Skye is dipping back into the Morelli/Constantine world with One for the Money. The main characters in this one are Finn Hughes and Eva Morelli. It’s at least a duet, so be aware of that when you go in. Hopefully Two of the Show will be out soon enough, because I am just dying to find out what is going to happen with Finn and Eva.
So, Eva Morelli is the one that keeps her family on track. She takes care of all her siblings, helps them navigate all the bumps and cracks that come with being part of the Morelli family. She manages her parents, and keeps everything going. In other words, her entire family depends on her, and if she collapses, the family will collapse. Which is entirely unfair to Eva. She is 33 and doesn’t really have a life, other than taking care of her family. At a gala for orchids that she organized, Eva’s mother tries to introduce her to an older gentleman who is looking for a new wife. Eva is very much not interested. But, for Eva’s mother, the best thing that a woman can do is to be married because it will give her safety and stability, and at their level of wealth, marriages are more like a contract and less like a love thing. This older guy would be perfect. All Eva would have to do is pop out a couple of kids, look pretty on his arm, and be the perfect society wife. That is very much not what Eva wants.
In walks Finn Hughes. The Morellis and the Hughes all know each other and they all are at that rarified level of society that being richer than sin leaves you at. He hears Eva’s mom, and comes to rescue Eva, saying that they had plans. Then he bet Eva 25¢ that he could show her a good time and they could have fun. Which they did, by going to an illegal poker game. Eventually, Finn suggests that he and Eva fake date, which would keep her mom off her back for a little while.
Finn is ridiculously charming, and a lot of fun to be around. He acts like a party boy who has no worries, but that’s all a very charming facade. He’s actually dealing with a family curse, so he’s taking care of his father, running the family company behind the scenes, and hoping that his younger brother doesn’t get kicked out of school again. And he’s doing all this not planning on ever having a family or children or falling in love, even though he has Eva on the brain.
I am really not all that charmed by Eva’s parents. They have done a real job on her. She really is made to be responsible for everyone and has to manage all those personalities and take care of everyone, but no one really takes care of her. In fact, I don’t necessarily care about most of her family. I know I’ve read them in other books and liked them fine then, but not so much here. I think that Eva is both really strong and really fragile, if that makes sense. She’s really strong because she’s had to be, and she has built a scaffolding around herself that will hold her up, but at the core, she hurts a lot and it is easy to hurt her. She can and will hide it though, and keep that whole perfect society woman mask on her face. Eva has a really loving heart though, and she just wants to love and be loved.
Finn. Now there’s a whole other thing with him. He is burning all the candles at both ends and the middle. He’s determined to grab onto life as much as possible and to wring all the fun out of it. I can understand why, since he is counting down the days until the curse hits him. But, I also think that he is being kind of prematurely fatalistic. I’m thinking that there may be something to do. I wonder how much research anyone has done into anything, because I feel like nothing has really happened there. I guess I will have to wait. I do like him though. He really just wants to have a normalish life.
OK, that’s it for this one. Go check it out. Happy reading!
In Between the Pages 