A Whisper of Solace by Milena McKay is a sweeping ice queen, age gap, workplace romance that examines what it takes to overcome emotional damage in order to open your heart to love.
Neve Blackthorne is the most successful and powerful studio head in Hollywood. This didn’t happen by chance. She’s proven herself to be ruthless, relentless, and unforgiving. She’s worked hard to curate an impenetrable image.
Yet, Neve has done the one thing that could bring everything she’s built crashing down around her. She’s become entangled with a beautiful, brilliant, much younger employee who brings out a passion in her she’s never known.
Audrey Avens gets Neve. She can see behind Neve’s glacial façade, and she loves the woman who’s hiding there. Audrey is willing to give Neve everything.
Neve believes there is only one way to guarantee her survival. She’s got to rid herself of Audrey. She’s got to destroy everything between them so she can remain invincible, and do it in a manner that will ensure Audrey never wants her back.
The story follows Neve’s search for redemption – from Hollywood and New York, across Europe, and into the Middle East. Wherever Neve goes, she can’t escape her desire for Audrey. She’s left with one choice: confront the trauma that haunts her every waking moment or give up the chance at a life full of possibilities, and hope.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Two of the many things A Whisper of Solace has going for it is excellent writing and a powerful main character. This book is Neve Blackthorne. McKay takes the reader on a journey through one woman’s redemption and healing. Neve is a deeply layered character. She’s selfish, conniving, and a prisoner of her own fear, yet I was enamored with her from the start. Her strength is in her ability to endure – to push through trauma that would render most people frozen in place. She has enough self-awareness to realize she needs help, but her desire for change is matched by her need for self-preservation. Fear is a rapacious creditor, and she recognizes it’s time for her to pay up.
The metamorphosis needed to redeem Neve is daunting. This is where nuanced writing comes into play. McKay constructs Neve’s journey with laser precision. Every single word on the page is meticulous in how it depicts Neve’s efforts to step out from under the crushing fear ruling her world. The most powerful woman in Hollywood is a prisoner of her past. McKay artfully sprinkles allusions to that past throughout the story starting in the very first pages. They alert the reader that there’s more to Neve Blackthorne than her glacial attitude, scathing words, and expensive shoes.
This is the first ice queen romance I’ve read in which I was firmly situated in the ice queen’s point of view. This was both illuminating and unnerving. I couldn’t escape the feeling that I was intruding on Neve’s thoughts, and at any moment I’d be found out and have to face her wrath. This choice works so well because it allows the reader to take part in her transformation.
Both Audrey and Dr. Moore are delightful characters. I’m not going into details about either of them because for me they were conduits through which Neve could work on becoming a whole, happy, and free person. This isn’t to say her love for Audrey isn’t vital and all-encompassing. It is. I see Audrey as the “why” and Dr. Moore as the “how” in Neve’s character arc.
McKay touches on themes such as class, ethnicity, religion, generational trauma, power dynamics, and the therapeutic process, but there isn’t time or space for me to go into those details here. Suffice it to say, I’ve read the book twice, and I suspect there’s still more for me to uncover with each successive read.
Cons And Heads Up
Trigger warnings for child abuse (character’s backstory) and alcohol abuse.
The Conclusion
A Whisper of Solace packs quite the punch. It’s exactly my type of dramatic romance because of the angst. It’s A N G S T for days, and I couldn’t get enough of it. When I think of McKay’s writing style, I think of 19th century grand opera. She conveys big, bold emotions within fantastic plots that challenge the reader to come along for the ride. Neve and Audrey’s path to a happy-ever-after is bumpy, and it had me captivated. I do hope you’ll check out this book. I’d love to hear your thoughts. (On the book or on 19th century opera!)
Excerpt from A Whisper of Solace by Milena McKay
“I’ve been fucking my studio’s spokesperson for the past four months. I cannot seem to quit her. I’m here for you to make sure I do.”
She had strolled into this session with a well-formed plan of how things would go. Having done her research, she did not expect her words to shock the sphinx-like therapist. And yet, while the silver-haired woman with more letters after her name than the alphabet contained, did not blink an eye, the gold-tipped fountain pen in her hand stopped its movement. Good. Professional, but there was a tell that what she’d heard gave her pause.
It boded well for Neve Blackthorne, who, in turn, gave nothing away. Instead, she sat down in a comfortable chair opposite the older woman and thought that the sole shock-and-awe of her appearance, not to mention the trademark low, quiet timbre of her voice, always accomplished their desired effect.
Neve had selected Helena Moore after thorough research of the top Los Angeles psychologists. A search she had, for once, not delegated to her trusted assistant. Barnaby would have asked questions, but even if he would not have dared–out of self-preservation if nothing else–he would have still wondered. And needing a shrink meant showing weakness. Barnaby wouldn’t judge her–he was enraptured by her–but all the people standing in line with bated breath, waiting for her to slip up, detesting her very existence, surely would.
Neve knew she was easy to hate. Many did, in fact. She had money, she had connections, but most importantly, she had the kind of power that made or broke not just individuals, but entire companies. And she did all of that. Routinely, in fact. She was ruthless and her armor knew no chinks. Neve flicked a tiny piece of lint off her pencil skirt and crossed her legs. The most powerful woman, nay person, in the movie industry did not show weakness. If she did, the sharks would come circling right away
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9798445446255
Publisher: Indie Author
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