The Review: Notorious by Olivia Hayfield

Loosely based on the tale of Richard III and the lost princes, but set in the modern day, this novel explores the complexities of family, love, and loss.

Emma Snow is the eldest of five, she is introverted, intelligent, and passionate about the environment.  She also happens to be the daughter of two celebrities, think Stevie Nicks and Colin Farrell, making her family life chaotic and subject to the opinion of most of the British public.  

As a girl, Emma develops an intense crush on her fathers protege, Rowan, a dark and troubled young man.  Rowan keeps Emma at arms distance but she struggles to move past her feelings for him.

As Emma's career as a writer develops, so does her relationship with a journalist who is everything Rowan is not; loving, attentive, and reliable.  The impending fairytale ending is interrupted by the mysterious disappearance of Emma's two young brothers.  Her quest for the truth will uncover her family's chequered past and jeopardise everything she holds dear.

I didn’t expect to love Emma and her family as much as I did, despite their obvious privilege they end up coming across as very authentic and likable people. 

My feelings about Rowan are a little more complicated, he treats Emma with such aloofness and disregard for her feelings but you can sense a deep kindness in him. His character reminded me of the quote Jen Garner gave about Ben Affleck ‘When his sun shines on you, you feel it. But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it’s cold. He can cast quite a shadow’. 

Overall, this story is gripping and unexpected with an equal balance of heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. It will teach you to treasure those you hold dear to you and to always trust your heart. 

- Words by Michelle O'Brien