CHANGE OF HEART is the first book that I've read by Jude Deveraux (I know, have I been under a rock somewhere?). I also haven't read the novella, The Matchmakers, that this novel is based upon, so I didn't have any pre-conceived ideas or expectations. Based on what I've read in this book, it is not likely to be the last book I read by this author.

It's a story of the phases people go through until they find where they belong and whom they belong with. It's not actually one story. The first part of the book is about Miranda Stowe and Frank Taggert. They find each other through the intercession of two do-gooder children. Eli Harcourt wants his mother, Miranda, to be taken care of and to be happy. She dreams of a love like the ones in the romance books she reads. So, when Eli makes friends with a billionaire widower, Frank, he thinks he has found the answer. He and his best friend, Chelsea Hamilton cook up a scheme to hopefully get Frank and Miranda together.

Years later, the storyline switches to the matchmakers themselves. The once best friends have grown apart through the years and have taken different paths. Fickle-hearted Chelsea and steadfast Eli agree to meet and try to catch up on their friendship...or so Chelsea thinks. It has never just been about friendship for Eli. His heart has never changed. He hopes to convince her that she belongs with him forever.

The heart is supposedly a fickle thing. People get distracted by others' physical beauty and look no deeper. Sometimes they ignore what their hearts are telling them and lose their chance of happiness. CHANGE OF HEART by Jude Deveraux explores these ideas in touching, amusing, and exciting ways. It's never too late to find love...that is the message that beats steadily through this story...