An entertaining romance; the voice and writing will definitely keep the pages turning.
In this novel, a woman attempts to maintain a relationship and her career when her new boss turns out to be a former lover.
Jane Mercer has it all. Having worked her way up from receptionist, Jane is vice president at Warren Mitchell advertising agency, a company on the verge of an IPO, which could prove very lucrative for her. On the personal side, she has found the love of her life, Derek Lowell, a professional violinist. Derek’s main flaw seems to be his inability to handle Jane’s previous affair with rich, handsome, and married Craig Keller, owner of Keller Whitman Group, a competitor in the ad industry. Though the affair happened long before the couple got together, the thought of Jane sleeping with a married man is problematic for Derek. A chance meeting with Craig and the very public spectacle of the entrepreneur’s impending divorce have Derek on edge. Meanwhile, Jane starts questioning if she still has feelings for Craig, despite the humiliation of knowing she was just one of hundreds he seduced. As Craig begins to toy with Jane, alluding to the potential of a relationship redo, the very real issue of his company absorbing hers plays out, making him her new boss. Jane finds herself in the precarious position of trying to keep her job and resist his seductive charms. Royce has crafted a relatable story of a past relationship coming back to haunt and possibly threaten the new one, a conundrum many readers will no doubt have found themselves in a time or two. Though Jane does lie to preserve her relationship, one might excuse her decision, given her past is being unfairly held against her. Still, it’s not the main character’s deceit that raises flags, but the author’s characterization of Craig as a gorgeous, “dastardly” womanizer when he’s actually a narcissistic predator, preying on Jane’s inability to resist his toxic charms. Character depiction aside, Royce does a great job of developing the plot, culminating in a satisfying conclusion
An entertaining romance; the voice and writing will definitely keep the pages turning.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-951130-40-4
Page Count: 274
Publisher: Dagmar Miura
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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