An astute and charming look at friendship, love and self-discovery.
After her glamorous life falls apart, Lila Alders is left with nothing; she returns home to Black Dog Bay to re-evaluate only to find her mother in crisis and her childhood home in jeopardy.
When Lila comes limping back to Black Dog Bay after her marriage and her career disintegrate, she looks forward to sanctuary and comfort. Instead she finds a financial crisis and her mother in denial. Exhausted and emotionally depleted, Lila rallies after she discovers her mother’s treasure trove of vintage clothing from her young modeling days. Deciding to open a vintage clothing boutique, Lila reconnects with her high school boyfriend—now a prominent Black Dog Bay real estate owner and developer—and arranges to rent a space, then sets her mind to convincing her mother to part with her fashion collection. Both she and her hometown have changed. Her friends have moved on, she and her ex-boyfriend are more like friends than lovers (despite their best efforts), and Black Dog Bay has much more to offer her than it ever did in high school, including a whole set of interesting new friends and an intriguing new relationship with a man she doesn’t quite remember from her youth. Enigmatic Malcolm has a mysterious military past, a high–security-clearance career and a wicked way with a sewing machine—nothing she ever thought to look for in a man yet somehow perfect for her in the here and now. Kendrick follows Cure For the Common Break-up (2014) with another enchanting, heartwarming Black Dog Bay–set story of reinvention and romance. Fans will be happy to see Summer, Ingrid, Dutch and other characters integrated into this story, and the return to the lightly magical town feels like a welcome vacation to a favorite resort. Kendrick has a light, breezy writing style that manages to take readers on unexpectedly poignant journeys with some startling twists and turns on the road.
An astute and charming look at friendship, love and self-discovery.Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-451-46586-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: New American Library
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2014
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
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
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