A view of snow falling across distant mountains and valleys frames this somewhat distant, fictional memoir of an elderly woman’s ordinary life.
Author Klass’ debut novel zooms in on a mountain cabin and its unremarkable furnishings, eventually revealing the main character—we never learn her name—who ends each chapter by watching the snow fall outside her window. This conceit will resound by the story’s end, but it occasionally grows a little tiresome along the way. The close focus of the opening chapter continues as the woman’s earliest impressions from infancy are revealed, but these details soon stall an already slow-paced storyline. Since the protagonist’s life is told with little action or dialogue, it’s difficult to become emotionally invested. The unnamed character moves through an uneventful childhood and early adulthood. She wanders the country, and a brief travelogue ensues, but it reveals little other than her unabated ennui. The protagonist then reunites with her first love. Marriage, children and the universal events of aging fill the pages, and a theme of family connections gradually develops. Despite her happy marriage, another past lover haunts her. On hearing about his death, she realizes that his love had influenced her decisions “beyond his grave”—an insightful commentary on the nature of lost love. Both a hurricane and an earthquake affect the woman’s life, but readers don’t experience either event; they’re simply told about them. Certain snatches of description stand out: “Her eyes were the color of steel wool and just as coarse; they could scratch and scar the soul of anybody.” In the final third of the book, when she discovers an unopened package that sparks her curiosity, this character’s flat arc begins to bend, and the package’s revelation works to create a poignant climax to her life story.
Fans of quiet memoir and romance may appreciate this woman’s benign, unhurried passage through life.Pub Date: Aug. 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-1482779707
Page Count: 288
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: GENERAL ROMANCE | ROMANCE | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
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Hoover is one of the freshest voices in new-adult fiction, and her latest resonates with true emotion, unforgettable...
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Sydney and Ridge make beautiful music together in a love triangle written by Hoover (Losing Hope, 2013, etc.), with a link to a digital soundtrack by American Idol contestant Griffin Peterson.
Hoover is a master at writing scenes from dual perspectives. While music student Sydney is watching her neighbor Ridge play guitar on his balcony across the courtyard, Ridge is watching Sydney’s boyfriend, Hunter, secretly make out with her best friend on her balcony. The two begin a songwriting partnership that grows into something more once Sydney dumps Hunter and decides to crash with Ridge and his two roommates while she gets back on her feet. She finds out after the fact that Ridge already has a long-distance girlfriend, Maggie—and that he's deaf. Ridge’s deafness doesn’t impede their relationship or their music. In fact, it creates opportunities for sexy nonverbal communication and witty text messages: Ridge tenderly washes off a message he wrote on Sydney’s hand in ink, and when Sydney adds a few too many e’s to the word “squee” in her text, Ridge replies, “If those letters really make up a sound, I am so, so glad I can’t hear it.” While they fight their mutual attraction, their hope that “maybe someday” they can be together playfully comes out in their music. Peterson’s eight original songs flesh out Sydney’s lyrics with a good mix of moody musical styles: “Living a Lie” has the drama of a Coldplay piano ballad, while the chorus of “Maybe Someday” marches to the rhythm of the Lumineers. But Ridge’s lingering feelings for Maggie cause heartache for all three of them. Independent Maggie never complains about Ridge’s friendship with Sydney, and it's hard to even want Ridge to leave Maggie when she reveals her devastating secret. But Ridge can’t hide his feelings for Sydney long—and they face their dilemma with refreshing emotional honesty.
Hoover is one of the freshest voices in new-adult fiction, and her latest resonates with true emotion, unforgettable characters and just the right amount of sexual tension.Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4767-5316-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2014
Categories: ROMANCE | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP
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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. 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Categories: GENERAL ROMANCE | ROMANCE | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
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