A vintage necklace. A long-hidden secret. A second chance for love.From a USA Today bestselling author.When costume designer Ariana Ricci leaves her groom at the altar, she seeks solace at the Palm Springs home of her great-aunt, a Texas-born Hollywood legend who began her career as an extra on the film Roman Holiday. While opening yellowed, 1950s letters postmarked Italy, Ariana discovers relics … postmarked Italy, Ariana discovers relics from her great-aunt’s hidden past, including an intriguing necklace that Audrey Hepburn gave her during the filming of the movie.
Aching for a fresh start and the chance to resolve an unfinished story, the two embark on a journey to the sun-dappled shores of Lake Como, Italy that will illuminate secrets of a bygone era and offer second chances to each of them—if they are bold enough to seize them.
From Jan Moran, a USA Today bestselling author of romantic women’s fiction, including The Chocolatier, comes a dual-timeline, multigenerational saga of love and second chances at any age. Also enjoy her contemporary Summer Beach series and the historical novels, The Winemakers and The Perfumer: Scent of Triumph. Hepburn’s Necklace is available in ebook, trade paperback, audiobook, hardcover, and large print editions. Get swept away with this mesmerizing family saga now.
REVIEWS
“An ode to the magic of Lake Como past and present, Hepburn’s Necklace sails between the set of Roman Holiday in 1952, and two complicated romances that blossom on the beautiful lake across two different generations. As sparkling as a Bellini, this novel of family secrets, lost love, and discovering one’s strength will transport you to Italy and leave you enchanted.” — Kristin Harmel, New York Times Bestselling author of The Book of Lost Names
Second chances, twists of fate, and a glittering Lake Como backdrop combine to create Jan Moran’s latest stunning read. Weaving back and forth through time, Moran creates an epic tale of love and loss that can’t help but make readers question what might have been. With lyrical prose and unforgettable characters, HEPBURN’S NECKLACE proves that Jan Moran is a writer at the top of her game and a storyteller to remember. — Kristy Woodson Harvey, USA Today Bestselling author of Feels Like Falling
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What a joy to read this creatively imagined story, set in the 1950s – when Katharine Hepburn was a queen of Hollywood – and spanning the next 50 years. The novel is not about Hepburn, but about a necklace she gives the protagonist that links the story to a romance. The characters were richly portrayed, the story addicting, and the Lake Como setting quite enticing. And I loved the ending!
I absolutely love this author! I have enjoyed many of her books and continue to look forward to new ones. I definitely recommend it!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The main character in this story is Ruby Raines and the story goes back and forth through events in her life, focusing on the start of her acting career in 1952 and then her current life in 2010. She grew up on a ranch in Texas and her father expected her to marry a neighbouring rancher, just like her older sister Patricia, but ever since she saw her first movie, she had her heart set on becoming an actress. A contact of her aunt Vivienne managed to get her a bit part in the film Roman Holiday, which was filming in Rome, and her father allowed her two years before she had to settle down. She was only seventeen, but her parents made her age eighteen on her passport, when they applied for it, so she could travel without a chaperone, something they couldn’t afford! ON this first film, starring Audrey Hepburn and other famous actors, she ended up standing in for Audrey when the director needed lighting checked, and she would watch everything the director did. She meets another extra on the film, Niccolo, and they start going out with each other whenever they manage to get time off the set.
Ruby finds out her parents and sister are still struggling, with a lack of rain to help keep their cattle alive, after yet another bad year and she has to return to Hollywood, to try and audition for more parts. She tries writing to Niccolo, but their letters to each other seem to come to an abrupt stop and she never knew what happened to him. She gets a major role as a pioneer woman and even wins her first award for her acting. More auditions follow, but she has to take a bit of personal time. One thing she doesn’t want to miss is the premiere of Roman Holiday, where she gets to walk the red carpet and see Audrey Hepburn, all the other stars and crew of the film. Audrey had given her a gift of a necklace she bought on a whim in a small shop whilst they were filming, but gave it to Ruby, saying it suited her better. It is something she has always worn. Her career takes off and she manages to help out her parents and sister, but not without some issues between them, when she refuses to marry the neighbour and has her own surprise to add to the mix, which causes some eruptions. 1950’s film stars had very strict moral clauses and even weight limits they had to adhere to and when a jealous co-star tries to make some money passing on some gossip to the press, it causes a problem for Ruby which only becomes clear almost sixty years later.
In the later part of the story, Ruby visits Rome and Lake Como, places she last saw in the 1950’s, and impulsively purchases a small partly derelict villa and arranges to have it done up, so she can move in. She invites her great niece Ariana Ricci to come with her after she walks away from her groom at the wedding altar, and she helps her decide on all the upgrades and furnishings. Ariana’s boss finds out she isn’t on her honeymoon and insists she returns to work immediately, which pushes her to finally give up the job she hasn’t enjoyed ever since he took over as the boss. Now Ruby pushes her to meet someone else and also to follow her heart about what she would really like to do as a career. She finds her aunt has loads of memorabilia from her time in Italy all those years ago, things that she has never thrown out, so must have had some serious sentimental value. Both embark on a voyage of discovery that uncovers secrets of the past and also gives them both a second chance for a happy future, if they are brave enough to grasp them. Another wonderful tale of love, loss and second chances, with lots of secrets and some heartache along the way, spread over a sixty year period. You get drawn into the characters personal stories and can’t wait to see what will happen with each of them. I can’t get enough of this author’s books! I received an ARC copy of this book from BookSprout and I have freely given my own opinion of the book above.
Nothing Much Happening for Too Long
This is a proper novel-length story, greater than 100K words. Unfortunately, the author chose to make a slow and somewhat confusing start. She was creative with her info-dumping, but their first 10% was mostly that with very little action of any note. Like most readers, I am not a fan of info dumps (though authors seem to love them) because authors need to show not tell… and info dumps are always telling. I actually became bored and even a little confused at all the threads that included the older lady’s present story, her past story, and her great-niece’s story. Even a novel needs to have a moving engine from the beginning to spark interest, and this one did not.
I received a free copy of this book, but that did not affect my review.
Hepburn´s Necklace is a unique love story that describes the fifties in full – moral code, communication difficulties, beautiful places not yet invaded by tourists, beautiful clothes, and food. It also brings that same scenery to our days with the same passion and richness in detail of places, clothes, foods, beverages, people. How can two lovers be set apart and deceived for such a long time? How can a family hold a secret for so long? How can that secret affect so deeply the life of two people and their families? Well, it is all explained at the ending of this beautiful story by Jan Moran, but be prepared, the descriptions of places and food are so beautiful that they will make you crave Italian food and a trip to Lake Cuomo. Really entertaining!!!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I’ve read several books written by Jan Moran; she has done a great job at writing a good book; she is becoming one of my favorite authors. I can’t wait to read more of her books.
The story line caught my attention at the very beginning and kept me interested throughout the entire book.
I received a free copy of this book via booksprout and I’m voluntarily leaving a review.
Jan Moran has done it again!! She wrote a beautiful story of love over the years. Ruby wants to show her niece Ariana happiness, love and adventure. When Ariana leaves her groom at the altar, she goes to Lake Como in Italy with Ruby. The descriptions of the area make you want to be there. I didn’t want this story to end. What a great story!!