Market Street: A Novel

**WARNING: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW HAS SPOILERS**Still reeling with joy after reading "Monarch Beach" by Anita Hughes, her debut novel, I was asked to read and review "Market Street." As a huge fan of the author I accepted the offer and was given an early NetGalley copy."Market Street" began as an easy read, with action starting right away. I wanted to know if Cassie would take the job at the emporium, but found myself more curious if she would take her cheating husband. The way he cheated, their relationship and the way he seemed to act as is he hadn't done anything wrong, piqued my interest. While there was a bit of name and brand dropping, I understood it because that's what defined the characters were and what I expected from the book. Up until the end of the first quarter, my attention was held.I liked how Cassie's friend, Alexis, allow her to stay with her, but it seemed like she overstayed her welcome, and not just because Alexis's husband was away on business, (and I often wondered if he was cheating like Aidan). Cassie is a thirty-two year old woman, but staying with her friend for as long as she did kind of threw me off. I also didn't understand their dialogue. One would say something, then the other would say something completely random, but maybe that was the way the characters have always talked with each other. In the end, I felt that Alexis took over the part of the main character. I also found it odd that she's the one who took it upon herself to shut the chapter on Cassie and Aidan's marriage by sending him a box of lingerie.I tried to like Cassie's character -- I really did, but there were times that I was so over her. She seemed to run away from her issues, especially her husband's infidelity and not face the issues. I wanted her to make up her mind, was she in the marriage or was she out of it? At times I felt sorry for Aidan (the cheater) because Cassie seemed to care too much about her emporium (which I'm glad she took a stand and did for herself) and what her mother thinks to work on and fight for her marriage. Often, Cassie was daydreaming about wanting to be watching a movie or wrapped up in Aidan's arms in their bed, which annoyed me because if she really wanted to, she could. As for Aidan, I didn't like him. He was very arrogant, but maybe he was supposed to be that way.At the end I though, I liked how Cassie appeared to be more grown-up and adjusts her priorities, making her relationship with James at the top of the list. I just wonder why she didn't do this with her marriage, and it would have been nice to for the reader to "see" some kind of closure between Cassie and Aidan.While I anticipated "Market Street" to be another brilliant read by Anita Hughes, I thought it was only okay. I found there to be a little too much name dropping of designers that I just didn't care about, which seemed like page fillers. And while I have stayed at The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach (which is mentioned) and understand high-class society, I didn't care about what Cassie, Alexis, Aidan or James wore. What interested me more was the story, not what they were modeling.I recommend "Market Street" to anyone who is into fashion or a fan of Anita Hughes because she's a brilliant writer who creates memorable and delightful stories, but this book just wasn't on that resonated with me.I give this book 3 stars!

Food, fashion, fun, romance and heartbreak~~MARKET STREET by Anita Hughes has it all. If you're looking for a book to take with you for that last beach trip of the summer~~I recommend this one.Cassie and Alexis have been best friends since they went to private school together. Now in their 30's, both women are supposedly living their dream lives. Cassie, a "foodie" and heiress to the upscale Fenton's Department Store, is married to Aiden, an ethics professor at UC Berkeley, and spends her days volunteering to teach children about gardening~~her passion. Alexis, married to globe-trotting, financial wizard Carter, spends her days redecorating her behemoth home and taking exercise classes. Both of their lives are about to change, dramatically.While spending the day together the best friends find themselves covering the jewelry counter at Fenton's for a brief moment. Molly Payne, a student at UC Berkeley, wants to return a necklace that was given to her by none other than Aiden, Cassie's husband. Though circumstances surrounding Aiden giving the gift to Molly seem innocent enough, what transpires between professor and student becomes Cassie's catalyst for a new life.Fenton's is opening a new Food Emporium and Fenton's owner, Cassie's Mother, wants Cassie to oversee everything from the building of the Emporium with architect, Jimmy, to what types of cheese and tomatoes will be available for purchase. Since Cassie is in tumultuous time in her life she finally agrees to taking on some responsibility at the family business.I love the growth of the characters throughout the book. Cassie finds her niche in life and Alexis finds a purpose. This book should come with a fashion guide to show you all of the amazing clothing references (how perfect for New York's Fashion Week) as well as a culinary guide for all of the delicious food.If you're looking for a book that you can enjoy while having a glass or three of wine and then chat it up later with your best gal-pals. This is it.✰✰✰✰

Elite San Francisco department store heiress, Cassie Blake, is living a completely different life compared to her privileged upbringing. She is married to a Berkeley professor and spends her days volunteering in a program teaching children about organic gardening. Her life comes crashing down around her when she discovers her husband of 10 years slept with one of his students. She retreats to her best friend's home in a very exclusive section of San Francisco where she is being pursued by her husband who claims "it was only one time" and her mother who has always wanted to have her work in the family business and has now found the perfect avenue by adding a food emporium to the store patterned after the Food Halls at Harrod's in London. My favorite part of this book was the friendship between her and her friend, Alexis. It proves why women always need to have girlfriends to confide in.All that being said, this is the second book from Anita Hughes and she seems to have a running theme - extremely wealthy women have a husband who cheats on them and their extremely domineering mother steps in to rescue their lives. Lots of designer name dropping of clothes, shoes, jewelry, etc., the average person could never afford thrown in for good measure. Being a native of San Francisco I recognized all of the places and many of the people mentioned in the book. I could picture everything exactly as it is and that was fun. I do wish the author used a little more gentle language for people having sex because one can only take so much of a particular phrase.