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WORK TITLE: Where Love Lies
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.julie-cohen.com/
CITY: Berkshire, England
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2004091038
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2004091038
HEADING: Cohen, Julie
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953 __ |a sf07
PERSONAL
Married; children: one son.
EDUCATION:Brown University, English literature; Cambridge University, M.Phil.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Romance novelist, teacher of English and creative writing, public speaker. Sherlock Holmes Journal, cartoonist.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Romance writer and English teacher Julie Cohen grew up in Maine but moved to England to research fairies in Victorian children’s literature at the University of Reading. She studied English literature at Brown University in Rhode Island and holds a M.Phil. in Victorian and Edwardian children’s literature from Cambridge University in England. Cohen has taught English in high school and creative writing workshops for the Guardian, Literature Wales, and Writers’ Workshop. A big Sherlock Holmes fan, she is a cartoonist for Sherlock Holmes Journal. She lives in Berkshire, England with her family.
Where Love Lies
In 2016, Cohen published Where Love Lies. In England, children’s book author and illustrator Felicity Wickham believes she has the perfect life. She’s a newlywed with the wonderful Quinn, who dotes on her. They live in the quiet English village of Tallingford, with Quinn’s family nearby. However, one day on the train in town, she gets a whiff of perfume that jerks her into a memory she can’t quite place. Then she begins remembering her nomadic mother, Esther, and wonders if her idyllic life is giving her enough pleasure and inspiration in her life. The phantom scents also dredge up intense emotion as she recalls memories of her earlier romance with Ewan McKillan.
Felicity knows she loves her husband, and believes the smells could just be playing tricks on her, but she is wondering where true love lies as she embarks on a bittersweet journey. Explaining the style of story, Cohen said in New Asian Writing: “It’s not a conventional love story; it begins where most love stories end, at the happily ever after, and then something mysterious happens to shake all of that up. Readers tell me that Felicity, the heroine, is both fascinating and frustrating.” Noting that Felicity is a hard character to like based on her choices, a reviewer online at Wild Thistle said that by the end of the story, “I had lost all patience with Felicity and my sympathies lay more with Quinn and Ewan.”
Ruth Ng commented online at the Book Bag that the story is “about love in its purest form—real love that loves deeply, without question, love that is selfless and true. It’s about where that love comes from, and how you know when it’s really there.” Calling the book a warm-hearted novel, a Publishers Weekly contributor remarked: “Cohen’s well-rounded prose invites readers to closely examine the foundations of love and romance.” On the Katherine Scott Jones Web site. Katherine Scott Jones gave reasons why she liked the story: “Its well-developed, interesting characters; the luminous but not self-conscious prose; the superb craftsmanship, with every piece of the story attended to in clever, I-didn’t-see-that-coming detail.” Kelly Ferjutz observed online at Luxury Reading, “The book is well-written, and the plot is breath-taking in its inventiveness. The characters are totally not your ordinary cookie-cutter type folks.”
Falling and Dear Thing
Cohen’s 2016 Falling follows three generations of women as they keep devastating secrets, even from their loved ones. Grandmother Honor has been keeping a secret for eighty years, one that threatens her cherished independence. Mother Jo’s secret could rip apart the family she has held together. Daughter Lydia’s secret could bring love or loss. In New Asian Writing, Cohen called the story “a poignant and thought-provoking novel.”
Dear Thing, published in 2016, is an emotional story about infertility and surrogacy. Ben and Claire have been trying to have a baby for years. They are surprised when friend and single mother Romily agrees to be a surrogate. Romily has no desire for more children, so the arrangement is perfect. However, in a story that explores the complexities and complications of childbirth, Romily unexpectedly develops feelings for the baby, a situation that threatens to dissolve her friendship with Ben and Claire. Dear Thing was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, April 18, 2016, review of Where Love Lies. p. 102.
ONLINE
Book Bag, http://www.thebookbag.co.uk (March 10, 2017), review of Where Love Lies.
Julie Cohen Home Page, http://www.julie-cohen.com/ (March 1, 2017).
Katherine Scott Jones, http://katherinescottjones.com (March 10, 2017), review of Where Love Lies.
Luxury Reading, http://luxuryreading.com (March 10, 2017), review of Where Love Lies.
New Asian Writing, http://www.new-asian-writing.com/ (August 10, 2014), interview with Cohen.
Wild Thistle, http://www.wild-thistle.net (March 10, 2017), review of Where Love Lies.*
About
Photo by Rowan Coleman
PHOTO BY ROWAN COLEMAN
I grew up in the western mountains of Maine, in a small town where the sulfur scent of the paper mill was called ‘the smell of money’. My house was just up the hill from the library, and I spent many hours walking up and down that hill, my nose in a book. I wanted to be a writer, and to have my book on the shelf of the Rumford Public Library.
I wrote my first novel at the age of 11. It was about a girl wizard and was more or less a genderflipped imitation of Ursula LeGuin’s A Wizard of Earthsea. I wrote it by hand in a spiral-bound notebook and included illustrations and maps.
I studied English Literature at Brown University in Rhode Island and Cambridge University in the UK, and then did an M.Phil. degree by research on fairies in Victorian and Edwardian children’s literature. As this had very few practical applications, I became a secondary school English teacher. It was about at this point that I realised that if I wanted to become a novelist, I should probably start writing novels.
