Adler, much like an inexperienced cook, has thrown everything she finds into the pot. Instead of creating a reasonably tasty...
Another over-the-top romantic suspense novel from the author of It All Began In Monte Carlo (2010, etc.).
Following the collapse of her 16-year marriage to wealthy businessman James Evans, divorcee Caroline Evans and her sullen teenage daughter travel the English countryside searching for a new home. Having lived a life of leisure in Singapore, but now low on funds and quite determined to carve out a new life, Caroline buys an old ramshackle place that was once a bar and grill. Caroline, a trained chef, finds rooms and employment at a local establishment while renovation work is done on her place, and she and the proprietors become fast friends. As work on her property progresses, the complications and stereotypical characters begin to pile up while the beautiful Caroline collects suitors. A rain-soaked James appears on her doorstep and then quickly disappears as Caroline’s attraction to a younger man heats up. James’ business partner, who has loved her for years, invests in her business, and a gruff yet protective Russian artisan pursues her. James—Caroline was his third wife—wasn’t exactly faithful during his marriage to her. In addition to his liaison with a younger woman named Melanie, James also has a relationship with a Chinese businesswoman, Gayle Lee Chen, who has steered him into the seamy underbelly of Singapore’s criminal life. Issy, too, is struggling with typical teenage problems, but, luckily, Caroline’s hip, wise and extremely understanding parents step in to provide guidance. Adler, a veteran writer, pens beautifully descriptive phrases depicting the setting and the physical details of the book’s many characters, but one important element of the story falls short: an improbable plot that’s padded with references to money laundering, Ponzi schemes, Chinese mobsters and suspicious deaths, among the mawkish lessons about love and forgiveness.
Adler, much like an inexperienced cook, has thrown everything she finds into the pot. Instead of creating a reasonably tasty dish, she’s dished up some unpalatable mush.Pub Date: June 19, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-312-66836-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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