A fun-filled romantic steampunk story that returning readers will enjoy.
In Fraedrich’s steampunk novel (one in a series), an idealistic man loses his family and status, only to gain something more rewarding.
As an Enforcer in the city of Springhaven, Falcon Smoke is a member of a brutal guard that’s supposed to find justice but more often causes strife. Falcon has recently earned the position of Steward of the Sage, a title he hopes to use to stop the cruelty of Enforcers and promote fairness and safety for the citizenry. After publicly disgracing his grandfather, a high-ranking Enforcer, he leaves his family home, cut off from the wealth of his heritage; to add insult to injury, he’s dealing with chronic pain. His friend Beatrice Holmes helps him find lodgings to rent, as well as a roommate, Keene Kohli. While Falcon focuses on the rules of etiquette and worries about saying the right thing, struggling to transcend the teachings of his upper-crust family, the handsome and friendly Keene seems to have no worries at all. When Falcon and Keene come home to find they’ve been robbed of nearly everything they own, Keene doesn’t wish to report the crime due to the notoriety of the Enforcers’ brutality and the well-known horrors of the justice and prison systems (“I don’t want someone locked away for the rest of their lives over mere stuff”). The men begin their own investigation, and soon Falcon finds himself growing closer to Keene as sparks fly between them. Fraedrich has crafted an excellent mystery story, returning to the familiar steampunk world of the Broken Gears series and its characters. Falcon’s desire to reform the Enforcers is an unusual and compelling conflict and adds complexity to his character. Keene is an engaging presence who shows dimension as he grows closer to Falcon and reveals his own backstory. Their romance is believable, growing out of an initial friendship and sparked by genuine chemistry and compatibility. The romance is interwoven with the mystery, and both have a rewarding conclusion.
A fun-filled romantic steampunk story that returning readers will enjoy.Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 9798218026684
Page Count: 258
Publisher: Goat Song Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
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