An uncomfortable start is saved by the secondary characters and setting.
A romance reader's once-in-a-lifetime trip to meet her favorite audiobook narrator goes awry when he never shows up, leaving her stuck with a snarky tour guide instead.
Georgia “Gigi” Rutherford owns a romance bookshop and is dogged in her pursuit of love. Sadly, she thinks she's reached the limit of her tolerance for dating apps, instead fantasizing about audiobook narrator Zane Wilkenson. She takes it as a sign that he narrates the book that, years ago, caused her own parents to fall in love. Through internet sleuthing, Gigi discovers that Zane works for his parents' tour-guide business in London. For her 30th birthday, her dearest friends buy her a ticket to England for a 10-day bus tour hosted by none other than Zane. Gigi embarks on a whirlwind vacation, nearly missing the tour bus, but her bubble is burst when Zane is a no-show. In a pinch, Angus, one of the company's oldest employees, and Taj, a surly and snappy man with a love of mystery novels, step in to kick off the trip, with a promise that Zane will catch up with them later. It's hard to enjoy Gigi as a main character considering her parasocial relationship with Zane. Her desire for a man she's never met, has only listened to via audiobooks, and has only seen through social media photos comes across as concerning. Thankfully, she snaps out of it, though some readers may not have the patience to wait that long. Once Gigi's attention turns to Taj, though, there's a delightfully meta quality to their relationship, as Gigi is a dedicated romance reader who references familiar tropes and author names while Taj has his own bookish indulgences. The detailed descriptions of the English countryside, combined with a motley crew of Gigi's fellow tour-goers, add coziness and charm.
An uncomfortable start is saved by the secondary characters and setting.Pub Date: March 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781496735379
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Haphazard and undemanding.
A sports agent’s first official client is the man she dumped years ago in college.
After two years of hard work as an underling, Nora Mackenzie is finally being promoted to full-time sports agent. She’s worked hard, kept quiet, and allowed men in the office to call her Mac—a nickname she hates—all to show she’s a team player and “one of the guys.” Unfortunately, her boss instructs her to sign Derek Pender, a football player coming off an injury, who happens to be the man she heartlessly dumped in their senior year of college. Derek signs with her for revenge, seeing it as his opportunity to pay Nora back for callously breaking his heart eight years earlier. He insists she be at his beck and call: answering his emails, running his errands, cooking dinner for his dates. He also refuses to let her explain why she broke up with him without warning or explanation. Nora feels she has no choice but to acquiesce to Derek’s humiliating demands, since she’s worked too hard to let him ruin her dream job. She hopes he’ll thaw and they might become friends, but Derek’s bad behavior is designed to hide the fact that he’s still in love with her. Nora’s characterization is uneven, veering between anger at how she’s treated in the male-dominated field to immature bickering and bantering with Derek. Although Adams likely meant for Derek and Nora’s interactions to have an enemies-to-lovers vibe, the characters instead seem juvenile and stuck in the past. The novel is fueled by a string of tropes—second chance romance! married in Vegas! only one bed!—each randomly deployed to keep the book going despite thin characterization and wan plotting.
Haphazard and undemanding.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593723678
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dell
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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