An intelligent, involving story of a Regency Cinderella finding a new life and true love.
In Michaels’ Regency romance, a young woman becomes an unexpected heiress.
Young August Summer is languishing in a low-intensity relationship with handsome curate Henry Fitzgerald, who seems to be in no hurry to marry her. Into this uneventful life comes an unexpected bombshell. From his deathbed in the countryside, Lord Bolton instructs his solicitor, Samuel Brooks, to seek out his nonmarital daughter—August. Lord Bolton has never seen the girl, but he fears he will not rest in peace if he doesn’t acknowledge and care for her, so he plans to install her at his ancestral home of Linfield Hall, 30 miles outside of London, right alongside his other children, Charles and Rosamund. He intends to establish her in his world by, among other things, settling an enormous fortune on her (society loves an unexpected heiress, he quips). Samuel is initially appalled by the arrangement; he’s doubtful that such a drastic change will be in anybody’s best interest. Nevertheless, he carries out his commission and contacts August, who’s astonished—and naturally worried about how her half siblings will react to her arrival at the hall. Her sudden vulnerability affects Samuel more than he expected. When readers initially meet him, he’s opposed to the idea of marriage, but he finds his feelings for August steadily blooming even though his ambivalence is only deepened when his task expands to acclimating August to the rarefied atmosphere of the very rich. Their growing attraction is complicated by her half brother’s decision to consign August to the care of her aunt, a dowager duchess dogged by rumors of her own.
The novel is a welter of plotlines and classic Regency tropes. Michaels dives straight into some of the best-known romance conceits, from the Cinderella aspects of August’s sudden rise from poverty to the oddball relationship with an unconventional older character to the confirmed-bachelor-finds-his-true-love device. Michaels imbues these storytelling elements with verve; the book’s narrative drive is strong even in its opening moves and only grows stronger as the tale builds. The main characters are all drawn with a clear, vibrant energy, and even the book’s villains, including, to an extent, August’s half brother, are given a refreshing complexity. Michaels’ strongest gift is pacing. The book jogs along from ball to dinner to carriage ride, and even the scenes in which characters pause and talk manage to contain a good deal of plot furthering. There are darker plot points along the way—Michaels doesn’t shy away from some of the uglier aspects of her time period—but these moments fall away. And although the basic architecture of that plot is very straightforwardly simple—“going from the governess to member of the ton was no easy feat” neatly sums up the bulk of it—it’s pursued with a zest that makes for easy, pleasant reading, all moving with propulsive certainty to pretty much exactly the climax that seasoned Regency readers will expect.
An intelligent, involving story of a Regency Cinderella finding a new life and true love.Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73514-013-1
Page Count: 310
Publisher: Mildred Press
Review Posted Online: April 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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