His Every Kiss

Good story. Guhrke writes beautiful endings that bring tears to my eyes, however, the story seemed to end rather abruptly and a little too cleanly. Still, I enjoyed the characters and the writing. ( )

His Every Kiss started with a bang and ended with a whimper - after a sagging middle. Dylan Moore is a fascinating character - a man of genius, a composer, an artist. After a riding accident, however, he's been afflicted with a ringing in his ears that interferes with his art. He hasn't composed anything for five years and when the book opens is on the verge of madness. The author does a great job with his character, I think. It may be a bit stereotypical - the temperamental, egotistical, slightly unhinged artist personality - but still very credible. Whenever we see Dylan at his work, composing and playing music, it's evident how much his music means to him, how much it defines and consumes him.

If only his interactions with the heroine were so powerful. Their relationship starts out promising enough. She seems like a strong woman - wounded at the outset from misadventures in love with another similar artist figure: her departed husband Etienne Cheval, a famous painter who led her a merry life on the continent for a while before turning nasty and breaking her heart. Needless to say, Grace Cheval is wary of artists and not enthusiastic about the prospect of another man mistaking her for his muse, which is exactly what Dylan does when he first sees her.

All this sounds great to me. So what went wrong? I think it has something to do with the introduction of Dylan's daughter, Isabel - a musical prodigy and the by blow from one of his many affairs. She shows up on his doorstep one day and he has to take her in. Supposedly an eight year old, she talks like she's twenty. I just couldn't handle it. If it's not one extreme (the kids talking like deranged Elmer Fudds) it's the other. I found her very annoying. Inevitably, it seems, Grace ends up as the daughter's governess, and everything went downhill from there. Together, Isabel and Grace manage to save Dylan from himself and reclaim him from his wastrel, rakehell ways. That's what the story boils down to - the undermining of a powerful personality who is slowly won around to the idea of how wrong his life is and has always been before his discovery of the joys of fatherhood and marriage. I guess I expected the book to be more than a reformed rake tale, and so ended up being disappointed. I was still able to enjoy the book, though, so I'll give it four stars for the readable prose. ( )

Dylan Moore is an artistic, passionate character. I would love to see a book about his daughter, Isabel, some day. ( )

Ms Guhrke has done it again. It is a wonder to watch 2 people fall in love. Character development is great, Isabel is a delight, Dylan was a beautifully tormented hero and Grace was lovely. There were some lovely and tender moments, and some lines that could make you melt. Don't know if I'd buy it but it's great for a mooch or to borrow. ( )

I swallowed this one whole - lucky it was my day off!! I started at breakfast, read at lunch, after lunch, with afternoon tea and then all evening until 10 pm when (with hanky in hand) I finished.
What can I say? It was superb, flawlessly written, full of multi-dimensional characters who fought with one another but also loved one another desperately, even if they couldn't always show it.
Dylan Moore has a constant, horrific ringing in his ears after a bad fall. He was a magnificent pianist, composer and conductor. The "noise" as he calls it, is so bad, he goes to the deserted concert hall to shoot himself. A beautiful violinist, claiming to be a charwoman, stops him and says he should live. He may be needed for something more important later in life.
As it turns out, he is needed. A little girl appears on his doorstep one night claiming to be his daughter. Her black hair and eyes make him suspicious but once he hears her play (one of her own compositions) he doubts her no more.
But the beautiful charwoman still haunts his thoughts. He tracks her down - Grace Cheval, widow, she claims. In destitute poverty, she accepts his offer to be his daughter's governess (although she suspects she will be asked to offer more...) Guhrke has created magnificent characters. Grace is calm, patient, resourceful and ever so caring; Dylan is tortured, desperate and mad about Grace. Isabel, the 8 year old hellion, is also desperate: desperate for her father's attention. An ingenious little trip to a seraglio makes Dylan finally understand how far his little girl will go to make hime "see" her. He removes his household to his country home.
Country life proves idyllic for all 3 until an ugly secret threatens to destroy the happiness all have come to enjoy and depend on. This book is highly recommended. ( )