Though breathlessly chaste and sprinkled with clichés, this novel will satisfy the romantic who longs for a world of...
A medieval romance with a supernatural slant.
As a nobleman’s adopted daughter, Isabel should be wearing beautiful dresses and spending her days embroidering and learning music and languages, not sleeping in the stables and wearing men’s muddy clothing and sword fighting and falling in love with Mathew, a thief-turned–dashing stable boy. But in the days of knights, kings and ladies, Isabel is a free-spirited, unconventional young woman. When her adopted father and his friend Sir John Scotch agree that Isabel’s independence must be nipped in the bud, they send Mathew away, forcing Isabel to decide whether she wants to submit or rebel. Her decision is complicated by the arrival of charming James, who has been sent by Sir John to look after her. As James attempts to gain her trust, Isabel finds that her feelings for him have begun to rival the love she has for Mathew. But she also suspects that there’s something strange about James—his power over her, for one, seems almost supernatural, and there’s something in his eyes that suggests a sinister knowledge outside of reality. When James reveals that he has been hired by Sir John to turn Isabel against her adoptive father, it becomes clear that James, too, has discovered that his calculations have their limits when faced with Isabel’s beauty and magnetism. Compromised in his mission, James must depart, leaving Isabel even more torn between her desires. Mathew’s return leads to further emotional confusion, as even more suitors vie for Isabel’s affections—some going so far as to make unearthly bargains to get what they want, throwing the kingdom into chaos. Author Schoeman adds a clever twist to the classic medieval romance, not only enhancing the plot but tapping into a contemporary hunger for the supernatural. The writing can be overwrought and often plodding—“Isabel gasped with the crushing of her heart from being turned away”—yet Schoeman moves the story along through unpredictable shifts and surprising intricacies.
Though breathlessly chaste and sprinkled with clichés, this novel will satisfy the romantic who longs for a world of chivalry and sorcery.Pub Date: Nov. 23, 2013
ISBN: 978-1491715147
Page Count: 406
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
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
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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