A charming look at an enduring relationship.
A chance encounter leads a young couple on the path to true love in this debut novella.
On the island of Aruba, a romance begins in an unlikely place. When he first sees her at the local grocery store, Tom knows there is something about Mary. He is captivated by her beautiful dark hair and eyes and understands at that moment he will always love her. At first, Tom’s parents dismiss his declarations of love as a youthful infatuation, since he is age 7 and she is 5. The two families are close, and, as the years pass, Tom and Mary meet for ice cream or walks along the beach. Despite their attraction, Tom learns that Shakespeare was right and “the course of true love never did run smooth” when Mary’s father accepts a job transfer on the other side of the island. They stay in contact, but Tom’s friends believe he should date other girls. He begins a romance with Jean, but he never stops believing he will reunite with Mary. When a twist of fate brings Mary back into Tom’s life, the couple is free to pursue a relationship if they can overcome their doubts and uncertainties about their future. Heyliger’s novella is a pleasant and briskly paced exploration of a bond from childhood infatuation to adult maturity. The most successful aspect of the tale is the author’s portrait of life on Aruba. Tom and Mary reside in a close-knit community that discourages children from doing anything that might embarrass their families. Heyliger conveys these characteristics through his descriptions of Tom’s and Mary’s families’ objections to them living together as an unmarried couple. His protagonists are likable, especially Mary, whose concerns about the long-term prospects of her relationship with Tom are relatable. At 43 pages, the narrative is tightly focused; however, there is a noticeable discrepancy in the size of Mary’s family. Initially, she is described as having “four brothers and two sisters,” but later Tom says Mary’s desire for a large family is because she “was an only child.”
A charming look at an enduring relationship.Pub Date: Dec. 27, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-68409-776-0
Page Count: 43
Publisher: Page Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 20, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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