At first, I failed. In my previous life I had always been pretty good at what I tried to do, so it was difficult when my novels kept getting rejected. I didn’t know then what I know now: that writing is a process of getting a good idea and then failing to execute it. The wrong words always come before the right ones.
I’ve kept writing and kept writing and eventually I’ve found some of the right words. My novels have been translated into fifteen languages and sold nearly a million copies worldwide. My book DEAR THING was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. My latest novel, TOGETHER, will be published by Orion in July 2017.
Photo by Rowan Coleman
PHOTO BY ROWAN COLEMAN
I teach creative writing workshops—for The Guardian, Literature Wales, and Writers’ Workshop, among others—and run my own fiction consultancy and mentoring business, with many of my clients going on to publication. Despite not being able to draw, I’m also the official cartoonist for the Sherlock Holmes Journal.
I live in Berkshire with my husband, who likes guitars, my son, who likes Minecraft, and my dog, who likes chasing squirrels. And every year I bring a copy of my latest book to the Rumford Public Library, and they put it on the shelf.
I am very proud to be Patron of local literacy charity ABC to Read, who help children in Berkshire primary schools learn to read.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Julie Cohen
JULIE COHEN grew up in Maine, USA, and studied English at Brown University, Rhode Island and Cambridge University in England. She moved to the UK permanently to research fairies in Victorian children's literature at the University of Reading, and then taught English at secondary level. She now writes full time and is a popular speaker and teacher of creative writing. She lives with her husband and their son in Berkshire. She is also the author of Dear Thing.
AUTHORS SPEAK
NAW Interview with Julie Cohen
08/10/2014
Where Love Lies
Credit- Emma Townsend 2009
Julie Cohen studied at Brown University, earning a summa cum laude degree with honours in English. She followed it up with a postgraduate degree in English literature from the University of Reading. She has penned twenty books to date, published under her own name and pseudonyms. Her books have sold over three-quarters of a million copies and have been translated into fifteen languages. She has won/ been shortlisted for several awards, including the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Romance Prize, the National Readers’ Choice Award, and the HOLT Medallion. Her latest paperback, DEAR THING, was selected for the Richard and Judy Summer Book Club. Visit her here or on Twitter: @julie_cohen
NAW- Tell us about your book, Where Love Lies. How did you get the idea for it? What is it about?
It’s the story of Felicity, who believes she’s happily married to Quinn—until she starts experiencing the phantom scent of frangipani. The scent is always accompanied by an overwhelming feeling of love, but not for her husband: it’s for her first love, a man she hasn’t seen in ten years. Disturbed and overwhelmed by her strange experience, Felicity leaves Quinn to find her lost love. Is she following her heart, or is she making the biggest mistake of her life?
The story was inspired by something that happened to a friend of mine, but I can’t actually say what that is, because it would give away the twist in the ending. Its real-life origins are explained in an author’s note at the end of the book, though.
NAW- What drew you to the romance genre?
I’ve always loved reading love stories—as a young reader, even when a story didn’t have a romance in it, I would generally make one up. I think that stories about relationships are important. They’re the most significant parts of most people’s lives, and your choice of life partner affects absolutely everything about the rest of your life. I’m interested in how people find each other, how they learn to trust and care for each other; the difference between passion and enduring love. That said, I’m no longer writing straight romance: my current novels are as much about relationships within families, friends and communities as relationships between partners.
NAW- How long did you take to finish the book? How did you decide the title?
To write a 100,000 word book usually takes me about a year from conception to finish. Some of that is spent thinking and researching, some writing, and some revising and editing. It took a bit longer to write Where Love Lies than it normally would, because I came down with pneumonia about halfway through and had to take quite a lot of time off. (I’m all better now!)
The title went through several iterations before we came up with the final one. It was called at various stages ‘What Love Is,’ ‘The Scent of Frangipani’, and ‘Bliss,’ until we decided on ‘Where Love Lies,’ which is an important phrase in the book.
NAW- What can a novice reader expect from Where Love Lies?
It’s not a conventional love story; it begins where most love stories end, at the happily ever after, and then something mysterious happens to shake all of that up. Readers tell me that Felicity, the heroine, is both fascinating and frustrating. She’s going through something quite unusual, and so she behaves at times in unusual ways. But by the end all is revealed and hopefully you will understand why she does what she does. I wanted the book to be an examination of what love is, what creates it, and why we choose one person over another.
NAW- Tell us about the characters of Felicity and Quinn. How did you develop the characters?
Often I have to spend a lot of time making character notes and developing aspects of my characters, looking at theme and conflict and backstory, but actually with Felicity and Quinn I didn’t have to do that much.
Felicity came to me nearly fully fledged. She’s got quite a distinctive voice, and the novel is mostly told in first person present tense, so a lot of the time I felt like I was transcribing her thoughts. She tantalised me and annoyed me and after spending a year in her head, which is a strange and wonderful place, I am incredibly fond of her.
Quinn is just gorgeous in every way, but I had to dig a bit deeper into him to find out what made him tick. His heart gets broken over the course of the novel and I just ached for him, because he doesn’t deserve it.
Where Love Lies book cover
NAW- Romance fiction is considered a light read and doesn’t get the same literary treatment as other genres. What is your take on this?
