Lessons in Heartbreak

Title: LESSONS IN HEARTBREAK
Author: Cathy Kelly
Publisher: Downtown Press
2008
ISBN: 978-1-4165-8624-1
Genre: contemporary

Izzie Silver is a booking agent in a successful New York modeling agency. A larger woman in a field of tall women who wear size 0, Izzie is satisfied with her size 10, even though that makes her a rarity in the fashion field. She dreams of someday opening her own agency—for plus-sized models.

When Izzie meets Joe, he turns her life upside down. Izzie had always prided herself on being in control, of life, her job, her relationships, but Joe monopolized her thoughts and dreams since the moment she met him. But he is married. Izzie had never dreamed of falling in love with a married man, and she is devastated when she finds out. And she can’t possibly tell her family about the new man in her life.

The family matriarch, Lily, also has secrets. Will the family be torn apart if the secrets ever come to light? Or will they have the courage to face the heartbreak—and the joy?

LESSONS IN HEARTBREAK is written by award winning Cathy Kelly. I haven’t read any of her other books, but I notice she is quite acclaimed. I wasn’t very impressed with the writing. Ms. Kelly seemed to write in both the characters point of view, and narrator’s point of view, shifting without warning to one or the other, which kept throwing me out of the story.

The characters are quite well-developed, and the writing style is beautiful, using flowery descriptions to set the scene and even describe the characters. Her characters are down-to-earth, real people that the reader can’t help but relate to.