All That Glitters

Rating:
Summary: All That Glitters
Review: Back cover reads:
TELLING SECRETS CAN DEEPEN A LOVE.
OR DESTROY IT.
When Ivory Keene won a design contest that landed her a job at a prestigious fashion house in New York, no one could have guessed the secrets she hid so well. Even the company's owner, Curry Kells, drawn to Ivory by a desire neither could resist, saw only a beautiful, talented young woman whose fresh, exciting designs could make them both millions. As easily as lies can be told, he believed in her and her innocence despite the suspicions of others. Now, as fame and wealth lay within Ivory's reach, the one thing she shouldn't risk was the shared intimacies of an affair. But suddenly, all that she had been striving for her whole life-all the dreams she clung to so ferociously-seemed cold and empty without Curry's love...


Rating:
Summary: A look at the fashion world --
Review: Curry Kells and Ivory Keene would seem to have a lot in common; born in poverty but with the determination to succeed. In Curry's case, his mother had been the dominant influence with her loving guidance and support that propelled him to the boardroom of his own conglomerate. Ivory, on the other hand, was compelled to run away from her widowed mother, whose fondness for alcohol and various men made life hell for the Texas girl.

Ivory did, however, display a talent for drawing and design; a scholarship to a design school provided her with her first boost up the ladder toward success. Nearing graduation, she took first place in a competition, offered by Curry's fashion enterprises. The prize was a position as junior designer.

Despite sending half her salary to her mother as a form of blackmail, Ivory quickly settles in to her new job and an apartment in Queens. Volunteering one day a week at a shelter for the homeless, she befriends a young boy who is HIV-positive and his mother.

The promised position at first appears to be a dead-end, as her supervisor cannot accept new talent. The company is losing money at a prodigious rate, and after a peaceful run-in with her new boss, Ivory is talked into showing him some of her designs. Drawn to each other in spite of their own personal reasons for not wanting to become involved, Curry and Ivory set about designing and producing a dazzling new collection.

All should be well, but Curry's mother is diagnosed with cancer, and he loses his mainstay. Her new success splashed nationwide by the media, Ivory's mother discovers her new identity and location and promptly invites herself to New York. Once there, she cannot abandon a lifetime of selfishness and nearly destroys Ivory and Curry--and the company--in the process. Fortunately, an overheard tid-bit of conversation makes all clear, allowing Curry to reclaim Ivory, but this time as more than just his senior designer.

This is a fast-paced but satisfying 'glitz' novel that demonstrates the hazards of keeping secrets.