face-to-face with her mother and saw her eyes turn dark and cold as stones. Melody knew there must be a reason why her mother pretended at first not to recognize her — and why she'd even faked her own death. Though Melody's beloved Cary beckoned from Cape Cod, she felt in her heart that her mother needed her now more than ever. And beneath her mother's unkept promises and tattered fantasies, Melody hoped to unearth the truth about her own past, and find her way to a safer, better place...where she could embrace a bright new future of her own.
Avid reader Chelsea Gouin gives this book
2 out of 5 stars.
This one ended up being a mess. The first half of the book is Melody trying to chase down her mother in Hollywood and the second half was a rush job to finish all the loose threads they wove into the narrative.
Melody Logan is just looking for a family, a place to belong...and unfortunately this book didn't seem to give her, or the readers, that closure. Melody is very naive in the first half of the book, falling for the whims and fancy words of multiple people and getting in over her head unnecessarily. When she's back in Cape Cod she seems back to her original characterization but the plot is so crammed with things it's a wonder why they didn't make the next book about Melody to completely wrap up the story. We do discover Melody's real father, the art piece is revealed to a lackluster climax, the Uncle Jacob confession is never really addressed at all, Kenneth goes on a spiral for a minute only to bounce back no problem, Grandpa Samuel got sick only to have a reason to have another reveal, and even Grandma Olivia has a dissatisfying conclusion. You could tell which parts had been outlined by VCA and which parts were completely ghost-written. Cary in particular went off the deep end a few times but still got his happy and forced ending with Melody. The next two books in the series are prequels, one about Laura and one about Grandma Olivia...and it just seems like the wrong decision.