A charming tale for romance lovers who enjoy a lyrical game of cat and mouse.
An Italian pop opera star’s world gets upended when he meets an American singer in this third installment of a romance series.
Nico Biviano has years of fame and a notable “player” reputation under his belt at the outset of Irish’s tale. As a beloved opera star from Pisa, Italy, he enjoyed international stardom until he surprised his fan base by joining the pop opera group Bel Homme. Now, “Bel Homme was number one in the world, and he was proud to be a part of it all.” His career move was motivated in part by the opportunity to meet more attractive female fans. But Nico has not been able to focus on this aspect of the job ever since he met Gina Madonni, a singer/songwriter from America, at a band mate’s wedding. Though Gina is caught in the clutches of a controlling manager named Scott, the two singers experience an undeniable attraction. When Bel Homme hires Gina to be the opening act for its tour, she finally sees the possibility for her big breakout—and a chance to spend countless hours with Nico. But instead of immediately doting on her like other men, Nico provides endless pointers and criticisms for each of Gina’s performances, which makes her question his intentions. Is it possible for Nico to leave behind his checkered dating history to be the man she needs him to be? Can they figure out how to be together when they’re from different countries? And finally, can Nico make peace with her wish to never have children? The novel offers a delicate balance of tenderness and conflict for two individuals attempting to resist an irresistible love. Romance connoisseurs will delight in the story’s classic elements of sexuality, emotional satisfaction, and inner turmoil. Irish effectively builds the tension between Nico and Gina while creating impeccable moments for its release. Although the plot lacks some key background information and occasionally becomes distracting during a few tangents, the author skillfully develops the main characters while prioritizing a sensuous pull for readers.
A charming tale for romance lovers who enjoy a lyrical game of cat and mouse.Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2022
ISBN: 9781942627043
Page Count: 408
Publisher: Enoch Publications
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.
Another reboot of Jane Austen?!? Hadlow pulls it off in a smart, heartfelt novel devoted to bookish Mary, middle of the five sisters in Pride and Prejudice.
Part 1 recaps Pride and Prejudice through Mary’s eyes, climaxing with the humiliating moment when she sings poorly at a party and older sister Elizabeth goads their father to cut her off in front of everyone. The sisters’ friend Charlotte, who marries the unctuous Mr. Collins after Elizabeth rejects him, emerges as a pivotal character; her conversations with Mary are even tougher-minded here than those with Elizabeth depicted by Austen. In Part 2, two years later, Mary observes on a visit that Charlotte is deferential but remote with her husband; she forms an intellectual friendship with the neglected and surprisingly nice Mr. Collins that leads to Charlotte’s asking Mary to leave. In Part 3, Mary finds refuge in London with her kindly aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. Mrs. Gardiner is the second motherly woman, after Longbourn housekeeper Mrs. Hill, to try to undo the psychic damage wrought by Mary’s actual mother, shallow, status-obsessed Mrs. Bennet, by building up her confidence and buying her some nice clothes (funded by guilt-ridden Lizzy). Sure enough, two suitors appear: Tom Hayward, a poetry-loving lawyer who relishes Mary’s intellect but urges her to also express her feelings; and William Ryder, charming but feckless inheritor of a large fortune, whom naturally Mrs. Bennet loudly favors. It takes some maneuvering to orchestrate the estrangement of Mary and Tom, so clearly right for each other, but debut novelist Hadlow manages it with aplomb in a bravura passage describing a walking tour of the Lake District rife with seething complications furthered by odious Caroline Bingley. Her comeuppance at Mary’s hands marks the welcome final step in our heroine’s transformation from a self-doubting wallflower to a vibrant, self-assured woman who deserves her happy ending. Hadlow traces that progression with sensitivity, emotional clarity, and a quiet edge of social criticism Austen would have relished.
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-12941-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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