The Memoir of Johnny Devine
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Love can’t rewrite the pages of your past, but it can cover a multitude of sins ... one page at a time.
In 1953, war widow Eliza Saunderson reluctantly accepts a job ghostwriting the memoir of former Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Devine—a man whose scandalous past once made headlines across America. Rumor says Johnny can charm anything in a skirt. But the man Eliza meets is nothing like the reckless celebrity she expected. Beneath Johnny’s fame, faith, and carefully rebuilt life lie old wounds, buried secrets, and questions neither of them can outrun. As Eliza finds herself drawn to the quiet grace beneath John’s public image, the line between truth and illusion begins to blur in ways that threaten both their hearts. When Eliza’s writing places her under suspicion during the McCarthy era, she and John become entangled in a growing investigation that forces them to confront difficult family secrets, public scrutiny, and the lingering shame of the past. Set against the glamour and disillusionment of 1950s America, The Memoir of Johnny Devine is an emotionally rich story about hidden identities, redemption, grace, and the risk of believing that love might hold the truth about who we really are. Filled with warmth, wit, emotional depth, and hard-won hope, this is a story about flawed people learning that they are never beyond the reach of God's grace. "Camille Eide masterfully blends themes of oppression and hope, regrets and redemption, through historical glimpses of Hollywood and the Red Scare. The unpredictable unfolding of John and Eliza will draw you in and spur you to finish "The Memoir of Johnny Devine" in one sitting. And the subtle wisdom of a grandmother-like housemaid may have stolen the show, and my heart." -C. Fischer, Amazon Reviewer The Memoir of Johnny Devine earned a rare RT 5 Gold Star Top-Pick rating, the Editor's Seal of Excellence, and the 2015 Reviewers' Choice award for BEST INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE. The book also won the 2016 Cascade Award for Historical Fiction. |
Johnny Devine: Beyond the Silver Screen
The Memoir of Johnny Devine received a rare FIVE GOLD Star Top Pick from Romantic Times, their highest rating, as well as the Editor's Seal of Excellence, the first inspirational novel to receive this award. RT also awarded The Memoir of Johnny Devine BEST INSPIRATIONAL ROMANCE of 2015.
A Romantic Times editor writes:
“I am having a difficult time finding the words to describe exactly how much I loved The Memoir of Johnny Devine. Religion, particularly as a person’s saving grace, is a deeply personal and highly subjective topic. However, Camille Eide introduces the plot point with such sensitivity and respect that it’s easy to identify with the characters. I cannot tell you how much I loved reading about an educated, unmarried woman making her own way in the 1950s. In a time where women were expected to stay home, marry and take care of the household, our heroine Eliza is committed to her career and correcting social injustice. Her intelligence, sensitivity and grace immediately endear her to her new boss, the famous Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Devine. The most intriguing (and also disturbing) thing about this story is that despite the 1950s setting, the need for gender and racial equality as well as the ongoing witch hunt that is the Red Scare are very relevant today, in 2015, and I applaud Eide for being part of the conversation. She has managed to intertwine a beautiful love story, the desire to build a personal relationship with God and the necessity for social change into one truly fantastic read.” -Kristin Wise
A Romantic Times editor writes:
“I am having a difficult time finding the words to describe exactly how much I loved The Memoir of Johnny Devine. Religion, particularly as a person’s saving grace, is a deeply personal and highly subjective topic. However, Camille Eide introduces the plot point with such sensitivity and respect that it’s easy to identify with the characters. I cannot tell you how much I loved reading about an educated, unmarried woman making her own way in the 1950s. In a time where women were expected to stay home, marry and take care of the household, our heroine Eliza is committed to her career and correcting social injustice. Her intelligence, sensitivity and grace immediately endear her to her new boss, the famous Hollywood heartthrob Johnny Devine. The most intriguing (and also disturbing) thing about this story is that despite the 1950s setting, the need for gender and racial equality as well as the ongoing witch hunt that is the Red Scare are very relevant today, in 2015, and I applaud Eide for being part of the conversation. She has managed to intertwine a beautiful love story, the desire to build a personal relationship with God and the necessity for social change into one truly fantastic read.” -Kristin Wise
