Duke McMahon was a brilliant actor and falling in love with Minnie completed him. When Duke returned from the war, it was to a woman who'd turned cold and distant. So he started having affairs, trying to shock Minnie into some sort of reaction. Even though Duke hurt her, Minnie had been groomed to be a lady, and it wasn't dignified to show outward emotion.

Several years later, after their children, Pete and Laurie, are grown, Duke moves his current mistress, Caroline, into the house. Minnie is crushed, but she doesn't leave him. His children hate him and Duke feels the same toward them. When Caroline delivers a son, Duke treats Hunter the same as he does his other children -- as though they don't exist. Pete and Laurie hate Hunter and are not afraid to show it. Then Pete and his wife, Claire, have a daughter, Siena, a year later. Though Duke never showed his own children any love, he can't get enough of Siena, who grows up thinking Duke is the greatest person on earth.

Hunter and Siena spend their early years together loving each other and growing very close. Hunter's best friend, Max, and Siena fight like cats and dogs and Hunter often finds himself being a mediator. When Duke dies of a heart attack, spoiled, out-of-control Siena is sent away to boarding school in England, while Caroline and Hunter are turned out of the house.

Several years later, Siena goes into modeling instead of going to Oxford to become a doctor and is disowned from the family. Running into Max at a party, they share a few jabs at each other, but Siena turns serious when Max mentions he lives with Hunter. While in L.A. to work on her first movie, Siena and Hunter are reunited. She isn't happy when she learns he has a serious girl friend, but agrees to move in with him and Max. Hunter is blind to Siena's scheming, spoiled behavior and once again finds himself being the mediator. It doesn't take long before Max and Siena act on their attraction. Their magical love affair is destroyed when Max leaves the house angry because of Siena's behavior and ends up cheating on her while he's drunk. Both are overcome with grief, but Siena won't give Max a chance to explain.

Over the course of the next year, Max has moves back to London to work on a play and help his brother on his farm. Siena gets involved with Randall Stein, an older man and legendary producer. Randall promises to help Siena in her acting career, so she moves in with him. After a year of mental abuse, Randall finally becomes physically abusive, disfiguring and scarring Siena's beautiful face. Realizing she never loved Randall and has only loved Max in her entire life, Siena is afraid he won't love her now with her looks destroyed. Max hasn't been sleeping or eating well for some time, and he knows it's because he can't stop thinking about his beloved Siena.

ADORED is one of the best stories I've read in a long time. This debut novel reminded me more of a made-for-TV movie. I was totally wrapped up in the drama and seductiveness of it, loving and hating characters and often talking to myself when I was angry at some of their behavior. I highly recommend this story and am sure you won't be disappointed.