The lead characters’ well-defined intimacy gives this uneven tale a boost of energy.
In Lynn’s (Enticing Iris, 2019, etc.) romantic thriller, a software engineer seeks help from an alluring hacker who had a complicated history with her missing twin sister.
Lindsey Morris is accustomed to her identical twin’s flakiness, but she’s infuriated when Lena skips out on their parents’ anniversary party. Lena finally responds to Lindsey’s messages with a vague text, telling her to get help at a particular address. Lindsey first goes to her sister’s trashed apartment, where a strange man calling himself “Griffin” shows up, claims to know Lena, and asks Lindsey not to notify the police. Lindsey then goes to address that her sister supplied, where she’s surprised to see a man she knows: Jace Adams. Lena had asked Jace to hack into MIT’s system years ago to change her grade, which resulted in him getting the boot from the university. Lindsey convinces him that she’s not Lena, but he’s reluctant to help her search for her missing twin. Still, he and Lindsey quickly grow close, and he soon shares his suspicions about who may have abducted her sis. It turns out that Jace works for the Nest, a clandestine group of white-hat hackers whose former member has a vendetta against him. Lena’s disappearance, however, may have to do with yet another secret. In any case, Lindsey, a highly skilled coder, is determined to find her, even if she has to do it alone. Lynn successfully establishes a believably contentious relationship between the two leads. Jace initially has trouble trusting Lindsey, as he’s hated her sibling for years, and Lindsey, quite rightly, deems him “a real asshole” shortly after they meet. Nevertheless, a mutual physical attraction is there from the start, and their sympathy for each other gradually grows into affection. Lynn also keeps the plot moving at a steady clip, with steamy, sometimes-explicit sexual encounters and instances of imminent peril. However, the story’s technological aspect feels stunted, as readers hardly see Lindsey’s capabilities; her covert installation of software, for instance, involves little more than plugging in a flash drive, and she tackles another problem by merely rebooting a computer.
The lead characters’ well-defined intimacy gives this uneven tale a boost of energy.Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-535-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: June 25, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.
A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.
Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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