This Heart of Mine [Hardcover]

Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2001

Susan Elizabeth Phillips is the gold standard for women's fiction -- an award-winning, bestselling phenomenon whose remarkable talent for blending belly laughs and tears with heartfelt, passionate, ingeniously conceived romance has made her one of America's most beloved authors. The Susan Elizabeth Phillips magic is vibrantly alive, and it's on display in her long-awaited hardcover debut.This Heart of Mine

Molly Somerville knows she has a reputation for trouble. She did give away her fifteen-million-dollar inheritance, but, hey, nobody's perfect.

Still, if anyone has an almost perfect life, it's Molly. While her Daphne the Bunny children's books could be selling better, she loves her cramped loft, her French poodle, and her career creating the fictional animals who live in Nightingale Woods.

She even loves her sister, Phoebe. True, it was a little tough growing up in her shadow. Phoebe is beautiful, blissfully married, and the owner of the most successful professional football team in America. But who other than your sister knows you're about to do something drastic every time you change your hair?

Yes, Molly's happy about almost everything...except her long-term crush on the daredevil quarterback for the Chicago Stars, that awful, gorgeous Kevin Tucker, a man who can't even remember her name!

One night Molly's penchant for running into trouble runs right into Kevin himself, turning her world upside down. Heartbreak follows, and just when she's certain things can't get worse, Kevin forces his way back into her life. If only the overpaid, Ferrari-driving, poodle-hating jock was as shallow as she wants him to be, she could get on with her almost perfect life.

But Kevin's hidden depths and iron will propel Molly out of her comfortable existence into an unforgettable summer at a place called Wind Lake. Surrounded by paintbox cottages and a charming old bed-and-breakfast, she and Kevin battle their attraction while trying to cope with an aging, sexpot actress, a cranky, world-famous artist, and a pair of teenage newlyweds.

Their careers and lives are in crisis ... yet they can't seem to stay away from each other. Before the summer is over, will they be able to learn one of life's most important lessons? Sometimes falling in love hurts, sometimes it makes you mad as hell, and sometimes -- if you're very lucky -- it can heal in the most special and unexpected way.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ever since she was a teenager, children's book author Molly Somerville has been infatuated with handsome Kevin Tucker, quarterback for her sister's Chicago Stars football team. Unfortunately, Kevin doesn't know she's alive until one fateful weekend when they're marooned together at the family vacation cabin. When Molly gets carried away by her creative imagination and compromises Kevin, the results are disastrous and before the dust settles, Kevin's in trouble with his boss, Molly's in deep trouble with her emotions, and both of them are in danger of losing their hearts. Their journey to a happy ending is dicey, at best, and even if they can get past their outrageous and painful beginning, whether these two can lower their guards and let the other into their equally wary hearts is questionable.

Bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips makes her hardcover debut with this wonderful contemporary tale that features two familiar faces from prior novels as the hero and heroine. The characters are complicated, with difficult pasts that have shaped the adults they now are, and Phillips uses a deft touch in sketching their personal growth as they're tested with tragedy and bound together with love and a healthy dose of humor. As always, Phillips brings her delightful wit and a warm family setting to this novel that is sure to captivate readers. --Lois Faye Dyer

From Publishers Weekly

Veteran romance writer Phillips (First Lady; Lady Be Good, etc.) makes her hardcover debut with this consuming story of a star-crossed children's-book author and a football player. At 27, Molly Somerville is a struggling writer who eschews the inheritance left by her father, founder of the Chicago Stars NFL team, now owned by Molly's sister, Phoebe Calebow, and her husband, Dan, who act as Molly's surrogate parents. Creator of a series of Daphne the Bunny books, writer for a teen magazine and the perfect playmate for her nieces and nephew, Molly is still growing up--she even has a crush on Kevin Tucker, the handsome, reckless Stars quarterback. By coincidence, Molly and Kevin end up at the Calebow's vacation home... Don't be fooled by the dusty title, however; this one is pure up-to-the-minute entertainment. Agent, Steve Axelrod. (One-day laydown, Jan. 23) Forecast: Phillips is the only four-time recipient of Romance Writers of America's Favorite Book of the Year Award, and her most recent novel, the mass market First Lady, hit paperback bestseller lists. With a big and smart push from Morrow, including a nine-city author tour, this book stands to be that rarity: a bestseller on national hardcover lists by a first-time writer to those ranks. A Harper Audio and large-print edition will be issued simultaneously.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; 1st edition (February 6, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380975726
• ISBN-13: 978-0380975723
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (149 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,148,145 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More of the best from the best., September 15, 2001

