Shreve's fifth novel—another bittersweet trip down memory lane (after Where or When, 1993, etc.)—tells a story of love and betrayal in wartime Belgium. The starting point is familiar: A crew of brave young Americans out on a dangerous bombing mission to destroy Nazi targets is brought down by enemy fire in occupied Belgium; two airmen die, others are captured, and the wounded hero is rescued by the local Resistance. Midwestern boy Ted Brice, who thinks he may be in love with Sheila back home, is hidden in the attic of Henri and Claire's farmhouse. A Resistance nurse binds his wounds; Claire sees to his other needs. She is a beautiful woman who reads poetry in English and married Henri because she'd known him all her life- -``she adored his face'' but did not love him. Ted's wounds heal slowly, and he's still not strong enough to leave when three German soldiers are killed by a member of the Resistance. The local Gestapo makes immediate reprisals, summarily hanging villagers in the town square; Resistance members are betrayed; and Henri must flee, leaving Claire to cope alone, which she does very well, despite an unsuccessful raid by the Gestapo and the difficulties of keeping Ted hidden. The Frenchwoman and the American embark on a passionate affair that ends only when Henri comes back for Ted, who is to be taken to France by the Resistance. The lovers are separated, betrayed to the enemy, and never meet again, but a wrap- up chapter—in which Ted and Sheila's son comes back for the 1993 inauguration of a monument memorializing his father and the rest of the plane crew—agreeably fills us in on the years in between. Lively writing, but an awfully familiar reprise of countless WW II novels, books, and movies.
Pub Date: April 6, 1995
ISBN: 0-316-78999-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1995
Hannah, after eight paperbacks, abandons her successful time-travelers for a hardcover life of kitchen-sink romance. Everyone must have got the Olympic Peninsula memo for this spring because, as of this reading, authors Hannah, Nora Roberts, and JoAnn Ross have all placed their newest romances in or near the Quinault rain forest. Here, 40ish Annie Colwater, returns to Washington State after her husband, high-powered Los Angeles lawyer Blake, tells her he’s found another (younger) woman and wants a divorce. Although a Stanford graduate, Annie has known only a life of perfect wifedom: matching Blake’s ties to his suits and cooking meals from Gourmet magazine. What is she to do with her shattered life? Well, she returns to dad’s house in the small town of Mystic, cuts off all her hair (for a different look), and goes to work as a nanny for lawman Nick Delacroix, whose wife has committed suicide, whose young daughter Izzy refuses to speak, and who himself has descended into despair and alcoholism. Annie spruces up Nick’s home on Mystic Lake and sends “Izzy-bear” back into speech mode. And, after Nick begins attending AA meetings, she and he become lovers. Still, when Annie learns that she’s pregnant not with Nick’s but with Blake’s child, she heads back to her empty life in the Malibu Colony. The baby arrives prematurely, and mean-spirited Blake doesn’t even stick around to support his wife. At this point, it’s perfectly clear to Annie—and the reader—that she’s justified in taking her newborn daughter and driving back north. Hannah’s characters indulge in so many stages of the weeps, from glassy eyes to flat-out sobs, that tear ducts are almost bound to stay dry. (First printing of 100,000; first serial to Good Housekeeping; Literary Guild/Doubleday book club selections)
Pub Date: March 31, 1999
ISBN: 0-609-60249-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
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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