I have two sort of opposing thoughts about this. One is to celebrate the power of the light read! Escapist books are incredibly important to people. They can help raise you out of reality and give you a much-needed break. When I was ill this past year, I read comedies and romances and heart-warming novels: Alexander McCall Smith, Georgette Heyer, Carole Matthews, Miranda Dickinson. These books gave me a bright spot in my day. On World Book Night a couple of years ago I gave away copies of Marian Keyes novels to women in gynecological wards and in our local hospice. I believe fully that an escapist read is a wonderful gift, and its power shouldn’t be taken for granted.
I also believe that there is some beautiful, insightful writing being created by female writers which is consistently published and packaged as something lighter and fluffier than it is. I believe that publishing often sells female writers short, and that the literary establishment often gives male writers much more kudos for writing about love stories and domestic concerns. Women write ‘romance’ and men write ‘fiction’—whereas they are all fiction.
NAW- Tell us about your other works.
My last book, Dear Thing, was an emotional story about infertility and surrogacy. It was a Richard and Judy Summer 2104 Book Club pick, and a new direction for me, because previously I had been writing romantic comedies.
My next book (out in April 2015) is called The Falling Moment and it’s a poignant and thought-provoking novel about three generations women from the same family, living together and yet keeping secrets from each other.
NAW- Tell us about your publishing journey.
I started writing seriously in about 2002 and got my first publishing contract in 2004—ten years ago!—with Harlequin Mills & Boon. Since then I’ve written twenty-one published novels and novellas under my own name and pseudonyms, with five different publishers, from sexy romance to romantic comedy to erotic science fiction to what I’m doing now, which is emotional women’s fiction aimed at book club readers. I’ve been very lucky to be able to reinvent myself and to grow my writing so that I can tackle more complex stories.
NAW- Tell us about yourself. What do you do when you are not writing?
I’m a Sherlock Holmes fanatic, so I belong to the Sherlock Holmes Society and I draw a cartoon for their magazine. I’m Patron of a local literacy charity, ABC To Read, which trains volunteers to help primary school children learn to read. I’m also vice chair of my local writing group, Reading Writers. And I teach creative writing courses and have my own creative writing consultancy for private clients.
I’ve become a keen runner and at the moment I’m training to run the Reading half marathon in the spring, to raise money for ABC To Read. I’m a little bit scared.
I have a young son and we spend a lot of time pretending we’re at Hogwarts. (I’m Ravenclaw, but my husband and son are both Gryffindor.) I love to cook and bake and to watch the wildlife on the river that runs past our home.
NAW- Please name your favourite writers. Are there any who you’d like to name as an inspiration?
I was inspired to become a writer from reading Ursula Le Guin and Susan Cooper as a child. Both of them created these magical worlds which I never wanted to leave. I’m a huge fan of Stephen King, Douglas Adams, Georgette Heyer, Jane Austen, Marian Keyes, and of course Arthur Conan Doyle.
NAW-What are you currently reading?
I’m reading The Silkworm by JK Rowling—I was lucky enough to see her speak at the Harrogate Crime Festival this past summer. I think she’s the most amazing storyteller. My next book will probably be The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman.
NAW- What will you be working on next?
I’m just finishing up my latest book, The Falling Moment now, and I don’t actually have an idea for my next book yet. I’m looking forward to spending a little bit of time dreaming and reading and thinking, until a new idea hooks me.
Where Love Lies
Publishers Weekly.
263.16 (Apr. 18, 2016): p102.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Where Love Lies
Julie Cohen. St. Martin's Griffin, $15.99 trade paper (384p) ISBN 978-1-250-08174-2
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Cohen's warm-hearted novel (first published in the U.K. in 2014) is a thoughtful, engaging analysis of what makes love and relationships tick.
Felicity Wickham, an imaginative picture book author and illustrator, struggles with a lack of inspiration. She can't seem to really settle into her
supposedly storybook newlywed married life with Quinn, her doting, supportive, steady husband, in the English village of Tallingford. Felicity
still feels the loss of her nomadic mother, Esther, and is unaccustomed to the settled small-town lifestyle embraced by Quinn and his family. She
begins experiencing a strong evocative "phantom" fragrance that at first prompts memories of her mother but then evokes the passions of an
earlier romance with the sexy but chaotic Ewan McKillan--not just the distanced memory of that love, but a complete reimmersion in the
rapturous emotions of the time. Cohen's well-rounded prose invites readers to closely examine the foundations of love and romance as the power
2/4/2017 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1486244851641 2/2
of Felicity's renewed feelings for Ewan causes her to question her love for Quinn and her life choices. Agent: Patricia Moosbrugger, Patricia
Moosbrugger Literary. (Aug.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Where Love Lies." Publishers Weekly, 18 Apr. 2016, p. 102. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA450361311&it=r&asid=233c09a6c1012f208984d6d0e281278d. Accessed 4 Feb.
2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A450361311
Book Review: Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen
Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen
Publisher: Bantam Press (31st Jul 2014)
Amazon || Book Depository || Goodreads
Received a proof copy from Transworld for review, thank you!
Blurb:
Lately, Felicity just can't shake a shadow of uncertainty. Her husband Quinn is the kindest person she knows and loves her peculiarities more than Felicity feels she deserves. But suddenly it's as if she doesn't quite belong.
