Reunion: A Novel [Hardcover]

Therese Fowler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 24, 2009

Following the acclaimed success of Souvenir, Therese Fowler’s captivating new novel will resonate with every woman who has wondered what if—as a heartfelt drama of buried secrets and daring passion unfolds.

Celebrity talk show host Blue Reynolds is the queen of daytime television—she is smart, funny, and as down-to-earth as her adoring fans. In the eyes of the world, she has it all. But no one knows about the secret she has harbored for the last twenty years—a secret that could destroy her image, her reputation, and her career. Twenty years ago, she gave birth to a son and put him up for adoption through illegal channels. And every day since, she’s been filled with regret. Now Blue has hired a private investigator to find her son, knowing full well the consequences.

A week in Key West to do her show on location brings Blue a much-needed change of pace—and an unexpected reunion with an old flame, Mitch Forrester. Helping him launch a television series may help her recapture the kind of genuine romance and affection long missing from her life. But it also means having to deal with Mitch’s disapproving son, Julian, who is only nine years younger than Blue. Emotionally battered from his years as a war photographer in the world’s most dangerous hotspots, Julian struggles to get close to his father while making his disdain for Blue crystal clear—which makes his desire for her all the more shocking.

As serendipity and scandal collide, Therese Fowler’s passionate, illuminating novel takes a dramatic turn deep into our own hearts, as the healing power of love—family love, romantic love, and self-love—transforms pain and regrets into promises and second chances.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Blue Reynolds has an Oprah-like career as a popular, Chicago-based talk show host. But she keeps hidden the secret that at 19, she gave birth to a son and put him up for adoption. While a private investigator she’s hired searches for her son, Blue heads down to Key West to film a week’s worth of shows. There Blue runs into an old flame, Mitch Forrester, the handsome college professor who broke her heart when she was 18 and sent her into a tailspin of self-destructive behavior that resulted in her pregnancy. Blue offers to help Mitch with a television show he’s preparing that explores the lives of literary greats, and he takes her up on it, much to the displeasure of his 32-year-old son, Julian, a photojournalist who distrusts Blue almost instantly. Both Blue and Julian try to ignore the sparks of attraction igniting between them as Blue and Mitch ponder giving their relationship another chance. Like Blue’s jaunt in Key West, Fowler’s second novel is an enjoyable, breezy escape. --Kristine Huntley

Review

“An enjoyable, breezy escape.”—Booklist

“Therese Fowler writes with such wisdom about . . . intense and impossible choices, and the way one decision can affect an entire life.”—Luanne Rice, on Souvenir

“Beautifully written and full of heart, Reunion is a satisfying tale perfect for a weekend escape.”—Bookreporter.com


From the Trade Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; First Edition edition (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345499700
• ISBN-13: 978-0345499707
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 1 x 9.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,167,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Therese Fowler is the author of SOUVENIR, REUNION, and EXPOSURE (coming in May '11). She has worked in the U.S. Civil Service and in retail management, lived in the Philippines, sold real estate, earned a B.A. in sociology, sold used cars, was a substitute teacher, returned to school for her MFA in creative writing, and taught college undergrads about literature and fiction-writing -- roughly in that order. With books published in nine languages and sold world-wide, Therese writes full-time from her home in Wake Forest, NC, which she shares with her husband, four amiable cats, and four nearly grown-up sons.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Would You Give Up For Love?, May 7, 2009

By 

Jennifer Lawrence (DC Metro) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Reunion: A Novel (Hardcover)

Nineteen year-old Harmony Blue Kucharski is single, alone, and pregnant. She opts to put her son up for adoption. She had a difficult childhood and only wants the best for her son.


Twenty years later: Blue Reynolds is a very successful Chicago-based talk show hostess. She has everything that money can buy, everything but happiness. During the taping of a teen pregnancy show, Blue loses herself and begins to defend a young pregnant teen that is a guest of the show. Blue realizes what she's missing in her life: knowing what happened to her son. She hires a private investigator to find the location and name of her son's adoptive parents. He finds the location of the daughter of her midwife, and begins sending her money in return for her medical file.

