A New York book editor travels west to track down the reclusive author of a bestseller in this debut romance.
The prestigious titles published by New York’s Banter House Books don’t include anything like Rancho de Amor, a romance that’s become a huge, bestselling sensation by first-time author Loretta de Bonnair. With Banter House verging on financial collapse, it would love to publish de Bonnair’s next moneymaking novel, a difficult prospect since she’s older, gives no interviews, and has no contact information. All anyone knows is that she lives in tiny Sisquoc, California, so that’s where Banter House book editor Catherine Doyle, a 28-year-old brunette, heads when she gets the uncongenial assignment to find and sign de Bonnair. In Sisquoc, Catherine learns that no one knows how to contact the romance writer. No one, that is, but handsome, blue-eyed, brooding ranch manager Sam Wilson, who promises to act as go-between for Catherine and a rival press. Since Catherine first meets Sam as he’s getting thrown out of a bar, he doesn’t make a great first impression. To their mutual surprise, they’re attracted—but Sam has secrets of his own that could derail everything. In his novel, Harder tells a fairly familiar opposites-attract story that is boosted by its clever central mystery. The couple’s obstacles are unsurprising—she’s wary of passion; he hasn’t found the right woman to love—but emotional moments are described lyrically, and the book is insightful about issues like de Bonnair’s displeasing locals with her “environmentalism and socialism.” Quirky details also amuse: a B&B bedroom filled with taxidermic roadkill, an academic study titled “Hay Bales, Heifers, and a Feminist Hermeneutic of the Heroine in de Bonnair’s Rancho de Amor,” and a local poetaster.
An entertaining, thoughtful take on the odd-couple romance.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5132-6431-8
Page Count: 246
Publisher: West Margin Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: ROMANCE | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE | GENERAL ROMANCE
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A wistfully nostalgic look at endings, beginnings, and loving the people who will always have your back.
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Exes pretend they’re still together for the sake of their friends on their annual summer vacation.
Wyn Connor and Harriet Kilpatrick were the perfect couple—until Wyn dumped Harriet for reasons she still doesn’t fully understand. They’ve been part of the same boisterous friend group since college, and they know that their breakup will devastate the others and make things more than a little awkward. So they keep it a secret from their friends and families—in fact, Harriet barely even admits it to herself, focusing instead on her grueling hours as a surgical resident. She’s ready for a vacation at her happy place—the Maine cottage she and her friends visit every summer. But (surprise!) Wyn is there too, and he and Harriet have to share a (very romantic) room and a bed. Telling the truth about their breakup is out of the question, because the cottage is up for sale, and this is the group’s last hurrah. Determined to make sure everyone has the perfect last trip, Harriet and Wyn resolve to fake their relationship for the week. The problem with this plan, of course, is that Harriet still has major feelings for Wyn—feelings that only get stronger as they pretend to be blissfully in love. As always, Henry’s dialogue is sparkling and the banter between characters is snappy and hilarious. Wyn and Harriet’s relationship, shown both in the past and the present, feels achingly real. Their breakup, as well as their complicated relationships with their own families, adds a twinge of melancholy, as do the relatable growing pains of a group of friends whose lives are taking them in different directions.
A wistfully nostalgic look at endings, beginnings, and loving the people who will always have your back.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9780593441275
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
Categories: ROMANCE | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE | GENERAL ROMANCE | GENERAL FICTION
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Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
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Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Categories: GENERAL ROMANCE | ROMANCE | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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