Synopsis

Gerrie Hermann, aspiring rock star from a rich South African family, has an unusual proposal for Sophie Woods when he meets her for the first time in their university canteen. Strait-laced Sophie has never done anything out of the ordinary in the whole of her 19 years. When she decides to take Gerrie up on his offer she has no idea that her decision is going to affect the rest of her life in ways that she could never have foreseen, even in her wildest dreams.

Review

What would you do if approached to enter into a marriage of convenience for money? Would you do it? Would you wait for love? Or would you hope that if you took this chance that love would follow? I’m not sure what Sophie hoped when she agreed to marry Gerrie, especially since she was just 19 and a bit naive to the ways of the world. Surprisingly it turns into a good relationship but not without bumps.

In his youth, Gerrie is quite selfish and I’m surprised that Sophie stayed with him as long as she did before new issues arose. It is so hard to say much without giving away a lot of the story. But let’s just say they make a decision that will haunt them for the rest of their life. Sophie doesn’t want to go along with it and I really don’t know why she does other than to perhaps hope that she doesn’t lose Gerrie? We really don’t know why she goes along with this plan despite her resistance.

Years later, this issue comes back up (it is really hard to not give anything away!) and there is a new set of issues to deal with and it affects more than just Gerrie and Sophie. There is a family dynamic like you can’t imagine and I’m not sure how I would have handled this situation. Sophie has a lot of pent of anger and frustration at a woman named Maxine. She is justified in her reactions but will she be able to overcome and forgive Maxine? I’m not sure I could but there are other factors at play.

I know this is a somewhat cryptic review…..I just don’t want to give away too much of the story. However, this story brought up many feelings and opinions on what should have happened to various characters. This is set in England with some glimpses of South Africa and Rio and perhaps the laws in England would handle the situation differently than the US. I’m not sure how I would have handled the situation if I was in Sophie’s shoes and hope I never have to find out.

We give this 4 paws up