While taping an episode of The Blue Reynold's Show in Key West, Blue is reunited with Mitch Forrestor, her former English Professor. They had a relationship twenty years ago, and the dissolution of this relationship is what caused blue (then Harmony Blue) to rebound and find herself pregnant. Is this reunion Fate's way of telling her to fight to regain everything she lost those decades ago?

When Blue decides to help Mitch produce his literary documentary, Literary Lions, Blue meets his thirty-something son, Julian. Julian puts a bit of a kink in Mitch and Blue's potential relationship.

When her past is revealed, Blue must quickly decide just how much she is willing to relinquish in order to find true happiness. Reunion tells a a story that pulled me in during the first few pages. Blue's character is a strong and honest one. One can't help but feel for her and everything she was forced to experience in life. The secondary characters are extremely well-developed as well and serve as a backbone to the storyline. All of the characters are human, they have natural faults real challenges they are forced to address. The tale that Reunion portrays is a powerful one. Fowler's writing paints the setting of Key West as if it were a painting that is being unveiled before our eyes. The imagery and detail pulls the reader into the story. I felt the sun beating on my face, smelled the warm ocean breeze. The ending leaves me begging for a sequel so I can follow the characters on their journey of rediscovery

Reunion is the perfect book to take along with you to the beach, or in my case, to read on a rainy day.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Thoughtful and Intriguing, June 25, 2009

By 

Galleysmith "Michelle" (Metro DC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Reunion: A Novel (Hardcover)

The Chicago base for Blue and her talk show was a bit distracting because of the strong resemblance to Oprah's home base. Given the fact that Chicago didn't play a major role in the story overall Blue's childhood and subsequent career could have been set in any large city and worked just as well. In fact, the only point of geography that played a significant role in the story was Key West and in this case it was wonderfully portrayed and valuable to the progression of the story.

Furthermore, the main reason Blue was hiding the secret birth and child she'd given up should have been given more focus. Small references were made several times but it seemed minimally significant, more an afterthought than an actual expansion of the overall plot. To make the secret and it's later fall out more believable it should have had more prominence throughout the story.

What I loved about this story is Fowler's ability to build great characters. She does a fabulous job crawling into their minds then depicting it to the reader. Major players (Blue, Mitch, Julian) each have his/her own in depth back-story that intrigues enough to stand alone, yet they are intricately intertwined together in subtle places so subsequent relationships are all the more believable. of the story were well written with realism and focus to detail. Each character's motivations and the interaction with his/her respective partner generated feelings of compassion, longing, and hope.

In the end, the beauty of this story lies in the strong relationships built. Not only does Fowler focus attention on numerous romantic entanglements, but also the strain of distant family relationships, the love parents have for their children, and the effects one's professional choices have on their personal lives.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Beach Read!, June 13, 2009

By 

nat @ book, line, and sinker (at the beach, nj) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reunion: A Novel (Hardcover)

Reunion opens with a flashback: Harmony Blue Kucharski finds herself, at 19, unmarried and about to give birth to a baby she gives up for adoption, a decision that will haunt her for the next 20-odd years, despite her rise to celebrity as a television talk-show host.

After giving her son up for adoption and repackaging herself as Blue Reynolds, her persistence and hard work pay off with a successful career as a talk show host. Blue's regrets and need to know what became of her son ultimately lead her to discovering who she really is and what really matters in life.

This book was such a terrfic vehicle to usher in the summer! Reading Reunion put me in the mood for sandy beaches and vacation. The exposition is mainly Chicago and Key West, but references to the Middle East are also peppered through the novel.

Fowler's writing was descriptive and the imagery made Key West come to life for me-so much so that I'm planning to visit in the fall. Additionally, the use of bird imagery brought to mind freedom-especially when one character mentions that macaws are sometimes set free in Key West. To me it was a symbolic parallel of Blue being set free from her cage (celebrity lifestyle, painful past) after impulsively buying a home in Key West.

The title Reunion is so apt-Blue not only reunites with an old flame, but also with an old mentor and his wife, her sister, mother, and most importantly, Blue reunites with herself-Harmony Blue. While reuniting with her 19-year-old self, she finally forgives the decisions she made in the past. With that forgiveness comes her ability to open herself to love and be loved, to live and enjoy life, which she does with abandon.