Unfinished Business

by Nora Roberts

Book Overview

It's been twelve years, but very little in Hyattown, Maryland has changed. Vanessa Sexton has finally come home to the small town after having her heart shattered all those years ago by her high school sweetheart, Brady Tucker. But the once reckless boy has become a solid, dependable man. Can she ever trust him again?

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0727889117
• ISBN13: 9780727889119
• Release Date: January 2020
• Publisher: Severn House
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.4" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

4.5 stars

Vanessa Sexton is a concert pianist, returning to her hometown after her father's death. She hasn't been back home in twelve years, since her parents split up and her father took charge of Vanessa and her career. Now she's back, trying to rebuild a relationship with her mother, and unsuccessfully trying to avoid Brady Tucker, the boyfriend who stood her up the night of their prom. Brady is back in town himself, now a doctor, in practice with his father. He hasn't been able to forget Vanessa either, but in a more positive way. Complicating matters for Vanessa is the fact that she's uncertain about her future. She's always loved playing and composing music, but performing makes her physically ill, and she only did so to please her father, who was, as far as she knew, the only person who loved her and stuck by her. Unfinished Business packs a punch for such a small book. There's humor, friendship, family issues, and even a secondary romance. It's a reunited-lovers story, which grabs me every time. But what I enjoyed most was the emotional impact. It's very much Vanessa's story--Brady has already gone through his emotional growth, and while we do find out about it, it's in the past. She has a lot to deal with, discovering that not only was there more to some issues than she realized, but that some things she believed were wrong. It's about seeing your childhood through grown-up eyes, and your parents as human. It's about discovering yourself and learning to balance obligations to yourself and others. And of course it's about finding and accepting love. I told you, it packs a punch. Mind you, Unfinished Business is a Silhouette Intimate Moments from 1992, and I read it as such. If it were a new single title, I think I might find it a bit dated or naive. But maybe not. It's really hard to tell with re-reads. It does have the dreaded virgin heroine, but it's explained and makes perfect sense. Oh, and there's a lovely treat for those of us who've read the backlist: a cameo appearance from Princess Gabriella of Cordina. I hadn't really remembered this one, so it was quite a pleasant surprise to find that it was such an emotion-filled read.

A good yarn

This is the story of Vanessa, a brilliant concert pianist, but a completely befuddled human. She's 28 and for the first time in her life, she's making decisions on her own. It's telling that the woman has an ulcer and doesn't know it - refuses to believe it. Illness is a weakness, and she has no weaknesses. Vanessa goes through a catharsis in this story, learning to live with what has happened in her life and correct where she went wrong. She goes home to heal a breach with her mother and heals herself in the process. Oh, and she has a really hot romance. My only problem with the book is that her father, who is revealed as a selfish SOB from almost page one, is never overtly discussed. Or at least, not enough. He is the epicenter of the damage in her life, and he remains an open thread. This is unusual for a NR book, normally she deals with these situations. Anyway, a great early Nora R. entry. WORTH reading!! (*)>

Enjoyable light reading

A cute story about a classical pianist who left home as a teenager to pursue her career under the overbearingly high-pressure of her father/tutor/manager. Now, 8 years later, after the death of her father, she decides to return home to Western Maryland to rest and recover from an ulcer and severe burn-out, and to reconcile with her mother and childhood sweetheart. From her new adult prospective, and out from under the misguided influence of her father, she realizes that the misunderstandings that to her estrangement from both of them wasn't what she had been lead to believe. A nicely presented story about repairing mother-daughter bonds that seemed damaged forever, and about reconnecting with one's soulmate.

Synopsis

COULD HE HEAL HER BROKEN HEART? What was she doing here? Hyattown had changed very little in the years Vanessa Sexton had been away. In some ways her high school sweetheart, Brady Tucker, hadn't changed much either-he was still lean, athletic, rugged... But the once reckless had become a solid dependable man. He'd stood her up on the most important night of her life; could she ever trust him again. So Vanessa had finaly come home, Brady thought. She could still turn him inside out with on of her sultry looks. He couldn't believe she hadn't forgiven him for that night twelve years ago-but he'd had his reasons for not showing up. He'd let her leave town then-but he wasn't going to let her get away this time...

The characters are very believable and written well

I enjoyed reading this book you cared about the characters and felt like you got to know them