A novel hook, a touch of intrigue and a well-plotted storyline will keep most romance readers engaged.
Abandoned and impoverished, Sarah is completely alone in the world and facing an uncertain future, until a scruffy man appears on her doorstep and offers to marry her, claiming to fulfill her brother's dying wish; despite some misgivings, Sarah accepts his proposal, eager to start a new life and perhaps shed some light on the mysteries of her past.
Ten years ago, Sarah's father was murdered, and her brother, Albert, spirited her and their aunt away from London into a small cottage in the middle of nowhere. Now, her aunt and brother are dead, and Sarah has no means of survival. Just when her future looks particularly bleak, Gabriel Harrington knocks on her door and announces that on his deathbed, Albert asked him to marry her. The man looks like he's walked across the colonies—which isn't too far from the truth—but promises her that he's from a good family and will be able to take care of her. Despite some serious reservations, Sarah agrees. She has long yearned to return to London to see if she can find some clues as to what happened to her father. As Albert's friend, Gabe has some insight into what happened, but together, the husband and wife will search for answers and come into the cross hairs of a dangerous adversary. However, along the way, Sarah will be welcomed into the loving embrace of Gabriel's family, an experience that completes her in a way she never expected. Thrown together in an unorthodox way, Sarah and Gabriel nevertheless realize that they were meant to be together. Now, they must stay alive and vanquish their enemy in order to win their happily-ever-after. Smith pens an engaging follow-up to The Convenient Bride (2012) in her School for Brides series. Despite a continued penchant for occasionally whipping up annoying conflict where none actually exists, and writing inconsistencies into the text (one moment he sees spirit in Sarah's eyes, and two pages later, he is surprised to see spirit in the eyes of the seemingly meek woman), this book is significantly more balanced than the last one. With an intriguing mystery and a sense of shared purpose to bring Sarah and Gabe together, the plot moves forward quickly and keeps the reader interested in the romance and the investigation.
A novel hook, a touch of intrigue and a well-plotted storyline will keep most romance readers engaged.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-425-26066-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
To her usual mix of love, mystery, and passion, Roberts (Sanctuary, 1997, etc.)—author of 115 romancers in some 17 years—adds Renaissance art and a decidedly Medici-like family: the Joneses of Maine. Dr. Miranda Jones, nearly six feet with flaming red hair and a glacial reserve, is an archeometrist who specializes in the analyzing and dating of Renaissance bronze sculpture. Miranda hopes to secure a world-class reputation for herself by authenticating a 15th-century statue of the Dark Lady, one of the mistresses of Lorenzo the Magnificent, as the undiscovered work of a young Michelangelo. Miranda's mother, Dr. Elizabeth Standford-Jones, the emotionally remote director of the Standjo art lab in Florence, has summoned her daughter from the family's Victorian cliffside home in Jones Point, Maine, to test the statue. Meanwhile, Miranda's father, equally remote, is an archaeologist who spends more time at his digs than at home. In fact, no one in the Jones family has made a successful run at marriage, a failure that Miranda and her alcoholic brother Andrew call the Jones curse. As for the statue, when it's discovered to be a fake, Miranda sets out to prove that someone stole the original. In this she's helped by gorgeous art thief Ryan Boldari (half-Italian, half-Irish), who's come to Jones Point to steal yet another bronze, which also turns out to be a forgery. Ryan's plan had been to use Miranda as a pawn, but now, naturally, he finds himself falling hard for her. While the two search for bronzes, a standard-issue romance-novel psychotic is stalking them. Most readers will twig to the killer's identity: Here, as always, Roberts's sexual tension is more compelling than her suspense. Perhaps it's time to take a sabbatical from the pink sweatshop and turn her considerable wit and narrative skills to a more original piece of work.
Pub Date: March 23, 1998
ISBN: 0-399-14387-4
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1998
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