An enjoyable and thought-provoking exploration of a modern-day marriage in midlife crisis.
A middle-age housewife tries to rekindle her relationship with her husband by taking up his hobby of poker, then wins a tournament that puts her on the fast track to the poker championships, putting more pressure on a once-strong, now struggling marriage.
Hoping to find the old magic with her husband, Chris, middle-aged Milwaukee-area wife and mother MJ Boudreaux starts hanging out with him at the local casino, discovering a latent talent for poker. But rather than healing her marriage, her new interest puts even more of a strain on it, especially when she wins a tournament that takes her to Las Vegas. Added stress comes from her teen daughter’s new secrecy, an old nemesis moving to town, and the unexpected and alluring attentions of Doyle, a young poker champion. When Chris refuses to go to Vegas, MJ takes her best friend, and the two have a great girls’ weekend, but as the trip gets more exciting, Chris gets more distant, and though she hasn’t really done anything wrong, suddenly her marriage is in serious trouble. Despite her success in this exciting new world, MJ will have to ask herself what truly matters and what she’s willing to risk to get what she wants. Reichert follows her debut, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake (2015), with another title featuring an engaging plot and excellent storytelling. Reichert has a polished writing style that moves smoothly among scenes from MJ’s past, her courtship with Chris, and their present circumstances. Certain details might raise some eyebrows—like how easily a seemingly strong, happy marriage unravels without any real conversation and how quickly Chris blames MJ and is willing to consider a divorce without taking any responsibility for his own actions. Many of the characters' choices could be good conversation starters for book clubs.
An enjoyable and thought-provoking exploration of a modern-day marriage in midlife crisis.Pub Date: July 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2154-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2016
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
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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