Then Felicity experiences something extraordinary: a scent of perfume in the air which evokes memories that have been settled within her for a long time, untouched and undisturbed. As it happens again and again, the memories of a man Felicity hasn't seen for ten years also flutter to the surface. And so do the feelings of being deeply, exquisitely in love . . .
Overwhelmed and bewildered by her emotions, Felicity tries to resist sinking blissfully into the past. But what if something truly isn't as it should be? What if her mind has been playing tricks on her heart?
Which would you trust?
After reading Julie Cohen's phenomenal novel, Dear Thing, last year, I knew she would be the one to watched. Cleverly balancing the fine line between realness and fiction, she delved into the complexities and complications of childbirth. When I got the chance to review Where Love Lies, I jumped at the chance and surely, it didn't disappoint!
In Where Love Lies, the heroine, Felicity Bloom seems to have the life everyone wants. She's married to the sweetest, most caring man and they live in a beautiful little cottage in the countryside. That is, if you overlook her painful past. Then she gets a whiff of a very strong scent which triggers memories of her past, a very special man who got away and left her heartbroken.
I won't go into details but I will let you know that this book has a very intriguing plot. You'll be wondering about Felicity's sudden urge to act on impulse and follow her emotions, resulting in her life unravelling. Right from the first chapter, I got hooked on the story. Julie Cohen never failed to amaze me in her latest book and I was riveted by Felicity's story and her mysterious bouts.
The characters were well-written, I really liked the heroine, Felicity and her husband, Quinn who is such a sweetheart. The little attention to the details of their relationship really made me root for them and I was charmed by how loving Quinn was. The "mystery man" from Felicity's memories is Ewan and I really enjoyed reading about his role in the book and how he fell in love with Felicity.
Julie Cohen delivers another compelling, thought-provoking book that will leave you wondering about the choices in your life and really appreciate everything you have. Life-affirming and touching, I stayed up late to finish this wonderful book and I don't doubt that you will too. I urge you to pick up Where Love Lies as it is super charged with emotion and a story that will be imprinted in your heart.
Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen
Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen
Category: General Fiction
Rating: 5/5
Reviewer: Ruth Ng
Reviewed by Ruth Ng
Summary: Lovely and shocking, funny and moving, this will have you feeling ups and downs all over the place!
Buy? Yes Borrow? Yes
Pages: 384 Date: July 2014
Publisher: Bantam Press
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 9780593070840
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Shortlisted: Romantic Novel Awards 2015 - Contemporary Romantic Novel
Sometimes I read a book I love, and I want very much to tell everyone how wonderful it was and why they should read it but then, of course, you get the 'what's it about' question, and unfortunately talking about the storyline would kill the book! This is one of those books, and so I shall have to tiptoe carefully through my review so as not to spoil it for you all...
Let's start with the basics. Felicity, a children's book author and illustrator, has been married to the lovely Quinn for just a short time. They live in a sweet cottage, in a wonderful village, with Quinn's family nearby. Quinn is the perfect husband, in every way, and surely Felicity's life can't get any better than this? You might well guess that anyone starting out in a book in this way is heading for trouble. Felicity's trouble comes in rather an unusual form however. She begins to experience intense emotions, seemingly preceded by smelling a scent that she recognises from a long time ago in her life. But are the emotions real, or is her imagination playing tricks on her? And are these episodes worthy of a trip to the doctor, or will he dismiss her olfactory experiences as the random ramblings of a confused woman?
Felicity is great. She's also awful! I had very mixed emotions about her throughout the book, jumping from hating her and virtually shouting at her not to be a complete idiot, and then suddenly finding myself turned around completely and loving her very much. I think these changes in emotion reflected a lot of what's going on for Felicity herself, who is see-sawing from one feeling to the next, not knowing what's real and what's not real in her head. If you find, initially, that you're just wanting to give Felicity a big shake, stick with her...you'll love her by the end. My only complaint in relation to Felicity is that the picture book stories she writes, about Igor the Owl, sounded so good that now I want to read them. I feel the definite need for a spin-off series!
Felicity's husband now, well, he's a different matter entirely. Quinn is wonderful. I wasn't sure about him being called Quinn, but really he could've been called anything by the end and I still would have loved him. Imagine your dream husband, the kind of perfect partner that just doesn't exist...well, that's Quinn. He starts out being wonderful, and he just carries on being wonderful all the way through, even in the moments when you'd completely forgive him for being horrible to Felicity he still somehow manages to be the nicest man in the world.
There are lots of other characters weaving in and out of the story. There's an ex-boyfriend who I didn't like at all and had me fairly shouting at the page, and Quinn's family who are all wonderful, and infuriating as in-laws can be, and full of love. I always enjoy Julie Cohen's secondary characters, as they still seem like real people and not just bit-players. As for the story, it's about lots of different things. It's about loss, in a variety of different forms, and it's about family, both being part of a family or raising a family, or starting a family. Mostly, though, it's about love, but not in a wishy-washy let's all live happily every after in a pink castle kind of way. It's about love in its purest form - real love that loves deeply, without question, love that is selfless and true. It's about where that love comes from, and how you know when it's really there. Julie's final paragraph had me weeping because she so perfectly captures love, in all its honest imperfections, and I sat holding the book in my hands for a long time afterwards thinking about her words. When I sit down to read one of Julie's books I know that I will get both that magical escapism that good stories can bring, but also I am made to think, I am prodded and provoked in different ways and given heroines who are both endearing and infuriating and wonderfully real. This book had me thinking in all sorts of ways, making me laugh, making me cry, and I'd urge you to go and get a copy right now so that you can find out why I barely told you anything about the plot and see how wonderful it really is for yourself!
