This Hollywood romance from Terrill (The Dragonhorse Chronicles) blends a dishy Pygmalion-style plot hook, winning dialogue from its actor/pianist narrator, and a strong sense of emotional and moral weight as that actor falls for novelist P.K. Tyler, a woman of extraordinary talent, strength, and beauty who holds fast to her marriage to a distant, abusive husband. Emmy-winning actor Peter “Bud” Aarons is flattered to discover that Tyler’s steamy but thoughtful bestseller was written with him in mind, and upon meeting her to discuss the possibility of starring in a film adaptation, he stipulates two unusual conditions: that they collaborate on the screenplay, and that she play the female lead. Shy but radiant, P.K.—whose real name is Philippa—agrees to consider playing the role. As she and Bud get to work, her husband, Frank, becomes more controlling—and even violent.

The slow courtship that follows finds the pair discovering each other’s literal scars as Philippa considers a new life and Bud discovers he wants more than empty sex he’d been enjoying before meeting her. But she’s devoted to Frank, and Bud’s an old-school, old-money gentleman. “When keen eyed, keen witted Philippa Tyler stands square in my face, convinces me she’s got this all worked out, and says ‘kiss me, you fool’, she’d better look out,” he declares, refusing an invitation to a kiss when she’s at her lowest moment. Bud professes not to be a dashing sex symbol, but Philippa’s descriptions of him—and his quick-witted, screwball-style dialogue—bring to mind Cary Grant.

The novel’s present is in the recent past—Philippa works out to a Jane Fonda videotape—but the stereotypical dialogue of Bud’s cook Glory would strike a sour note in any era. Terrill’s novel doesn’t dramatize the screenwriting process, or the countless intimate choices that work demands, though readers will get a convincing and comic depiction of the filming of a love scene. The pace is unhurried but the ending satisfying.

Takeaway: Thoughtful Hollywood romance between novelist and actor.

Comparable Titles: Katie Rose Pryal’s Entanglement, Nora Roberts’s Tribute.

Production grades
Cover: B+
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: B+
Marketing copy: A