Product Description

Erica Boyd is just trying to keep her life in one piece. But a family feud and a far-too-attractive newcomer threaten to blow it to pieces.

Try as she might, Erica can't quite escape the maelstrom of her mother's ambition to control every aspect of a project to honor Howard and Bridget Taylor, beloved pillars of the Whitehall, Texas, community from years gone by. Whitehall's competition for queen of the social scene is fierce--different factions have different ideas about how to honor the Taylors. Erica's closeted relationship with Alice is hanging by a thread, and for reasons she won't explain, Erica's grandmother is actively resisting the whole Taylor history project, creating a generational feud with Erica caught in the middle.

Everybody knows that Howard Taylor and bride Bridget emigrated from England back in 1912. When the frazzled local historian can't confirm it, she's replaced with a professional: out and audacious Rae, who jumps into the already powder keg situation. Erica's mesmerized attraction to the dynamic Rae--and the rumor of a sealed diary--lights the fuse on this story of small town society, survival and secrets.

Megan Carter (Passionate Kisses) brings her readers a lighthearted story of then and now with another cast of her unforgettable characters.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #693769 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 245 pages

Customer Reviews

Romance and history
Bridget Sullivan and Ann Taylor flee from London when Ann's family is in danger of discovering that the women are lovers. In 1912 they are sure that Ann will be committed to a mental asylum if not worse. They decide to book passage on the next ship to America and begin new lives there. It seems good fortune that the ship is the engineering marvel of the age, RMS Titanic, until it hits that iceberg and the women have to fight for their lives and those of the friends they have met on their voyage. The story then switches to the present and Whitehall, Texas, where the town is preparing to celebrate its founding by erecting a statue to Bridget and Howard Taylor. The town has great affection for these two people who emigrated from England and became pillars of the community when they settled there. Many of the families would not have survived the Depression without their help and the town thinks this is an excellent way to remember their service. Erica Boyd, who is one of their descendants, has no problem with the commemoration except that it's tearing her family apart. Her grandmother is as determined to stop the ceremony as her mother is to see it carried through, but she won't explain why she opposes the plan. There is a family secret that neither Erica nor the town knows about until a historian hired by Erica's mother starts poking around, asking questions and making a lot of people uncomfortable. Erica feels her small town life spinning out of control more than usual and begins to fear that she may lose family and friends, not to mention her closeted relationship with the mayor, before the uproar settles down.

Midnight Melodies really comes off as two different books. The part of the story that is set in1912 is a love story and a history lesson. Carter gives a clear picture of what lesbians had to endure in that time and the dangers that they faced in society. It's also an adventure story as Bridget and Ann take off across England to escape their parents and then get caught up in the events of the most famous ship sinking that has ever occurred. Some parts of it are a little contrived, but the reader basically gets a good feel for the time and what happened. The second part of the book is what makes the book really worth reading. It's almost as if a different person wrote part two. Carter injects tremendous humor into this portion and has the reader laughing out loud at the antics of her characters. The view of small town life in the South is dead on, with all of its quirky people and convoluted politics. Erica's grandmother Gerti is priceless, not the kindly cookie-baking type that most often appears in stories, but a Bourbon drinking, Playboy reading firecracker who will tell you the truth in a minute. Erica's struggles to deal with a lover who is terrified the town will find out about them, a mother who wants to be the queen bee of society and her grandmother lead to more than one riotous scene. There is also an interesting contrast between Bridget and Ann, who were willing to risk so much to be together, and Erica and her lover Alice who don't want to risk anything for their relationship.

This is one definitely worth reading.

Excellent story
I purchased this book for my partner for Christmas. She loved it and 'let' me read it as soon as she finished. I found myself not wanting to quit. At one point when she was reading, she said 'This had better have a good ending'. I knew exactly what she was talking about as I read it.

The story builds the historical perspective then jumps to current-day family struggles. It also deals with life in a small community in a unique way. Growing up, I could put down my sibblings or community any way I wanted to, but any adversity would bring out the protective spirit in me. This story illustrates that very clearly on both family and community levels.

Also, I like the way senior adults are portrayed as real people, not saints. The more senior I become, the less of a saint I am :-)

On a more serious note, this book tackles the strength of love, no matter how forbidden. Love transcends taboos, laws, and time even if the individuals do not.

There was one minor error that confused me: on the back cover the last name of the historical characters was different from that of those in the story. I'm not sure if that was an accident or an intentional throw back to the first few pages of the story.

Overall, a well-written and well-researched story. And the ultimate compliment to the author: my partner said she thought she might read that story again. That is a RARE occurence.

Debbie TheProf

Not Just Another Titanic Romance
After so many published books, a reader begins to expect a certain level of reading from a given author. Megan Carter (aka Frankie J. Jones) consistently writes a high quality story and she seems to improve over time. My only complaint about this book is the back cover description. The publisher leads the purchaser to believe she is getting a single story about Erica Boyd and the strife in her household. On the contrary, the purchaser actually gets what amounts to two books in one.

`Midnight Melodies' begins with the story of Howard and Bridget Taylor. Their tale is riddled with deception and misrepresentation. The only things that ring true about these brave characters is their generosity and their unquestionable love for each other. These literally keep them afloat as they fight to survive the Titanic disaster of 1912.

Their secrets are uncovered as Whitehall, Texas, the town they eventually call home makes plans to pay tribute to the couple. As their descendants, the Boyd family has some say in how this is done. As the youngest of the bunch, Erica acts as referee between her mother and grandmother. Her mother is ecstatic about the idea and can't wait to plan the festivities. However, Erica's grandmother knows her family's secrets and doesn't want to see them come to light. She protests the tribute and tries to enlist Erica's help. Mix in the fact that Erica's mother is homophobic, the researcher they hire is a LES, and Erica's girlfriend is the deeply-closeted mayor of Whitehall... and you've got a real winner of a tale.

Bottom Line - Enjoyable, laughable, characters; a lot of comedy mixed in with a little tragedy; disasters and things to rejoice... It has a little of everything and is well worth reading.