If you haven't read Dear Thing which is Julie's previous book then you need to go and grab a copy right now!
here Love Lies by Julie Cohen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is fantastic. It’s about love. Not necessarily about romance, but about the nature of love. What makes up that wonderful swooping, magical feeling of being in love? Is it feelings? Memories? Something magical? Something visceral? If the feeling of being in love was killing you, would you chose to get rid of it?
Felicity occasionally smells frangipani and with the smell comes a very vivid sensation of being in love. At first she thinks the feeling is directed towards her husband, Quinn (who is adorable, by the way). Later, the feeling links more specifically, a memory of Ewan, whom she was in love with ten years ago. I like that even Felicity isn’t a hundred per cent sure what she feels and how much she should trust it. Suddenly, there are two important men in her life. At different times of the day she’s in love with both of them. How can you choose?
I cried at the end, but then I do that a lot nowadays.
This is a wonderful book. Everyone should read it.
WILD THISTLE
read . relate . review
17 MARCH 2015
WHERE LOVE LIES BY JULIE COHEN
Where Love Lies
Felicity seems to have everything she could possibly want: a perfect husband, a beautiful home, thoughtful in-laws and a satisfying career as a children’s book illustrator. However, shadows are looming over Felicity’s happiness in the shape of long suppressed memories which are being triggered by certain floral scents. It isn’t long before Felicity realises she is the only one who can smell these particular fragrances and the emotions sweeping through are linked to an old romance.
As the spells increase, Felicity begins to feel stifled by the life she has created with her husband, Quinn, especially when he begins dropping hints about having a baby. Felicity has never been part of family since she was raised by a single artist mother who lived a very peripatetic lifestyle, and in some ways she misses the freedom she once had. As her feelings intensify, Felicity decides to track down her old boyfriend, Ewan, in the hopes of finding some closure but she finds the intervening years haven’t been kind to him and he is sorely in need of a friend. Torn between Ewan and Quinn, Felicity is increasingly confused by her strong emotions but then there are other worrying hints that all may not be well with Felicity herself.
THOUGHTS
Where Love Lies is an intriguing examination of how the mind can fool you into feeling a certain way and I don’t think it is much of a spoiler to reveal Felicity has a serious medical condition which is causing her problems because it is very obvious. The first indication all is not well is when Felicity begins to experience strong smells of the flower frangipani when none are there. The smells begin to elicit strong emotions within Felicity, feelings she eventually identifies as love, and she realises she once felt that way for an man called Ewan. Confused as to why she is having such strong feelings for a man who is not her husband, Felicity begins to have doubts about her marriage.
Unfortunately, Felicity is a hard character to like even knowing there is something seriously wrong with her, mainly because she always seems so dissatisfied with everything. When Quinn arranges a surprise trip to New York to celebrate their first wedding anniversary, Felicity is dismayed when she learns he has planned a full schedule of sightseeing when she would’ve preferred to be more spontaneous. Of course, poor Quinn doesn’t realise this because she never tells him what she is really feeling and he can’t seem to do anything right. In the same way, Quinn’s family are very attentive to her but Felicity feels they are too intrusive and she wants more space. Then Felicity’s insecurities rear their ugly heads and she starts to feel she doesn’t deserve Quinn at all. It’s all a bit of an emotional rollercoaster and while much of it may be out of Felicity’s control, some fears are buried too deep to be anything but real and it causes a lot of heartache.
As Felicity’s condition worsens, she finally gets her diagnosis but it may be too late to save her marriage. I’m afraid by this point I had lost all patience with Felicity and my sympathies lay more with Quinn and Ewan. The afterword explains what the author was trying to achieve here and I appreciate the experiment, but it just wasn’t my kind of a story in the end.
Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen | featured book
SEPTEMBER 2, 2016 BY: KATHERINECOMMENT
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Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen | featured book“Her heart loves one man. Her head loves another.”
Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen
About this book: (from the publisher) When Felicity steps off the train on the way to meet her husband, she is so sure of everything in her life. Where she is headed, what she will order at the restaurant, the first words her husband will say to her when she arrives, their happy future together.
But then she catches a scent of perfume in the air, and suddenly she is overcome by forgotten emotions-passionate memories of another man she loved many years ago.
As the feelings continue to surface again and again, Felicity begins to question the life she thought she knew so well. She doesn’t doubt that she loves her husband, but does she owe it to herself to explore these overwhelming emotions that have taken hold of her? Or is her mind simply playing tricks on her heart?
How can she know where love truly lies? And when she finds out, will it be too late?
About the author: Julie Cohen grew up in Maine, USA, and studied English at Brown University, Rhode Island and Cambridge University in England. She moved to the UK permanently to research fairies in Victorian children’s literature at the University of Reading, and then taught English at secondary level. She now writes full time and is a popular speaker and teacher of creative writing. She lives with her husband and their son in Berkshire. She is also the author of Dear Thing.
