A satisfyingly delightful tale of deception, retribution, and romance.
A Regency romp refreshingly centering a multiracial cast of characters of South Asian, East Asian, and African descent.
Three years ago, Lady Ela Dalvi was devastatingly betrayed by her best friend, Poppy Landers, and left hanging by her budding paramour, Lord Keston Osborn, the Marquess of Ridley. Fueled by a desire for retribution for a reputation ruined and relationships cast aside, Ela returns to the London social scene in 1817 as mysterious heiress Miss Lyra Whitley with one Machiavellian goal in mind: taking Poppy down. Disguised by hair dye, a new name courtesy of her benefactor, Lady Felicity Whitley, and the fuller figure of an 18-year-old, Ela schemes to infiltrate and dismantle Poppy’s inner circle, sway her suitors, and tarnish her reputation. It’s mostly easy to stay the course since Poppy’s become even more unapologetically slanderous, but meeting a kindred spirit who’ll become a casualty to her ruse leads to guilt that’s hard to swallow. Ela thought she had steeled her heart, but it’s all too easy to fall back into banter with dashingly distracting Keston. Will Ela’s scheme ultimately satisfy? Dare she set her eyes on long-term happiness? Howard crafts an entertaining exploration of themes of forgiveness and choice as well as power and agency in a society with restrictive rules for women. Alternating chapters switch between the present and the events of three years prior, teasing and unraveling Ela’s motivations and development.
A satisfyingly delightful tale of deception, retribution, and romance. (author’s note) (Historical romance. 13-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-48350-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Joy Revolution
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A worthy second-chance romance.
In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.
After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.
A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947138
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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