Most helpful customer reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Boring? Are you crazy? I couldn't put it down..., Mar 7 2004
By A Customer
The reviews found here on Amazon.com are surprisingly superficial. Boring? Are you crazy? This book kept me thoroughly entertained. I couldn't put it down -- finished in less than a day. This is the first book I have read by Judith McNaught. As someone who is a sucker for the Elizabeth Bennett/Mr. Darcy type of romance novel, I found this story endearing. Diana Foster and Cole Harrison are kindred spirits that have adapted to the world with the emotional tools learned from childhood. Diana, with a priveliged upbringing not devoid of suffering, yearns to have control over her life and is obsessive and driven. Cole, who rose above his humble beginnings, resents the rich class he now entered. The two share a history of respect and admiration that bonds them during crises of public perception and scandal, and in the end, proves rewarding. The characters are eloquently described,and feel like familiar friends by the end of the novel. My only criticism is that I would have strengthened the last quarter of the book in order to delve further into the characters' feelings. I fully recommend this book.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Sophisticated and very informative, Feb 23 2004
After reading her contemporary novels, I noticed McNaught is very interested with the Business World and future technology. Like Paradise and Double Standards, Remember When is another novel where the words such as "subsidiary" and "subpoena" are sprinkled around the chapters. I perfectly understand if some readers complained about being put to sleep and bored to death by this novel. Im not really a big fan of tycoons or "wall-street-strategies" and McNaught makes it even harder to read or understand. On some parts, I was wondering if I was reading "Business Today" instead of a romance novel. One of her mistakes is giving it to us RAW and SOLID. I think she should have interwoven the technicalities with some humor or intimacy instead of dumping it all on 3+ chapters. On the other hand, I still enjoyed reading this story because it was light and simple. The story is based on a 2 year old friendship of Cole and Diana who had been separated and who had met again after a period of 14 years. What I find very phony and unconvincing is the immediate intimacy that miraculously blossomed after 3(or is it 4?) DAYS of alcohol indulgence, a family dinner, and a blast from the past visit at Cole's hometown. Still, I made excuses for McNaught's ridiculous imagination-put-into-paper by thinking that maybe there was something between Cole and Diana 14 years ago. I mean, I have no problem with Diana's feelings, but I'm not really sure about Cole's. I think McNaught has the ability to write dream-like romances by pouring a lot of Machiavellic themes, witty dialogues, heartwrenching love scences, and I'll say they're good but they're too much. And then she can also create straight and intelligent romance novels by loading them with technical/scientific terms, detached intimacy, and family oriented characters, and I'll say they're lacking and very unsatisfying. Remember When is obviously the latter of these two choices. I hope McNaught finds a way how to write an in-between novel, where every criterias are enough in proportions.
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2.0 out of 5 stars
Yawn, Feb 9 2004
By A Customer
Gosh, I was skipping pages this book is so boring. The character are not portrayed consistently throug out the book. Diana Foster was supposedly this very proud, hardworking, socially graceful person yet she gets totally wasted and go get married in Las Vegas...??? Then, Cole was not looking for love but said I love you after a short time, a man who was bored with these "other" women, can't be tied down, just became so enchanted with Diana again? Just so far from reality, it's so out there.
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