Genre: Fiction/Contemporary/Women’s Fiction
If this book were a movie, I would rate it: PG-13 for some profanity
Reminds me of: the novels of Kate Hewitt
Another delightful novel from @Julie_Cohen to appeal to both head and heart
CLICK TO TWEET
Reflection: Julie Cohen’s debut novel, Dear Thing, delighted me {read my review here}, and so when her sophomore novel arrived in my mailbox, I saw it as a gift and looked forward to what I hoped would be a novel that lived up to her first.
I was not disappointed.
I liked it for so many reasons: its well-developed, interesting characters; the luminous but not self-conscious prose; the superb craftsmanship, with every piece of the story attended to in clever, I-didn’t-see-that-coming detail. This is warmhearted women’s fiction at its finest, the kind that explores all sorts of relational nooks and crannies, including mothers and in-laws, old loves and new ones. But the true marvel of Julie’s writing is how she ties up every loose end in a satisfying yet credible way. Both emotional and insightful, Where Love Lies raises questions that’ll leave readers pondering well after they’ve turned the last page.
Some who have read Julie’s Dear Thing might see some similarities and call her books formulaic. I don’t. I see them as examples of good branding — of knowing what works and then consistently and creatively delivering it. With her first two novels, Julie Cohen has established herself on a roll. I’m already anticipating where her third book may take us.
Review: Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen
RATING:
where love lies book coverReviewed by Kelly Ferjutz
Publishing is heavily dependent on ‘what the other guy does’. If a certain theme from one of them is successful, then all of a sudden, they all want one ‘like that.’ This year’s theme seems to be a single Mom raising a young daughter, with no Dad anywhere to be found. Not even his identity. This leaves the daughter with a major gap in her history and even herself. True, some adjust better than others. Frequently Mom is an artist of some variety–otherwise known as a ‘free spirit’. Mom and daughter move a lot, maybe every year or so. With no roots and no stability, it’s hardly any wonder that so many of these daughters end up as a neurotic basket-case.
Where Love Lies was published in the UK last year, and apparently deserved an additional debut in the US. I do realize that life in the UK is vastly different from our lives in the US, and I try to make allowances for that in my reading. However, at times, it seems an insurmountable task, especially when too many of the characters don’t seem to have a clue as to what they really want to be, or to have. Another problem comes with multiple viewpoints throughout the story, mostly in first person, so one is continually visiting yet a different head!
I should have realized when I read that the author wanted to write a novel with ‘an unreliable narrator’ that we wouldn’t always stay on the familiar path. On the other hand, I do occasionally like unplanned detours (in pleasant weather) so I gave it a go.
Briefly, Felicity is approaching the first anniversary of her mostly idyllic marriage to Quinn. She is an artist-illustrator/writer of children’s books and he is the editor of the small-town paper that serves the community in which they live. Felicity was an only child, never knew who was her father, and her somewhat elderly mother has passed away in the near past. Quinn, however, has rather pushy parents (especially his Mum) who want to be included in everything. His sister is a bit more willing to give them some space, but still, Felicity feels crowded.
Quinn wants to give her everything he thinks she should love or want, but he doesn’t always check with her first, and one of these ’gifts’ – a trip to the US — triggers memories that cause an overload of emotions in Felicity’s memory and thoughts. Suddenly, she smells frangipani flowers and this brings back a visual memory of her first love, Ewan, from ten years ago.
When they return to the UK and home, she announces that she wants a separation from Quinn and the information devastates the poor man. No matter what she does or where she goes, or whom she sees, Quinn loves her–unconditionally. Even if what she thinks she wants is Ewan.
However, there is a real medical reason for Felicity’s distress, and she must make a serious decision about treatment–perhaps the most serious decision of her life. Eventually, everything does seem to work itself out, but not without a great deal of angst for everyone.
Without question, the book is well-written, and the plot is breath-taking in its inventiveness. The characters are totally not your ordinary cookie-cutter type folks. Nosiree! I’m quite certain I’ll be in the minority of readers when I say I couldn’t quite get into it, but even so, I do realize there are readers who will think this one of the best books they’ve ever read. It’s just that I prefer a bit more straightforwardness in the books I read for enjoyment. I did learn a good bit about the medical condition that has so afflicted Felicity, and that’s definitely a plus for me, as well.
I mean no insult of any kind when I say that perhaps readers who enjoy fantasy novels might enjoy this more than I did. My disbelief just doesn’t always suspend that far.
Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen
Title: Where Love Lies
Author: Julie Cohen
Published: 31st July 2014
Review
Where do I start to review this beautiful book? I had so many emotions whilst reading this, it truly is a stunning novel.
Where Love Lies is focused around Felicity. She is off meeting her husband at a restaurant in London but gets a little lost. It is while she is lost she gets this overwhelming smell of Frangipani and thinks that she sees her Mum, but it can't be; she isn't here. Soon these overwhelming smells start to become more frequent and it starts to evoke memories and feelings for a man she has not thought about for ten years. She starts to doubt her love for her husband Quinn; but what if it was meant to be, should she trust her head or her heart?
This was such a clever story idea. Julie leaves you constantly wondering what it is that is causing Felicity to experience this powerful smell, and overwhelming feelings of love for another man. Not once did I manage to get it right despite having lots of guesses running through my head.
What particularly made this novel so wonderful for me was Julie's beautiful descriptions that were just so utterly perfect. It made the book unputdownable and meant that I finished (sadly) a lot quicker than I thought I would. What was also wonderfully done was that the reader gets to see Quinn and the man that Felicity thinks she is in love with points of view. It gives you a deeper understanding of the story and actually makes it all the more emotional.
