A charming, if uneven, romance with a memorable leading lady.
A small-town tale of romance and corruption.
Hinske’s (Coming to Rosemont, 2012) second novel delves further into the adventures of Maggie Martin, a forensic accountant–turned–reluctant mayor of Westbury, a Norman Rockwell–esque Midwestern town—at least on the surface. Maggie, who in the previous book won the election with a last-minute write-in campaign, must now pick up the pieces after the previous mayor embezzled from the city treasury. Unfortunately, the solution likely involves cuts to employee salaries and pensions, which has made Maggie unpopular with constituents. Plus, she suspects that several council members might still be playing fast and loose with the town’s funds. She finds solace in Rosemont, the beautiful estate left to her by her dead husband, and her relationship with local vet Dr. John Allen. But Maggie devotes so much time to her mayoral duties that she neglects John, and the relationship sours. The corruption angle takes a back seat to various romances, from spunky Maggie’s evolving relationship with John to her daughter Susan’s budding affair with a young doctor to the sweet saga of elderly Glenn and Gloria, who fall in love as they fight to save their retirement community (which is facing foreclosure due to the town’s financial troubles). Meanwhile, the question of what’s really going on with the town’s finances remains unanswered, despite the appearance of mysterious papers in a dusty attic, a murder staged to look like a suicide and a corrupt council member with a propensity for violence. Hinske has an appealing heroine in Maggie, a middle-aged woman with a zest for living; she’s now struggling to find her footing after some major, and unexpected, personal changes. But the novel is stuffed with secondary characters and subplots, and many of the major conflicts are left unresolved, leaving readers hanging for the series’ third installment. Still, things move along at a pleasantly fast clip, and the dialogue jumps from the page. Evocative details and scenes bring the story to life, such as a big family Thanksgiving dinner and Maggie’s successful (and amusing) foray into online dating.
A charming, if uneven, romance with a memorable leading lady.Pub Date: May 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-1499182125
Page Count: 276
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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