About book What The Heart Knows: A Milford Haven Novel, Book One (The Milford Haven Novels) (2011)
This is the first in a series about a fictional town located on California's Central Coast, Milford-Haven. There is an introductory novella, "When Hummers Dream," where the main character, Miranda Jones is introduced.In "What the Heart Knows," more residents and characters are introduced and some background information is provided. There are a lot of loose ends at the end, which means I have to get the next book, "Where the Heart Lives."This book started as a radio series, which explains some of the episodic structure. Point-of-View changes with each chapter, but it's not confusing. And I can begin to see how these characters are related (some don't know they are)--provided Ms. Purl doesn't pull a fast one.Ms. Purl does capture much of the ambiance of small Central Coast towns, where San Luis Obispo is considered a "city." There is a LOT of detailed description--do I really need to know that the sheets are "leaf-patterned"? Some detail, such as a "Donna Karan dress," is a short-hand for the type of character. Some is superfluous, in my opinion. I would have rather had a bit more action or interaction.This book is like living in a small town, where everyone has secrets and tangled relationships. Fun to visit, especially vicariously.
Knowing this is the first of a series, I am eager to read the next book. I'm happy to get lost in a romantic soap opera story with multi-layered characters weaving a tangled web of who-knows-what; who's-out-to-get-whom and who-ends-up-with-whom!! The twists and turns keep you turning the page. There are many characters, but the author develops them clearly. There is anticipation of hearing more from certain characters in the rest of the series. I've been to the Central Coast of California and immediately fell in love with the area. Mara Purl cleverly and creatively recreates the landscape and charm of the fictional Milford-Haven which closely resembles that of the real quaint town of Cambria.
Do You like book What The Heart Knows: A Milford Haven Novel, Book One (The Milford Haven Novels) (2011)?
Terrible. The author lovingly describes the expensive brand-name things owned by characters in the novel and obviously thinks this substitutes for actual character development. And, as others have noted, the book is padded with notes and book club questions and lengthy acknowledgements, leaving no room for resolution of even one of the many characters' situations. This is transparently a device to get you to buy the next padded, overwritten book in the series. Pass on the rest of this contrived series.
—Nancy L.
This is an introductory book to the Milford-Haven series & while I found it enjoyable enough, I don't have a burning desire to get right to the next in the series. The murder mystery (which was the draw in reading this for me) was tied up well enough but I mostly felt that this was all just to set the stage for the next in the series. I did enjoy the feel of the setting. I love sleepy seaside hamlets & felt the author did a very good job giving a sense of place. There are quite a few characters to keep up with & it felt like I was being introduced to the whole town in a flurry, whether or not they were really relevant to the mystery. Honestly, I didn't commit all the characters to memory because I was more focused on the dead reporter resolution. Even so, I feel that this wrapped up well enough to be satisfying even as a standalone if you decide not to read the remainder of the series. This is a light enough read for the weekend or while travelling.
—Anissa
