This fantastical romance provides an expert mix of magic, love, and adventure.
Love blossoms unexpectedly between a prince from a magical seafaring kingdom and an outsider princess who is last on his matchmaking list.
Prince Dilys Merimydion of the Calbernan Isles longs for the day he can settle down and get married. As son of the Isles’ queen, he’s destined to carry on his family’s powerful bloodline and secure a royal bride from the kingdom of Summerlea. With three princesses to choose from, Dilys knows he's supposed to make a beneficial match with one of the two more powerful princesses. The only match that would be frowned upon would be a union with the middle princess, Gabriella Coruscate, also known as Summer, whose mystical talents are weak at best. But though her skills as a weathermage haven’t manifested as strongly as her sisters’, Summer is known throughout her kingdom for being kind and gentle. When the eligible men of the Calbernan Isles sail up to Summerlea to find wives for themselves, she knows a betrothal to a prince isn’t in her future—but then she sees Dilys. Enter a murderous band of pirates terrorizing the Calbernan sea trade lines, led by a mysterious figure known only as the Shark, and this fantasy romance goes from sweet to adventurous in a heartbeat. While the book gets off to a slow start, with page after page of infodumps, things settle into a charming rhythm once Dilys leaves his island in search of a woman fit to be his eventual queen. Wilson’s (The Winter King, 2014, etc.) careful crafting of the various fantasy kingdoms makes them come vividly to life, especially Calbernan’s mighty matriarchal society, in which men have to earn the right to marry by serving years as sea mercenaries and protecting the kingdom. Summer shines as an underestimated heroine with plenty of untapped talents, and Dilys' earnestness in wanting to start a family is a surprisingly adorable trait in a romance hero.
This fantastical romance provides an expert mix of magic, love, and adventure.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-201898-4
Page Count: 597
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017
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
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
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