Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

A committed and inspired anthropologist, Cassie Barrett meets her husband, a sexy movie star, Alex, on location in Tanzania, and their lives are glossy magazine perfect, until Alex shows his true self, and Cassie, pregnant, finds herself on the run to protect her life and the life of her child. Picoult's is a riveting, unfailingly intelligent, and undeniably literary psychological drama.

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Anthropologist Cassie Barrett, suffering from amnesia, is rescued from a church cemetery by Native American cop Will Flying Horse, only to be reclaimed by her Academy AwardR-winning husband, Alex Rivers. A positive pregnancy test triggers memories of abuse at the hand of her star husband, and Cassie turns to Will, who secrets her away in Pine Ridge with relatives for the remainder of her pregnancy term. All of the characters in this recording come from dysfunctional families and offer sad tales of childhood contrasted with details of life among Hollywood's rich and famous. Unfortunately, the audiobook's reading by Sandra Burr and Bruce Reizen is disjointed. Not a necessary purchase, although large popular collections may consider.?Sandy Glover, West Linn P.L., Ore. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Publishers Weekly
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

This politically correct Hollywood romance leaves no plotting stone unturned. For her discovery of an ancient human relic, glamorous UCLA anthropologist Cassie Barrett is rocketed to the prominence of a '90s-style Margaret Mead. As if that's not enough, she goes to Kenya as technical consultant on a movie starring hunk-of-the-month Alex Rivers. After a whirlwind romance, Cassie becomes the new Mrs. Rivers, toast of filmdom's beautiful people. But all is not bliss for the newlyweds: Alex's tortured past just won't let go, and Cassie must bear the brunt of his emotional scars. Perhaps attempting to salvage the predictable plot, Picoult administers to Cassie's bland character a dose of adrenalin-pumping amnesia. She also throws in a dollop of Native American culture and a noble savage who skirts the periphery of Cassie's tumultuous existence, always ready with sage advice, spiritual healing techniques and warm embraces. Some rather prettily told Indian legends are added to the mix, but the total effect is wide of the mark. Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selection; film rights to Dove Audio; audio rights to Brilliance. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Picoult's mediocre third novel (after Harvesting the Heart, 1993) features dysfunctional parents, an abusive spouse, romantic anthropological visits to Africa, and a healing encounter with sensitive Native Americans. Like the layers of earth she sifts through to find a piece of bone, protagonist Cassie Barrett, a noted anthropologist teaching at UCLA, must dig deep into her own past to understand just what happened before she lost her memory due to a blow on the head. Found wandering on Sunset Boulevard by Will Flying Horse, a recent LAPD recruit and South Dakota native who has fled life on the reservation, Cassie soon recalls her profession but has to be reminded by Alex Rivers, Hollywood's hottest property, that she's his wife. Alex, an Oscar nominee and soon-to-be winner, is stunningly handsome, talented, and messed-up--something Cassie has also forgotten. Cassie loves Alex passionately, she is sure of that, but both of them are haunted by horrible childhoods, which have made Cassie a lifelong rescuer and Alex a perpetual victim. When Cassie finally remembers why she lost her memory (Alex beat her savagely), she flees to South Dakota, where she imposes on Will's grandparents while she finds herself and awaits the baby she now remembers she is expecting. There, Cassie recalls her alcoholic parents, a murdered childhood friend, her romantic meeting with Alex on location in Africa, their exciting life together, and her continuing great love for her husband. She goes back to him after the baby is born, but Alex can't change, and Cassie can: She must hurt him so he can heal. A pretentious romance for the '90s that combines up-to-the- minute neuroses and Tinseltown glitz in a formula plot that ought to be foolproof but somehow isn't, despite patches of good writing. (Literary Guild selection)

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

As in her last novel, Harvesting the Heart (1993), Picoult explores the dynamics and repercussions of intimate relationships, but she has made a bid for a wider audience with glamorous characters and a plot that, in less capable hands, would yield nothing more than a commercial romance. Alex Rivers is a handsome, sexy, and tormented movie star still fighting the fights of his miserable bayou childhood. He falls in love with a most unlikely mate, an anthropologist named Cassie Barrett, while on location in Tanzania. Alex sweeps modest Cassie off her sneaker-clad feet and they marry, but Mr. Sex Symbol turns out to be a wife beater. Cassie endures his rage and violence even after one particularly brutal beating causes her to miscarry, but when Alex goes after her during her second pregnancy, she runs away. There is, however, one complication--a blow to the head has brought on amnesia, and Cassie doesn't know who she is. Picoult manages to use this melodramatic flourish to fine effect as she ushers in the novel's hero, Will Flying Horse, a Sioux who rescues Cassie by bringing her to the South Dakota reservation he so eagerly escaped. Beneath the glitzy trappings, this is a riveting, unfailingly intelligent, and undeniably literary psychological drama. ~--Donna Seaman

Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Cassie Barrett, an anthropologist, marries handsome, talented, and rich movie star Alex Rivers. They enter upon a picture-perfect life until Alex get a bit reckless. He becomes a Mr. Hyde in all his ugliness and directs his rage toward Cassie with fist and foot. Typical of abusive husbands, he apologizes profusely afterward. Cassie soon finds that she is pregnant-against her husband's wishes-and realizes that she must find a way to protect the unborn child. One of her rescuers is William Flying Horse, a policeman from South Dakota with demons of his own. Picoult (Harvesting the Heart, LJ 10/15/93) writes with an all-knowing and piercing eye. Hers is an important book from a talented writer we hope to hear from again and again. For most popular collections. [Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club selections.]-Dawn L. Anderson, North Richland Hills P.L., Tex. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.