A creative paranormal love story for fantasy fans.
After the death of a close friend, a young woman embarks on a journey that leads her to transcendental love in Hawkinson’s fantasy romance.
Thirty-two-year-old travel agent Jenna Hickson’s life unravels with a single phone call on a frigid January day in New York City. She finds out that her best friend, Padma Kumar, has been struck and killed by a car while crossing the street. Jenna retrieves Padma’s things, which include a flash drive containing Padma’s magnum opus: a novel set in 14th-century Scotland that features a young princess who begins a fantastical adventure. Padma died before she could finish it, so a grieving Jenna vows to do so on her behalf. However, the moment Jenna begins to write, she begins to question her own reality: She finds brand-new edits and markings in Padma’s text that she didn’t make herself, including strikethroughs and a small “P” symbol on various pages; soon it becomes clear that they may have a supernatural origin. Jenna’s days are filled with thoughts of her friend, and her dreams are filled with strange enigmas, including an old castle, a handsome gentleman, and a threatening storm. As Jenna immerses herself in that fantasy world and in Padma’s fictional world, she finds herself driven to visit the real-life Dunnottar Castle—the place that inspired it all. These three plotlines—Padma’s novel, Jenna’s dreams, and Jenna’s trip to Scotland—come together to form a complex romance novel with a touch of the paranormal and plenty of historical lore. Each storyline is thoughtfully plotted and well-paced, and they blend seamlessly without abrupt shifts that might take readers out of the story. There are areas that might have benefited from some revision, such as the excessive amount of detail regarding Jenna’s cat, Jenna’s many emails, and some of Jenna’s day-to-day activities, but she remains a sympathetic protagonist with a clear goal. The sweeping descriptions of Scotland (“The gently undulating sea beckoned….Come closer. Come and touch, feel, and smell me, it seemed to say”) provide an exciting backdrop.
A creative paranormal love story for fantasy fans.Pub Date: June 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1732017559
Page Count: 561
Publisher: Bowker Identifier Services
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
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
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