A heartwarming romp of love and self-discovery.
A woman questions what she really wants when the trip to her wedding takes a detour.
Maya Mirza, a 28-year-old Pakistani Canadian teacher, has had such a history of bad luck that she thinks she must be cursed, and she's come up with a series of laws to try to cope with it, beginning with "Maya's Law #1: Anything that can go wrong will go wrong." She's always had particularly bad luck in love, but things may be changing now that she's headed to Pakistan for an arranged marriage with a handsome doctor named Imtiaz, whom she's known for only a few months. Unfortunately, though, Maya's curse seems to be following her: When she gets on the plane, she finds herself seated next to the jerk who bumped into her in the airport, making her drop her travel documents, and kept walking without even a hint of apology. When the flight ends up grounded in Switzerland due to a storm, with no help from the airline and only a week to go until her wedding, Maya decides to team up with the only person she knows—the jerk, whose name is Sarfaraz—to try to make it to Pakistan on time. As they travel, though, Maya begins to wonder if the wedding she’s headed to is what she really wants. The story of Maya and Sarfaraz is a refreshing spin on the endearing sunshine-and-grump trope. Maya means well but always ends up in scrapes; Sarfaraz is reluctant but finds himself opening up to Maya. The fear at the roots of both their personalities makes them seem real, and their Pakistani Muslim milieu is evoked in great depth. The reader is pulled along through each stop on Maya and Sarfaraz's long and ridiculous journey, rooting for not only the happy ending that is clearly coming but also the catharsis that will come with it. Khawaja has written a gem of a first novel.
A heartwarming romp of love and self-discovery.Pub Date: March 26, 2024
ISBN: 9780778305248
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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