Romance fans will enjoy this tangled web of love and work amid the tumultuous backdrop of the changing times.
Kendall’s debut combines romantic love and melodrama to explore changing gender roles and business relationships.
By 1965, much has already changed at John Hampton’s home in the safe, idyllic community of Agoura, Calif. Young and handsome, John has a promising career as an engineer at Nielsen Electronics, a firm that specializes in the production of security tape recording devices. After his wife’s infidelity and repeated drug abuse, John’s marriage tragically dissolves, and he and his children are left to pick up the pieces. There’s another woman in John’s world, however: beautiful, intelligent Robin Nichols, a divorced mom of two sons, who also happens to be the hardworking secretary at Nielsen Electronics. John and Robin fall in love, which causes even more problems with John’s ex-wife. The story clips along at a sprightly pace, as Kendall touches on themes familiar to those who have lived through or studied the ’60s—e.g., women’s roles, divorce, blended families, psychedelic drugs and the Vietnam War—yet it’s all from the perspective of office professionals. The minor character of John’s wife is a banal foil for his heroics; for example, John is a dependable and selfless parent, but his ex-wife, the stereotypical “hippie artist bound for destruction,” was raised by domineering religious parents. Then there’s the drama of John’s boss and his wife, a dowdy, submissive woman who struggles to find herself and a voice of her own. While the boss’ wife is a sympathetic character, her changes are predictable: She finds strength through love. Also, a few scenes are rather far-fetched, as when Robin walks into a top modeling agency on a secret errand for the boss and she’s instantly offered a modeling contract. A more complex and engaging character is the boss himself, Loren Slaton, who evolves from a cheating, womanizing jerk into a realistic version of a changed man. The dialogue flows easily, and there’s plenty of cute, witty banter between lovers. When John pretends to be shocked after Robin calls him a fool, Robin retorts: “You are an impossible, incorrigible, fool. I might point out, however, that one of Webster’s definitions for a fool is, professional jester. I do believe you qualify.”
Romance fans will enjoy this tangled web of love and work amid the tumultuous backdrop of the changing times.Pub Date: July 28, 2010
ISBN: 978-1770671034
Page Count: 296
Publisher: FriesenPress
Review Posted Online: Aug. 9, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
