A story of passion and intermittent poetry undermined by technical soft spots.
From the Battle of Britain through 9/11 and beyond, a group of characters is connected by bonds of grief, loss, and beauty.
The sequence of appalling disasters flows relentlessly in Hester’s second novel. A downed wartime pilot expires in an airplane riddled with enemy bullets; a beloved daughter dies in her crib; a solitary Scotsman falls at the scene of a terrible air tragedy; a cherished wife fades away. The litany of heartbreak, overshadowed by larger horrors—a couple committing suicide together; wartime land mines; 9/11; terrorist bombs—winds through a story that spans multiple decades while looping among a scattered group of characters. Susan McEwan, in England in 1940, meets two of her brother Phillip’s friends, RAF Capt. Roger Grey, whom she will marry, and Nial McKellan, who will reconnect with the Greys, disruptively, 20 years later. In Toronto in the 1980s, a husband named Polo must deal, in difficult financial circumstances, with his wife’s pregnancy. And in Montana, in 2001, when a wedding is suddenly threatened by unwelcome news, the groom, Jack Riordan, finds an article written by Polo about Susan and Roger and Nial. Hester moves among these figures in teasing fashion, sometimes affectingly, often using provocative stylistic tics, including sensational chapter openings, distracting phraseology (“Their hair glistening and wavy and succulent as plums”), and the invention of verbs from nouns or adjectives (“tauted,” “genesised,” “raven’d”). The effect is both whimsical and disruptive, the novel’s sincerity on the subject of love and parenting sometimes snagged or punctured. The author’s tendency toward sentimentality has a similar seesawing effect, most noticeable in a late chapter spent, eye-poppingly, with King George VI and Princess Margaret.
A story of passion and intermittent poetry undermined by technical soft spots.Pub Date: July 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64009-325-6
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Counterpoint
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
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
A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism.
Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores—a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore—become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love.
Bree is a friendly but standoffish bookstore owner who keeps everyone she knows at arm’s length, from guys she meets in bars to her friends. Mikki is a settled-in-her-routines divorced mother of two, happily a mom, gift-shop owner, and co-parent with her ex-husband, Perry. And Ashley is a young, very-much-in-love bakery owner specializing in muffins who devotes herself to giving back to the community through a nonprofit that helps community members develop skills and find jobs. When the women meet drooling over a boardwalk storefront that none of them can afford on her own, a plan is hatched to divide the space in three, and a friendship—and business partnership—is born. An impromptu celebration on the beach at sunset with champagne becomes a weekly touchpoint to their lives as they learn more about each other and themselves. Their friendship blossoms as they help each other, offering support, hard truths, and loving backup. Author Mallery has created a delightful story of friendship between three women that also offers a variety of love stories as they fall in love, make mistakes, and figure out how to be the best—albeit still flawed—versions of themselves. The men are similarly flawed and human. While the story comes down clearly on the side of all-encompassing love, Mallery has struck a careful balance: There is just enough sex to be spicy, just enough swearing to be naughty, and just enough heartbreak to avoid being cloying.
A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism.Pub Date: May 31, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-778-38608-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2022
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