Hemingway's Girl

By: Erika Robuck

Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert

"She remembered when Hemingway had planted a banyan tree at his house and told her its parasitic roots were like human desire. At the time she'd thought it romantic. She hadn't understood his warning."

In Depression-era Key West, Mariella Bennet, the daughter of an American fisherman and a Cuban woman, knows hunger. Her struggle to support her family following her father's death leads her to a bar and bordello, where she bets on a risky boxing match...and attracts the interest of two men: world-famous writer Ernest Hemingway, and Gavin Murray, one of the World War I veterans who are laboring to build the Overseas Highway.

When Mariella is hired as a maid by Hemingway's second wife, Pauline, she enters a rarified world of lavish, celebrity-filled dinner parties and elaborate off-island excursions. As she becomes caught up in the tensions and excesses of the Hemingway household, the attentions of the larger-than-life writer become a dangerous temptation...even as straightforward Gavin Murray draws her back to what matters most.

Will she cross an invisible line with the volatile Hemingway, or find a way to claim her own dreams? As a massive hurricane bears down on Key West, Mariella faces some harsh truths...and the possibility of losing everything she loves.

©2012 Erika Robuck (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"[Fans] will delight in the complex relationships and vivid setting." ( Publishers Weekly)

Wow!

I didn’t know what to expect but the title drew me in. It did not disappoint. Great story!

Great idea, okay story

This book starts out strong, and the plot is interesting. Unfortunately, it begins to drag a bit about 1/3 of the way through. I’d thought it was a historical fiction novel and although there is some historical perspective of the Keys (and particularly Key West) during the depression era, this was given a light touch. Ultimately the book is best classified as a romance..girl meets two boys, girl struggles to choose, girl chooses good boy, dramatic event happens, girl and boy live happily ever after.

Disappointing to say the least.

The story was predictable, slow at times, and lacked depth. The most challenging part was the narrator’s horrible performance. I felt disconnected from the characters due to the narrator’s tone, poor timing, and bizarre accents.

Robuck and Gilbert Lack "Aficion"

I am both a fan of Hemingway and in love with the island of Key West, so I was very much looking forward to a good story that wove both together. However, I was sadly disappointed by this book. First off, the narrator's sharp enunciation was immediately and incredibly annoying-like listening to a 1940s news cast (or a boxing match, which could have been appropriate only at certain points) the whole way through. Bad enough that I wanted to stop listening 10 minutes in, but I decided to give the story a chance. However, Robuck's prose was also a disappointment. Key West is such a vivid tropical locale, and I found the descriptions to be sadly sparse. The plot and characters were all too predictable-I won't spoil it for those of you who are determined to have a go, but I will tell you that you can guess it all from the first chapter. If you want to read a super fluffy love story featuring a "Mary Sue" protagonist and a larger than life love interest, go for it. But for those of us who dare hope for a little bit more, something gritty and deep and true--"Hemingway's Girl" lacks "aficion".