When Venus Fell [Mass Market Paperback]

Deborah Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 1999

Home is wherever the heart leads....

The ties that bind us--to our families, to our pasts--are at the heart of this deeply engrossing story.  

Venus Arinelli saw her future as a concert pianist shattered when her father's life ended in disgrace.  Now Venus plays in cocktail lounges, sporting her survival skills like a suit of armor.  When a stranger emerges from her parents' long-ago past with an offer too good to refuse, Venus' suspicions flare up.

But Gib Cameron has a special mission.  He represents the Camerons of Tennessee--a family as rooted in American history and Southern soil as Venus' is notorious and fly-by-night.  Yet the Camerons, survivors of tragedy, need Venus for reasons that have to do with honor and loyalty and an almost mystical bond to their shared past.  And Gib, as hard-eyed a skeptic as Venus herself, has to persuade her to come to their mountain home.

Humor, sexiness, pathos, and surprises are all part of Deborah Smith's unique storytelling magic.  When Venus Fell will entrance readers with its tale of Venus's reluctant journey to Tennessee, where two well-guarded hearts, afraid to trust again, will find they've come home.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Musical prodigy Venus Arinelli's life shattered at the age of 19 when her father was arrested for anti-government activity. When he died of a heart attack a week later while in custody, Venus took her younger sister and ran from accusations and harassment. Ten years later, she's still running from the government agencies that are eager to place the blame on her every time a subversive group explodes a bomb in the United States.

Gib Cameron was a child of 5 when Venus's parents were married at Cameron Hall. Steeped in tradition, Gib's family is well respected and firmly rooted in American history, while Venus's is notorious and barely a generation away from immigration. But tragedy has come knocking on the venerable door of the Cameron stronghold high in the Tennessee hills, and the matriarchal great-aunt of the clan orders Gib to find the Arinelli sisters and bring them to the Hall. Shari Kirk and Max Arinelli were the first guests to stay there, and the great-aunt believes that their daughters hold the key to the survival of the Hall and the healing of her family.

Gib and Venus are worlds apart on the surface--she with her pierced navel, wild clothing, and career as a lounge musician, and he with his conservative clothing, schooling at the Citadel, and career as a Secret Service agent. But they are soul mates under their skins, for each is deeply honorable, wary of love, and fiercely protective of their families.

The two share in an arduous journey of the heart, searching the past to heal the present and find a future. They take with them a collection of fascinating, well-developed secondary characters in a story that mixes pathos with humor and is rich with human emotion, lush landscapes, and a plot so well conceived that it resonates like a finely tuned Steinway. --Lois Faye Dyer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Louisiana bohemian Venus Arinelli and Tennessee aristocrat Gib Cameron, the protagonists of this well-meaning but strained romance, come from very different, but equally tragic, backgrounds. Venus had her dreams of a career as a classical pianist dashed by scandal when her Japanese-Italian, nightclub-owner father died in prison, having been accused of murdering a federal judge. Gib became a member of the Secret Service after an IRA bomb killed his parents on vacation in England. Yet the families forged a bond when Venus's parents were married at the Cameron family inn in 1968, its first year of operation. Thirty years later, GibAa man who represents everything that tough Venus hatesAshows up, with a big surprise and a desperate proposition, at the bar where Venus and her dotty sister, Ella, are performing as lounge musicians. It seems Mr. Arinelli left his daughters $100,000, possibly dirty money, in the Camerons' hands. Gib will turn the money over to them, no questions asked, if they return to the inn and, by their presence, help him persuade his relatives not to sell. Smith (A Place to Call Home) comes on like Kaye Gibbons with humor; her tale of redemption and learning to trust again is by turns sad, funny and touching. But given the blithe improbability of the setup, Gib's earnest flag-waving and Venus's spitfire anti-establishment views do little to endear us to either character.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Bantam (October 5, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553562797
• ISBN-13: 978-0553562798
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 0.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #471,585 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Bell Bridge Books

Deborah Smith is a founding partner and VP of BelleBooks and its main division, Bell Bridge Books. Check here for news and updates on the titles she and her partners are publishing.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An interesting tale of two families., November 16, 1999

By 

Sarah "sssspro" (North East, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When Venus Fell (Mass Market Paperback)

I have always loved Ms. Smith's books, her attention to detail and her in depth plots. While I did not like When Venus Fell as much as Miracle, Silk and Stone or Blue Willow, this book did have its own charm and redeeming parts. This is a story of two families who have problems and deficiencies, but who desire so much more for themselves. Everyone has some sort of hurtle to overcome before they can all function as a capable unit. Maybe that is part of what turned me off to this book. EVERYONE had an issue to overcome. I know we are all not perfect and most authors err on that side, making everyone into fairytale heroes, but we have two extremely dysfunctional families here. Yet, like a fairytale, in the end, everyone finds the peace and happiness they want/deserve.

Although Venus and Gib are our obvious leads, this is not a story about how two people find each other and love and then live happily ever after (though there is an element of that). Because we had so many characters, none of them really get to be fully developed. We come to understand why everyone behaves as they do, but I felt we skimmed the surface too much and didn't dig deep enough into any one character.

Be warned for those romance readers out there, this story is more novel than romance. Although I feel this story deserve more than just an average rating (of three stars), I did not feel that it was strong enough for a 4 star rating. If I could, I would give this 3 ½ stars, better than average, but not superb. Get ready to leave reality at the door, because this story could never happen anywhere that I know of.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing!!, March 6, 2005

By 

Amanda Lynne "missvice" (usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When Venus Fell (Hardcover)

I first bought this book "because the title sounded good." I had no idea that I would fall in love with Venus and Gib and their complicated, beautiful story. I love the vivid imagery, the "clashing of cultures" and the sardonic, dry humor Venus conveys throughout the story. It is now my favorite book in the entire world! A must-read for anyone who has ever felt different and like they didn't quite belong!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Venus Fell, November 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: When Venus Fell (Mass Market Paperback)

I read this book through in one sitting and then sat down and read it again. Then I searched Amazon to find all the rest of the books this author has written. Deborah Smith is a writer. Her characters are original and three-dimensional, real and engaging. The plot for When Venus Fell is a real page turner -- unpredictable, surprising, and fascinating.

I have read LOTS of books in a long lifetime. Enough that I recognize the usual plot devices at a glance and become easily bored with writing that follows the well-worn ruts of the genre. This book, unlike so many of contemporary books I have read, grabbed me, held my attention, and mesmerized me with its original thinking and story. When Venus Fell is a keeper. So is Deborah Smith. I look forward to her new novel when its published next February and will probably spring for a hardbound copy because I can't bear to wait for the paperback.

If you liked When Venus Fell you'll probably enjoy A Place to Call Home too.