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Sunshine, secrets, and swoon-worthy stories—June's featured reads are your perfect summer escape.

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He doesn�t need a woman in his life; she knows he can�t live without her.


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A promise rekindled. A secret revealed. A second chance at the family they never had.


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A cowboy with a second chance. A waitress with a hidden gift. And a small town where love paints a brand-new beginning.


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She�s racing for a prize. He�s dodging romance. Together, they might just cross the finish line to love.


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She steals from the mob for justice. He�s the FBI agent who could take her down�or fall for her instead.


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He�s her only protection. She�s carrying his child. Together, they must outwit a killer before time runs out.


Love Will Tear Us Apart

Love Will Tear Us Apart, September 2005
by Tara McCarthy

Downstream Publishing
Featuring: Flora and Fauna Sparks; Sloan Madden
320 pages
ISBN: 1416503242
Trade Size
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"Unusual storyline with unique characters."

Fresh Fiction Review

Love Will Tear Us Apart
Tara McCarthy

Reviewed by Meghan Fryett
Posted August 12, 2005

Contemporary Chick Lit

Tanned, toned, blonde and gorgeous -- just a few of the characteristics that describe the Grammy-winning pop duo, the Sparks Sisters. These barely legal twins have another not-so-secret trait -- they were born conjoined at the spine. Flora and Fauna Sparks have shot to the top of the charts with their tongue-in-check dance hits, Love Will Tear Us Apart, Cutting You Loose and I'm Beside Myself. With their 18th birthday looming and their first foray into adulthood, is there anything these pop princesses can't do? Celebrity journalist Sloan Madden has been hand-picked to write the twins' upcoming biography. Sloan prefers her music without sugar, favoring artists like Travis, Björk and Morrissey. How will she ever write an entire book without her eyes permanently rolled to the back of her head? To aide in her research, Sloan moves into the twins' multi-million dollar symmetrical mansion appropriately named "The Joint." As she starts her research, she hopes to tactfully ask the twins her Tough Questions (Have they had sex? How does that work? How will one get married and have kids while the other one wants to travel around the world and be the "cool aunt?"). Instead, she stumbles across much larger questions, like what is their father's deep dark secret, and just why exactly did their mother abandon them hours after their birth? My initial reaction to this plot was complete skepticism -- why would anyone want to read about conjoined twins with preposterous names like Flora and Fauna who also just happen to be a popular singing sensation in the vein of Britney and Christina? The freak show factor actually helped draw me into the story, much like a reality television show. LOVE WILL TEAR US APART is spellbinding with its fourth-wall awareness of how ridiculous the L.A. lifestyle and the music industry can be.

Learn more about Love Will Tear Us Apart

SUMMARY

Two's Company When 35-year-old celebrity journalist Sloan Madden is asked to write a biography of Grammy-winning pop princesses Flora and Fauna Sparks -- sexy seventeen-year-old Siamese twins who are joined at the hip -- she thinks it'll be an easy, lucrative gig. But as soon as she takes the job, Sloan discovers that the Sparks sisters' empire hides deep cracks. She's barely signed her book contract before Fauna confesses her secret dream: she wants to record a solo album. Three's a Crowd Moving into a guest suite at the Joint -- the symmetrical Beverly Hills home the twins share with their Bud-sucking father, Fred -- perpetually single Sloan can't help but start to view her own life differently. Suddenly everything from the affair she's having with debonair screenwriter Brian Understahl, to her unrequited love for her best friend, Travis, to herodd, burgeoning desire for the twins' troubled father leaves her wondering whether couplehood isn't overrated -- whether there isn't something more to life. But redemption comes at a price. And with Flora and Fauna pulling her into their downward spiral of catfights, career sabotage, drug abuse, sex, and jealousy, Sloan stands to lose as much as she has to gain.


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