An intriguing novel that trips over its own existential considerations.
Richards’ debut novel explores various weighty questions, such as the definition of a well-lived life.
If you could shave off years from your life and transfer them to someone more “deserving,” would you do it? This is the question that successful 52-year-old tech entrepreneur Scott Northwood ponders shortly after he loses a close friend to a freak accident. Having sold his Silicon Valley company for millions, Scott had settled down to a comfy life in Washington’s Poulsbo—“a town of 8,000 located at the head of a sheltered bay on the western edge of Puget Sound.” As he soon discovers, though, money can’t buy love. Already haunted by a tragic childhood, Scott grows more distraught after his friend’s death forces him to see the arbitrariness of death. What if, Scott wonders out loud, he could have given Danny some of his years? Enter Patrick, an “Enabler,” who can help Scott do just that—give his years away to people in need. It might be too late to save Danny, but Scott, an “Implementer,” is soon able to extend the lives of various “Prospects”—Megan, Max, Jason, Olivia—all deserving people in their own ways. The plot keeps a sharp pace until the middle, which dawdles as one Prospect after the other gets airtime. Eventually, things get complicated when Scott becomes more vested in one Prospect’s outcome as he realizes his own life’s true purpose. In the end, the book poses many morally fraught questions (Isn’t each person’s life worth saving equally? Who can determine the value of a life? Is it wise to really play God?) that are beyond the scope of the novel. Bonus points: the Pacific Northwest is painted with a vibrant, saturated palette.
An intriguing novel that trips over its own existential considerations.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1502572547
Page Count: -
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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