With its action-packed plot hinged on an intriguing paranormal frame and a touching, red-hot romance, this is a great read...
Two damaged souls find each other and some surprising psychic gifts as they fight a string of enemies who want them dead—or worse.
Alex Aaro has spent most of his life distancing himself from his Ukrainian Mafia roots but risks his freedom and new identity to fly back to NYC to say goodbye to his dying aunt, the only person on earth he loves. During his visit, his friend Bruno calls on him to help Nina, a woman who’s been attacked and injected with an unknown drug. The only clues to the drug or its antidote are in a recording on Nina’s cellphone in what seems to be Russian. At first antagonistic toward one another, Nina and Aaro must overcome their hostility to work together to thwart enemies new and old, especially once they realize that the drug is a ticking time bomb that leaves Nina dead in days if they don’t find the answers they need. The drug is a psychic enhancer, and both Aaro and Nina become aware of psychic abilities they never understood they possessed. As their psychic powers strengthen, the journey grows more perilous and harrowing, and Nina and Aaro must lower their masks and place absolute trust in each other, something neither of them has ever done. Doing so cracks them open and creates a soul-deep bond of love, but will it be enough to save them, mind, body and spirit? This is McKenna’s newest erotic romantic suspense with paranormal aspects—psychic powers and a shady underworld attached to the enhancing drug—and the book offers captivating characters, explosive action and sizzling sexual tension. The world she’s set up is believable and intriguing, and despite some complex character and plot development, the story flows smoothly and with page-turning excitement and intensity. The book will appeal especially to romantic suspense fans, but anyone who likes good romance, great action and sexually intense situations will enjoy it. Avoid it if you dislike profanity—Aaro and many of the villainous secondary characters use bad language like table salt—or are offended by graphic descriptions of sex. McKenna fans will be happy to see secondary characters from other books in the McCloud series.
With its action-packed plot hinged on an intriguing paranormal frame and a touching, red-hot romance, this is a great read for its intended audience.Pub Date: Sept. 25, 2012
ISBN: 9780758273475
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Sept. 2, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2012
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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