The Best Is Yet to Come [Hardcover]

Judith Gould (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2002

Carolina Mountcastle has everything she could ever want: a sexy, attentive husband, a terrific teenage son, and a successful career as a florist and decorator in New York. Then, without warning, tragedy strikes. Carolina's husband, an international business executive, suffers a fatal heart attack. Reeling from grief and shock, Carolina receives an even more devastating blow: He was having a long-term affair with a woman in Amsterdam. They shared a home-and a child. Shattered by her husband's betrayal, and obsessed with this "other woman," Carolina travels to Amsterdam to find her, intent on revenge. But forced to confront the truth about her marriage and the man she thought she knew, Carolina discovers her own inner strength-and opens her heart to new possibilities.

Poignant and passionate, this is Judith Gould's richest novel yet-the tale of a woman who finds the courage to heal, to forgive, and to love again.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Roses, lilacs, irises, mimosa glamorous flora matches New York society fauna in this vampy romantic drama by bestseller Gould (Sins; Love-Makers; etc.). After years of hard work, Carolina Mountcastle has finally made her flower shop the first choice of New York's most demanding hostesses. Factor in her storybook marriage to successful businessman Lyon, her 16-year-old son Richie and her great friends, and Carolina would appear to have it all. But when her husband suffers a fatal heart attack while traveling abroad for business and a mysterious woman and her daughter appear at the reading of his will, Carolina's world begins to unravel. To make matters worse, socialite Payton Fitzsimmons is opening her own floral and decorating business and will do anything to sabotage Carolina's outfit. Seducing one of Carolina's employees, Payton manages to damage her stock, spread the word that Carolina is unreliable and foil an important delivery. Dealt blow after blow, Carolina turns to customer and friend Seth Foster for support. With Seth's encouragement and powerful connections, Carolina's business begins to thrive again. But Carolina still can't forget Lyon's betrayal. When Richie runs away to make sense of his father's secrets, Carolina is forced to reevaluate her marriage and to open her heart and mind to Seth, who has been by her side through thick and thin. Gould's page-turning plot and deliciously evil villains distract artfully from some tone-deaf dialogue ("Come on, Richie!... We're getting out of this... this... hell!"), and the flower descriptions are a delight.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

How could Caroline ever have trusted her husband? When he drops dead of a heart attack, she discovers that he had a mistress and a child in Amsterdam.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 308 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Adult (August 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525946594
• ISBN-13: 978-0525946595
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,596,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The dumbest book of this genre ever., March 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Best Is Yet To Come (Paperback)

Please don't waste your money on this book. I didn't buy it expecting high lit, just a quick, fun beach read but it doesn't even live up to that. The dialogue is stilted and unnatural, the plot implausible and silly and the author just doesn't get NYC. It's embarassingly bad on every level and I just don't understand how this slop gets published. If you're looking for a fun, mindless read with at least some suspense and interesting characters, stick with the masters (Sidney Sheldon, Judith Krantz, etc.) and leave this one on the shelf. Trust me on this one.

1.0 out of 5 stars Blah, March 18, 2006

By 

Readinglilac - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best Is Yet To Come (Paperback)

WARNING: May contain spoilers.

This book was rather boring and I'm surprised I even read the whole thing. Towards the end things just wrap up a little too neatly.

The number of villians is this book was ridiculous, it seemed like everyone was out to get Carolina. And their reasons for it were just lame. Too many characters (mostly the villians) didn't seem to have brains. Leland, Mercedes, Payton, and Antonio all acted so surprised when they were found out.

I've never read anything by this writer before, and I doubt I will in the future.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars ahem...., January 6, 2005

By 

C. Crandell "Likes to read" (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best Is Yet To Come (Paperback)

I just wanted to add my 2 cents to any review written for this author...I did not finish The Best Is Yet to Come, I could NOT get through it. I also, do not understand how fiction like this gets published especially with accolades all over the back of the book for other books written by this so called "best selling author". The dialoge us trite, the scenes are way too detailed in that I do not need to know how short the skirt is, how much make-up she does or doesn't need to vamp the guys at the flower mart...I personally have never been there in NY but I don't think it's like it was written in this novel.

If the writer is interested in writing a stong heroine, she sorely feel short of the mark. Women today are stong by what's inside of them and not how they look in their makeup and high heels. I was irritated by the whole story. I have just started reading The Greek Villa and am just as disillusioned by it. I would be offended if I were Greek as all the locals are descibed so horribly as either crones or evil people.

There is virtually no character development in either story. I did not know who Matt was in the above story until page 75 when finally it was written, "my brother Matt" by Carolina.

There are plenty of other writers out there who can weave an intriguing and interesting story where there is character development and you can link yourself with the lead character in some way and actually like her. I did not even like Carolina or
Tracey. That's sad.

Skip this author all together and read something else...anything else.