A sometimes-compelling suspense novel that’s hampered by the protagonist’s failure to recognize trouble.
In Clark’s novel, a woman finds love and terror as she tries to move on after a divorce.
Lana Ross Chisholm’s 10-year marriage to Cadillac salesman Lucas Chisolm has ended, and she’s ready to begin her life anew. That first means changing the locks at her house in Boulder, Colorado, and she hires locksmith Leon Alvarez to do it. Alvarez secretly sets up security cameras to spy on Lana, and although she briefly thinks that he may be up to something shady, she dismisses her own fears. Meanwhile, she quickly revs up a relationship with Vincent Romano, who owns a Harley-Davidson dealership in the Boulder area. (He also happens to be the subject of a story Lana’s writing as the editor of Boulder Essence magazine.) What follows is, in part, a story of a romance, as Lana may have found the man of her dreams in Vincent. Mostly, though, it’s a tale of suspense, as Alvarez and, eventually, Lana’s ex-husband terrorize her. Alvarez, it turns out, has been obsessed with Lana since high school, which puts her and those around her in danger. Clark handles the romantic passages well, although the fact that Lana never suspects that Alvarez is stalking her may be difficult for readers to believe. In an odd conceit, Alvarez always talks out loud to himself, so readers know what he’s thinking. The novel also mentions the songs that Lana is listening to—an initially clever gimmick that becomes overused, as nearly 60 songs are referenced by the end of the story. Despite these hindrances, Clark manages to maintain a quick-paced narrative, and readers will find themselves invested in Lana’s story and her reactions to the awful events that transpire. Clark’s characters are consistently compelling even when their actions and reactions don’t always make sense.
A sometimes-compelling suspense novel that’s hampered by the protagonist’s failure to recognize trouble.Pub Date: Dec. 30, 2019
ISBN: 9781977219206
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Outskirts Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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