Romantic comedy fans will be delighted by this fun story about relationships and suburban living.
A young woman in the midst of a nasty divorce inherits a dilapidated house and decides to try her luck living in a new town in this novel.
Thirty-five-year-old Mallory Martin Bach has hit rock bottom. As a result of her soon-to-be-ex husband’s adulterous behavior, she’s lost not only her marriage, but also her home and even her job. Making matters worse, Mallory’s favorite aunt, the only family member who really understood her, has just died. The book opens with the reading of the will and the bombshell that Aunt Maggie has bequeathed her large house to Mallory. With few other options, Mallory decides to leave Manhattan and try living in suburban Huckleberry Hills, New Jersey. When she arrives in the neat and tidy neighborhood, she finds her new house is barely habitable. In addition to the many structural repairs the home requires, every room is filled to the brim with evidence that Maggie suffered from an extreme hoarding obsession. As Mallory begins the onerous process of clearing out the house, she meets the bossy but handsome neighbor across the street, Nick Holloway, whom she finds as enticing as he is infuriating. As Nick begins to prove himself rather helpful, she warms to him. The only problem is that Mallory has already promised herself she will never become reliant on another man. When it feels like Nick is starting to get too close, Mallory has to decide what she really wants out of her new life. Told entirely from Mallory’s perspective, the narrative displays a quirky, conversational tone that is consistent throughout. Full of witty banter, flirtatious glances, and sexy smirks, the interactions between the characters are lively and engaging. Despite the light tone of the prose, the novel deals with weighty topics, including emotionally abusive relationships, mental health, aging relatives, and self-doubt. At the same time, the story also highlights many of the ridiculous aspects of suburban living with humor and sass. From nonsensical housing association rules to the jewelry parties that occupy young mothers, Wolff and Flynn don’t miss an opportunity to poke fun at the burbs. Although the trajectory of the tale is predictable, the journey to its inevitable conclusion is solidly entertaining.
Romantic comedy fans will be delighted by this fun story about relationships and suburban living.Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68281-569-4
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: March 31, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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