Story Description:
St. Martin’s
Press|March 26, 2013|Trade Paperback|ISBN: 978-0-312-64333-1
Cassie Blake seems
to lead a charmed life as the heiress to Fenton’s, San Francisco’s most
exclusive department store. But when she
discovers her husband, Aidan a handsome UC Berkeley professor, has had an
affair with a student, she flees to the comfort of her best friend Alexis’s
Presidio Heights mansion, where she wonders if she should give their marriage
one more chance.
Whether or not she
can forgive Aidan is not the only choice Cassie has to make. Cassie’s mother is eager to have her oversee
the opening of Fenton’s new Food Emporium, which Fenton’s hopes will become San
Francisco’s hottest gourmet shopping destination. Cassie’s true passion has always been food,
not fashion, and Cassie suspects her mother might be trying to lure her into
the Fenton’s fold by entrusting her with such an exciting opportunity. And then there is James, the architect
designing the Emporium, who is quietly falling in love with her….
My Review:
Cassie Blake,
heiress to Fenton’s Department store in San Francisco, and her best friend,
Alexis, were standing at the jewellery counter admiring a new line of
necklaces, pendants, and rings. A young
girl approached and said she needed to make a return because she needed the
money. She was a student at UC Berkeley
and money was tight for her. Cassie
asked the young student if she had a receipt but the girl said no, that it was
a gift and maybe Cassie would have the credit card receipt on file. The girl said: “The name was Blake, Aidan
Blake.” Cassie was a bit stunned and
replied: “Excuse me.” The student
repeated: “Aidan Blake, Professor Aidan Blake actually…” Aidan Blake was Cassie’s husband! Was he having an affair with a student or did
he just purchase jewellery for all his female students for Christmas? Alexis tried to calm, Cassie down and
suggested they go up to her mother’s office where they could talk. Alexis reminded Cassie that she and Aidan had
been married for almost ten years, so there had to be a reasonable
explanation.
After some talking
and bantering back and forth, Alexis finally convinced Cassie to take the gift
box home, pour a glass of Chardonnay, show Aidan the box, and ask him where it
came from. Cassie went down to the
parking garage and headed home.
When Cassie
arrived home, Aidan was just finishing up his shower and then came into the
kitchen. After exchanging hello’s,
Cassie tossed the Fenton’s gift box on the kitchen counter and related the
story of the young student who had showed up at the store with it today. Aidan didn’t deny he had given the gift to
the twenty-one-year-old Molly Payne and the story he gave Cassie seemed
perfectly plausible. They cooked dinner
and then spent the evening together cuddled up on the sofa listening to the
Beatles.
Cassie has a lot
to keep herself busy these days. Her
mother wants to open a food emporium on the basement floor of the department
store. This wouldn’t be just any old
food place, but one that was not only designed and decorated to the nines, but
one that sold fresh, locally grown and organic produce, cheese, bread, and
wines. Her mother wanted to attract a
younger clientele and had hired an architect who specializes in the interior
design of restuarants. The restaurant would
even have a counter where you could sample the produce, and perhaps even have a
chef who would demonstrate various recipes using different vegetables. Cassie’s mother wants her to run and be in
charge of this new food emporium, but this would mean Cassie would have to give
up volunteering at the Edible Schoolyard and that is something Cassie doesn’t
want to do.
While grocery
shopping, Cassie ran into Molly Payne who recognized, Cassie right away. She thanked her for giving her the money when
she returned the pendant to the store and said she’d purchased a micro-wave
with the money. Molly then launched into
this big spiel about growing up in Oregon and how her parents weren’t happy she’d
come to school at UC Berkeley. Molly
then said the professors were all so nice and that she’d made muffins for her
ethics professor, Aidan Blake, and bought a red lacy bra and panties to go
along with the muffins. Cassie was just
about sick and left her grocery cart and headed for her car. Once home she sat in the dark waiting for,
Aidan. When he arrived home, Cassie
confronted him about the muffins and the red bra and panties. Aidan admitted to having sex with Molly once
at her apartment. Cassie gathered her
coat and said she was leaving, she was going to stay with Alexis for a while
until she figured out if she still had a husband or not.
Cassie is so hurt
by this devastating news and my heart just ached for her. I wanted to put my arms around her and hug
her. Feeling betrayed is such an
unpleasant emotion to endure.
Does Cassie go
back to Aidan or does she strike out on her own? You’ll just have to read the book to find
out. And, what about the food
emporium? Does Cassie give up her
volunteer job, a place and job she loves with all her heart?
Market Street was well-written and the
character development was exemplary.
The close relationship between Cassie and Alexis is rare. They had been friends since grade school and
could talk about anything and everything together, from sex to food to buying
new cars. The storyline kept me turning
page after page after page. Anita Hughes
is a gifted and talented storyteller with an uncanny ability to find the true
emotions in all of us.
The beautifully
described foods and fashions were so well depicted that I could picture in my
mind’s eye exactly what everything looked like. Market
Street was a scrumptiously delicious novel in more ways than one and gets a
huge thumbs up from me. Thank you Ms.
Hughes for a sweet, tender, and emotional read!
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