Romancer Lowell (Midnight in Ruby Bayou, 2000, etc.) has done her rare-book research, and it’s all here—along with a Nancy...
A legendary illuminated manuscript has vanished—or has it?
The ancient book has been handed down in the Charters clan from woman to woman, all of them named Serena. But the present Serena has inherited only four unbound pages from her grandmother, who died in a blaze set by an unknown arsonist. The rest, some 600 priceless pieces of handpainted vellum, has yet to be found. There isn’t much to go on besides a Swiss bank account number and those few surviving pages, which may or may not be forgeries. Serena takes them over to the sinister mansion of Norman Warrick, a grasping, ultrarich art dealer and owner of the House of Warrick, serving grasping, ultrarich art collectors worldwide. Norman is aided in his nefarious endeavors by his equally unpleasant grown children, playboy Garrison Warrick and whiny divorcée Cleary Warrick Montclair, neither of whom seem surprised when the old man contemptuously dismisses the unbound pages as well as Serena. She then seeks out Erik North, a restorer of medieval manuscripts who also replicates them now and then. Can she trust him? Well, Erik is astoundingly handsome, incredibly sexy, well versed in medieval languages—and smitten with Serena. They join forces to track down her grandmother’s killer, traveling from the Southwest to the Northeast to find “Manhattan wrapped around the House of Warrick like a concrete anaconda.” Back to the Mojave they go, pursued by thugs who apparently can’t be seen sneaking up through miles of empty, flat desert. Various red herrings are strewn about with abandon, wary looks and grim smiles abound. It all works out eventually.
Romancer Lowell (Midnight in Ruby Bayou, 2000, etc.) has done her rare-book research, and it’s all here—along with a Nancy Drew-ish plot and prose that’s about as subtle as a calliope.Pub Date: July 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-06-019875-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2001
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
