Monahan sets this paranormal romance in a Scottish castle during the present day and the 16th century.
From the opening chapter, it’s clear that Samantha McKinley is both impulsive and foolish. When a mysterious letter arrives at her home in Boston informing her that she has inherited an ancient castle along with a large sum of money, and instructs her to come to Scotland and to bring no one along with her, she never questions it. Instead, Samantha obediently heads to Scotland, unaware that she will never return home and never see her friends or family again. A few hours after she arrives in Scotland, Samantha meets Kieron and almost immediately puts all her trust in the good-looking stranger, moving into his house the following day. Mainly through Kieron, Samantha learns of the mysterious history of Rosestone, the castle she has inherited, and later Kieron’s own story. Kieron is an immortal from another dimension, a Keeper who is an angel of light. Samantha learns that an ancient curse threatens her safety. With Kieron’s help she travels back in time to the 16th century to destroy an evil sorcerer and lift the curse. Monahan’s somewhat confusing fantasy mythos features Vikings, demons, angels, alternate worlds, reincarnation and time travel. The characters tend to be simple and flat; the bad guys are unquestionably evil while the good guys are, literally, angels. The story drags during scenes where large chunks of background information are unveiled, usually in the form of stilted dialogue. The pace picks up, however, during those scenes when the forces of good and evil clash, treating readers to some fast-moving action. Readers will have to look beyond a host of spelling and grammatical errors as well as a few continuity lapses, but those who do will find a romantic tale inspired by Celtic legend. An epilogue hints at the possibility of a sequel. This love story of a woman in the right place at the wrong time and the attractive angel-knight who comes to her aid should appeal to readers of the romance genre.
Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2011
ISBN: 978-1463474331
Page Count: 333
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: March 7, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.
Another reboot of Jane Austen?!? Hadlow pulls it off in a smart, heartfelt novel devoted to bookish Mary, middle of the five sisters in Pride and Prejudice.
Part 1 recaps Pride and Prejudice through Mary’s eyes, climaxing with the humiliating moment when she sings poorly at a party and older sister Elizabeth goads their father to cut her off in front of everyone. The sisters’ friend Charlotte, who marries the unctuous Mr. Collins after Elizabeth rejects him, emerges as a pivotal character; her conversations with Mary are even tougher-minded here than those with Elizabeth depicted by Austen. In Part 2, two years later, Mary observes on a visit that Charlotte is deferential but remote with her husband; she forms an intellectual friendship with the neglected and surprisingly nice Mr. Collins that leads to Charlotte’s asking Mary to leave. In Part 3, Mary finds refuge in London with her kindly aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. Mrs. Gardiner is the second motherly woman, after Longbourn housekeeper Mrs. Hill, to try to undo the psychic damage wrought by Mary’s actual mother, shallow, status-obsessed Mrs. Bennet, by building up her confidence and buying her some nice clothes (funded by guilt-ridden Lizzy). Sure enough, two suitors appear: Tom Hayward, a poetry-loving lawyer who relishes Mary’s intellect but urges her to also express her feelings; and William Ryder, charming but feckless inheritor of a large fortune, whom naturally Mrs. Bennet loudly favors. It takes some maneuvering to orchestrate the estrangement of Mary and Tom, so clearly right for each other, but debut novelist Hadlow manages it with aplomb in a bravura passage describing a walking tour of the Lake District rife with seething complications furthered by odious Caroline Bingley. Her comeuppance at Mary’s hands marks the welcome final step in our heroine’s transformation from a self-doubting wallflower to a vibrant, self-assured woman who deserves her happy ending. Hadlow traces that progression with sensitivity, emotional clarity, and a quiet edge of social criticism Austen would have relished.
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-12941-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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
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