Dramatic and twisty but full of plot holes; plus, the writer heroine isn’t very writerly.
After her fiance dies, a woman tries to start over elsewhere, but a visit home stirs up both unresolved passion and new danger in this romance/thriller novel.
At almost 25, Candice-Leigh Carson is already an award-winning, bestselling novelist. But it’s not all good times: her fiance, Chase Matson, a detective with the NYPD, was shot dead on an undercover assignment. Also mourning Chase is Jaxson Monroe, his partner on the force and (with Candice) best friend since childhood; he comforts Candice, holding her in bed at night. When Candice learns that her other best friend, Christina, is pregnant with Chase’s baby, she again turns to Jax for comfort. After things become intimate, Candice flees in the middle of the night, changes her phone number, and moves to California, where she works in a cubicle at a computer company. On a business trip to New York City with her friendly new boss, Candice is contacted by detectives working Chase’s case—and by Jax. Strong feelings re-emerge and soon find lusty expression. But people in Candice’s life are hiding deadly secrets, and a violent confrontation brews. York (Surviving Brooklyn, 2015) keeps this novel at soap-opera pitch through dramatic events, stormy emotions, passionate sex scenes, and danger, spiced with some plot twists. But these twists would be more satisfying if they made more sense. Why, for example, would a crime boss need to elaborately gain Candice’s trust just to kill her, or Jax? Obstacles are contrived or clichéd, such as Candice’s reasons for avoiding romance with Jax: “I had erected a wall around myself… I didn’t want to be hurt again.” The plot doesn’t make much sense, and Candice similarly has some odd moments: she sees nothing overly sexual or romantic about sleeping all night entangled with Jax or about her boss wrapping his arms around her from behind. And, though she’s a novelist, Candice seems more interested in footwear, bubble baths, and closet organization than in books.
Dramatic and twisty but full of plot holes; plus, the writer heroine isn’t very writerly.Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-692-42043-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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