By 

mirope "mirope" - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: This Heart of Mine (Hardcover)

The best writer of contemporary romances proves that she is still at the top of her game in "This Little Heart of Mine." Susan Elizabeth Phillips plays matchmaker for two characters from some of her previous popular novels: Molly Somerville (Phoebe's little sister from "It Had to Be You") and Kevin Tucker (the Star's backup quarterback from "Nobody's Baby but Mine"). Molly is all grown up and is supporting herself as an author of children's books. Problem is, her personal life is non-existent. Kevin is now the Stars' superstar quarterback, but he hasn't allowed himself to have much of a life outside of football. Both are feeling restless and dissatisfied, and when they accidentally spend a weekend together, the results are disastrous. Kevin comes away thinking that Molly is a flat-out kook, and Molly is left emotionally battered. Thanks to some more unusual circumstances, they end up running a bed and breakfast Kevin has most unwillingly inherited. OK, so far this all sounds like nonsense, but trust me, Phillips makes it work. The characters are richly drawn and quite charming. Not only does SEP add a lot of humor (you will laugh out loud), but she also creates a wonderfully tender and sweet romance that manages to avoid being sappy and cloying. I was particularly impressed with the way she was able to intertwine Molly's children's books into the narrative without making them annoying distractions. If you only buy one contemporary romance this year, this should be the one.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good entry in the Chicago Stars series, August 8, 2005

By 

Tracy Vest (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: This Heart of Mine (Mass Market Paperback)

Molly Somerville is a children's book author. She has had an unrequited crush on Chicago Stars quarterback Kevin Tucker for ages. Of course, he doesn't know she is alive. When they both end up at the Calebow family cabin for a weekend alone, she acts on her crush by climbing into bed with him. He's so out of it that he doesn't know who it is until he wakes up, amid a broken condom. He thinks she's nothing more than a spoiled heiress. Feeling violated, he tosses her out. Kevin is forced by her brother in law (and GM of the Stars) to make an honest woman out of her. They begrudgingly go along with the scheme with plans for an annulment after the baby is born, unfortunately, tragedy strikes first. When Kevin discovers that she's been a shut in, he takes her with him to a campground he inherited from his deceased parents. It's not the stuffy old folks retreat he remembers from his childhood - it's now a B&B with cottages that cater to the family crowd, and it's there that Molly comes alive again, as she and Kevin's relationship takes a dramatic turn.

This is the fifth book in the Chicago Stars/Bonner Brothers series of books, and definitely one of her more bittersweet and tear inducing. Interspersed with passages from Molly's series of Daphne the Bunny/Benny the Badger books, it's so charming when Kevin discovers that many of Benny's antics coincide with incidents from his own past. And the jocks verses kids who were picked last in gym class softball game was hysterical.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Susan Elizabeth Phillip Book In Years!, February 7, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: This Heart of Mine (Hardcover)

As an admitted fan of Susan Elizabeth Phillips, I may be biased, but THIS HEART OF MINE is one of her better books and I wouldn't hesitate to reccommend this book to anyone. Especially if you're already a fan don't wait for the paperback, this is one hardcover book that's worth the extra expense.

Kevin Tucker (the back-up quarterback from NOBODY'S BABY BUT MINE) is a football player for whom the game is his life and that's the way he likes it. To simplify matters, he doesn't make it a habit to spend time with women who are chatty or intelligent. So to his surprise he enjoys the short time he inadvertantly spends with Phobe Somerville (from IT HAD TO BE YOU and current owner of the Chicago Stars, the team he plays for)'s little sister, what was her name again? That is until one night when she commits an impulsive act that could affect both their lives.

Mollie Sommerville, a children's book author with a hard earned reputation for being a good girl has had a crush on Kevin for years. Unfortunately, he can't even remember her name. She's also had restless and wild impulses for years. Both she successfully subdues . . . most of the time. And one of those few times she didn't is something for which Kevin doesn't seem willing to forgive her.

Pushed together by circumstances, Kevin and Mollie learn that the other is not entirely who they seem to be and they, and they alone, understand each other.

Personally, as THIS HEART OF MINE is being sold as the last in the Chicago Stars series, I would have liked to have seen more and longer appearances from characters from the previous books. I was especially disappointed that the Bonner's didn't play a part, but new readers might find this a boon as THIS HEART OF MINE defintely stands alone, and while it's nice to have read IT HAD TO BE YOU first, it's certainly not necessary.

Don't MISS THIS HEART OF MINE. A little crazy at times, very contemporary, and an all around great romantic read.