An emotional and dramatic novel that achieves the difficult task of blending themes of trauma, healing, and romantic love.
A woman's increasingly successful life starts to crumble as secrets from her past are revealed in Kennedy’s debut novel.
Dahlia Frost has had an eventful and difficult life. She was kidnapped as a child by her biological father, Dahmon, and nearly drowned after he drove his car into a lake. Her stepfather, Bob, abused her and her mother, Sylvia. Dahlia later escaped to the U.S. Air Force but was discharged a decade ago after a hypnotherapy session that yielded repressed memories; the stress led to a breakup with her longtime boyfriend, the famous actor Roland Hughes. Sylvia reveals some of Dahlia’s past to her, and the young woman turns the story of her life into a bestselling novel, writing under a pseudonym. She also finds out that she’s an heiress who’s worth millions. Roland unexpectedly turns up at one of her signings, and they rekindle their relationship; she gets pregnant, and they plan to marry. Then her real name is revealed to the public, and days before her wedding, she’s abducted and finds out more startling information about her past. Later, she tries to decide how to deal with those who’ve wronged her. In this first volume in a planned series, Kennedy states in an author’s note that some of the story’s events are based on abuse that she and her mother suffered: “The depth of dysfunction, bad choices, abuse, and heaviness felt lighter as I covered it in a candy-coated romance.” The author skillfully accomplishes her goal of discussing the serious topics in an engaging story of a public relationship between an author and an actor. The story’s villains are offered no redemption, but the most important in Dahlia’s life are developed into complex characters who find forgiveness. Kennedy also makes the protagonist’s struggles with complicated decisions feel realistic and wisely leaves unexplored secrets for future volumes.
An emotional and dramatic novel that achieves the difficult task of blending themes of trauma, healing, and romantic love.Pub Date: June 19, 2022
ISBN: 979-8986064321
Page Count: 266
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
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