I found Where Love Lies incredibly heart-wrenching, especially where Quinn is concerned. He loves Felicity dearly and is the perfect husband, so it was heartbreaking to read about her doubts for her love for him. However on the same level I wanted Felicity to be happy and also the other man. It was hard reading to find out the ending as I just wanted everything to work out alright.
Overall this was a heartwrenching, emotional story that I absolutely loved.
Thursday, 31 July 2014
Guest Book Review: Julie Cohen - Where Love Lies
Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Lately, Felicity just can't shake a shadow of uncertainty. Her husband Quinn is the kindest person she knows and loves her peculiarities more than Felicity feels she deserves. But suddenly it's as if she doesn't quite belong.
Then Felicity experiences something extraordinary: a scent of perfume in the air which evokes memories that have been settled within her for a long time, untouched and undisturbed. As it happens again and again, the memories of a man Felicity hasn't seen for ten years also flutter to the surface. And so do the feelings of being deeply, exquisitely in love . . .
Overwhelmed and bewildered by her emotions, Felicity tries to resist sinking blissfully into the past. But what if something truly isn't as it should be? What if her mind has been playing tricks on her heart?
Which would you trust?
Amazon links: Kindle or Hardcover
In ‘Where Love Lies’ Julie Cohen has written a beautiful, moving, thought provoking story focusing on the themes of love, loss and family relationships. This is not a light-hearted chick lit read but a novel in which Julie Cohen has cemented herself as a go to author for me as she deals with the themes of the novel in a deep and insightful way . The writing is outstanding, numerous times I had to stop and reread sentences because Julie has just such an unbelievable way with words. To be honest there were several quotes I just wanted to write down and frame because they rang so true for me.
The novel focuses on three main characters Felicity, Quinn and Ewan. Felicity and Quinn have been married for just over a year and live in the village where Quinn grew up –Tallingford. One evening Felicity is on her way to meet Quinn for dinner when something unusual happens, she smells a strange scent which takes her back to her past-frangipani .She searches for the source of the scent but reaches a dead end. From here on more odd things happen to Felicity that cause her to question her relationship with Quinn , she had already felt uneasy maybe that she had rushed into marriage and she wasn’t good enough to deserve such a loyal and caring husband.
Soon Felicity realises that the scent of frangipani is giving her an overwhelming feeling of love for her former flame Ewan and this turns her world upside down- should she have stayed with Ewan or was she destined to be with Quinn? She embarks upon a search for answers and moves to London for something breathing space where she locates Ewan who is at a critical turning point after several unhappy incidents cause him to question everything in his life. Felicity and Ewan are two lost souls at this point struggling to find their way and this overwhelming feeling of love that keeps emerging; she has to make a decision should she follow her head or her heart?
Several times I really wanted to shake Felicity for abandoning Quinn who was loving, caring , supportive and so understanding. Yes, his family may have been trying but that is all part and parcel of being in a relationship. Half way through the novel we discover what is causing these emotions of pure love and I certainly did not see that twist coming and it explained alot of Felicity’s actions and made me want to reread the first half of the book considering everything that had happened in a different light.
Overall ‘Where Love Lies ‘is a stunning achievement, which raises plenty of questions surrounding love and that question which should we trust our head or our heart? Buy it now you won’t be disappointed.
I'd like to thank Emma for reviewing this eBook for me which we received from the publisher via NetGalley.
Monday, 19 October 2015
Book Review - Where Love Lies by Julie Cohen - Rachel Reads Randomly Book #4
Amazon UK
Title: Where Love Lies
Author: Julie Cohen
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Purchased
Publisher: Black Swan
Publication Date: 12th February 2015
Rating: 4.5 Stars
When Felicity steps off the train on the way to meet her husband, she is so sure of everything. Where she is heading, what she will eat at the restaurant, the first words her husband will say when she arrives, their life together.
Then she catches a scent of perfume in the air. Forgotten emotions rush to the surface, memories of another man she loved years ago.
As it happens again and again, Felicity begins to make decisions that no one can understand. What is happening to her? Is she losing a part of herself, or finding one?
How can she truly know where love lies?
I was intrigued and hooked by this book from the first few pages. I lost large periods of time, at a time, while absorbed in the story. At times I wasn't really sure what the point of the book was, but yet I wanted to continue reading, and see what would happen.
What really fascinated me was how Felicity kept smelling a specific scent, and at first she was convinced it was her mother sending a sign, and then she realises that it belonged to her first love. We get flash backs to when she first meets, this man, and its a very intense feeling, and was all encompassing.
It really does show how complex the brain can be, where a certain scent can bring a long forgotten memory right to the front.
During the period of time of the story, Felicity is trying to work out is what she keeps smelling and remembering real, does she really have feelings for her first love, or is her husband enough for her.
We have some chapters from Quinn, her husbands point of view, and you can sense he on some levels thinks either that Felicity is weird or there is something up with her, but he is clearly besotted by her, and the surprise anniversary gift was very thoughtful and romantic. Quinn just tries his hardest to please his wife.
We also have chapters from the point of view of the old boyfriend, and they at first are quite dark in content, and its clear the young man has had a troubled life.
Where Love Lies is split into three very distinct parts, each of them with a slightly different feel and bias to the story.
