Elizabeth’s court in miniature.
Queen Elizabeth I, who remained unmarried and childless, made her surrogate child’s life miserable, according to Barnhill’s second novel about her Boleyn ancestors.
Elizabeth takes a personal interest in the upbringing of Mary Shelton, her second cousin on the Boleyn side, raised at court after the deaths of her parents. Set during the period shortly before Mary, Queen of Scots is deposed, and leading up to the discovery of an alleged assassination plot instigated by papal bull and led by Queen Mary and her Catholic adherents, the pace is ponderous, as life in Elizabeth’s court is examined in exhaustive and exhausting detail. The queen’s wardrobe is painstakingly described, as are her beauty regimen (plenty of whiteface), sleep rituals (assisted by Mary Shelton’s specially brewed elixirs), and her long-term unconsummated but jealous liaison with “Sweet Robin,” the royal nickname for Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Aside from the Catholic plot and other matters of state, which are kept largely in the background, the main conflict concerns Elizabeth’s nuptial plans for Mary Shelton. Mary prefers handsome Sir John Skydemore, a widower and father of five who is not noble enough (at least in lineage) to suit Elizabeth’s lofty ambitions for her ward. If a foreign, alliance-cementing prince can’t be found (and at 38, the queen has not lost hope of snaring one of those herself), Edward de Vere, the powerful Earl of Oxford, is the queen’s choice for Mary. However, in addition to being too old, Edward is a known rake seemingly bent on compromising Mary’s virtue. As Mary and John grow increasingly reckless, Oxford, stung by Mary’s rejection, plots her downfall. As the celibacy the queen imposes on herself and others takes its toll, dramatic tension is finally introduced.
Elizabeth’s court in miniature.Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-250-04379-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: Feb. 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2014
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.
A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.
Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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