Felicity has some very tough decisions to make, and there is only so long she can bury her head in the sand about it all. I just wanted to know more about these smell memories, and you do get an explanation during the book for them.
Where Love Lies is a brilliant book, which is as interesting as it is serious, and gives you a lot of food for thought.
REVIEW ~ WHERE LOVE LIES BY JULIE COHEN.
Title: Where Love Lies.
Author: Julie Cohen.
Publisher: Transworld.
Genre: Women's Fiction.
Publication Date: July 31, 2014.
Source: Netgalley.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.
Purchase: Amazon UK
Lately, Felicity just can’t shake a shadow of uncertainty. Her husband Quinn is the kindest person she knows and loves her peculiarities more than Felicity feels she deserves. But suddenly it’s as if she doesn’t quite belong.
Then Felicity experiences something extraordinary: a scent of perfume in the air which evokes memories that have been settled within her for a long time, untouched and undisturbed. As it happens again and again, the memories of a man Felicity hasn’t seen for ten years also flutter to the surface. And so do the feelings of being deeply, exquisitely in love . . .
Overwhelmed and bewildered by her emotions, Felicity tries to resist sinking blissfully into the past. But what if something truly isn’t as it should be? What if her mind has been playing tricks on her heart?
Which would you trust?
Where Love Lies is the first Julie Cohen book I’ve ever read and what an incredible author I’ve been missing out on. This book was simply stunning – a fascinating, gripping plot pieced together cleverly and always heart-wrenching and beautiful to read.
Felicity is married to the seemingly perfect Quinn, who’s loving, devoted and faultlessly loyal to her. But doubts are there for Felicity, doubts which make her feel like her love for Quinn isn’t enough and even stronger than that is a scent, one which gives her the feeling of the deepest love, only not directed towards her husband but towards Ewan, a lover from her past. This was an extraordinary concept and I loved how Julie made me feel for all three of these characters – none of them are built up so the reader is forced to dislike them and it was made so easy to connect with them all and want the best for them.
I sympathised with Quinn because he tried so hard to make Felicity happy and his love was so genuine but this didn’t make me resent Ewan one bit. Ewan’s emotions and his past were written in an exquisite manner – in fact learning his story was one of my favourite parts of this book and I did have a lump in my throat reading bits of it. Felicity herself was such an interesting character and I found her easy to like. Seeing how out of control her feelings were and being left in suspense as to how things had got that way and how things were going to turn out – it was a really thought-provoking concept which gradually became more and more flawless to read.
The novel is written in three parts and we get the story from the perspective of all three main characters. Each part was more spectacular than the one before and although I found it difficult to stop reading this book from the first chapter, by the third part it was practically impossible. Julie’s descriptive writing of Felicity’s feelings and memories and the way she reacted was just a joy to read. The gorgeous, charming writing makes me believe that this is a special novel and one I’ll never read anything like again. It was one of the most captivating stories I’ve ever read and definitely one of my favourites. That I never quite knew where this book was going left me a little broken for each of the characters at individual points but I am still completely in love with this novel.
BOOK REVIEW: WHERE LOVE LIES – JULIE COHEN
April 30, 2015
18586485
To the outside world Felicity has the perfect life, a job as a children’s author and illustrator, a lovely home in a small village and a doting husband most women would dream of. Underneath all of this though, Felicity is struggling. After the loss of her mother something hasn’t felt right but one day she catches a scent she hasn’t smelt in years…could it be her mother? Following her senses has never been more risky as it all comes down to following her head or her heart.
The novel revolves around love, loss and questioning yourself. As Felicity struggles with what she knows is right and what she feels it leads us as a reader to question our own lives. It is also very important to recognise that Felicity is on her own, the mother she adored has gone, she’s never known her father and feels suffocated by the expectations that life in a small village have put on her. After the whole village seems to know that her and husband Quinn have even considered having a baby (something which she hasn’t even decided on yet) her feelings of not belonging come to the surface again.
The fact that Cohen has also used multiple POV’s makes this go further than the chick lit title that some have given it (you are WRONG this novel goes further than that!) seeing both Quinn and Felicity’s side opens up a whole new set of questions and feelings towards the characters. I fell in love with both of the characters and it spurred me to read constantly, Cohen has an incredible knack of making you know something isn’t quite right but giving you no clue as to the real answer!
After reading Dear Thing, I was hooked by Cohen’s talent and eagerly waited for Where Love Lies, as I suspected Cohen didn’t disappoint. The novel focuses on the fine lines of love that we sometimes forget, the hazy days of a first love and the realities of settling down. While Felicities’ feelings are confusing and at times hard to understand you live through them with her and are just as desperate as she is to work out what is going on.
Although I can’t spoil it for you, the ending of this novel is absolutely spectacular and so well researched. To top it all off it’s something that you would never suspect and if anything can be slightly chilling as well as an interesting perspective. There is a worry of mine that when a novel builds steadily throughout the reveal will disappoint but I can assure you Where Love Lies is completely worth the wait and the suspense.
I’m giving this novel 5 stars *****. Although initially I wondered how this would work and worried it could be just a romance Cohen has crafted something inspiring with Where Love Lies, the novel makes you think, question and follows you for a long time after you have finished. I think quirky Felicity and loveable Quinn will live in my memory for a long time, and so will the ending but you’ll find out why once you read it yourself!