by Eloisa James ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 31, 2017
Another bright, delightful read from a queen of historical romance.
When Eugenia Snowe, owner of the most renowned governess agency in England, meets Ward Reeve, a rich inventor and bastard son of an earl, he turns her life upside down.
Ward needs a governess for his half siblings, and when even the elite Snowe agency fails him, he goes straight to the source—the owner, widow Eugenia. Ward’s life is tumultuous. His long-estranged mother has died, leaving her two legitimate children in his care—one of them is also heir to a title—so he figures he needs a governess and a wife. Tackling the governess issue first, he enlists the aid of the venerable Mrs. Snowe, but when two of her governesses don’t work out, he basically kidnaps her and takes her to his estate. Ward is the first man Eugenia has noticed since the death of her husband years ago, and she has never even considered marrying again. She enjoys her freedom and has no desire to put her wealth or the successful business she’s built into a man’s hands, as she’d legally be required to do if she remarried. But as she takes his household in hand and becomes entwined with the family, she begins to fall in love with all of them. Ward, who has lived abroad for years and not kept up with society, doesn’t realize she’s not simply a tradeswoman, but is in fact the daughter of a marquis herself. And while he’s falling in love with her, too, he deems her unworthy as a wife despite her subtle hints to the contrary. Romance star James (My American Duchess, 2016, etc.) takes a complicated conflict and infuses it with emotional depth, then heightens it with sexual tension, loss, misunderstanding, pride, and class bias with an interesting twist. Any historical romance reader will enjoy this book, but James’ fans will be especially pleased to revisit characters from the original Desperate Duchesses series titles—they’ll recognize Eugenia as Strange’s daughter from Duchess by Night (2008) and Ward (formerly known as Teddy) from Desperate Duchesses (2007).
Another bright, delightful read from a queen of historical romance.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-238945-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2016
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by Colleen Hoover ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 18, 2014
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 6, 2014
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by Taylor Jenkins Reid ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 1, 2014
Reid’s tome on married life is as uplifting as it is brutally honest—a must-read for anyone who is in (or hopes to be in) a...
An unhappily married couple spends a year apart in Reid’s (Forever, Interrupted, 2013) novel about second chances.
When we meet Lauren, she and her husband, Ryan, are having a meltdown trying to find their car in the parking lot at Dodger Stadium after a game. Through a series of flashbacks, Lauren reveals how the two of them went from being inseparable to being insufferable in each other’s eyes—and in desperate need of a break. Both their courtship and their fights seem so ordinary—they met in college; he doesn’t like Greek food—that the most heartbreaking part of their pending separation is deciding who will get custody of their good-natured dog. It’s not until Ryan moves out that the juicy details emerge. Lauren surreptitiously logs into his email one day, in a fit of missing him, and discovers a bunch of emails to her that he had saved but not sent. Liberated by Ryan’s candor, Lauren saves her replies for him to find, and the two of them read each other’s unfiltered thoughts as they go about their separate lives. Neither character holds anything back, which makes the healing process more complex, and more compelling, than simply getting revenge or getting one’s groove back. Meanwhile, as Lauren spends more time with her family and friends, she explores the example set for her by her parents and learns that there are many ways to be happy. It’s never clear until the final pages whether living alone will bring Lauren and Ryan back together or force them apart forever. But when the year is up, the resolution is neither sappy nor cynical; it’s arrived at after an honest assessment of what each partner can’t live with and can’t live without.
Reid’s tome on married life is as uplifting as it is brutally honest—a must-read for anyone who is in (or hopes to be in) a committed relationship.Pub Date: July 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4767-1284-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Washington Square/Pocket
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2014
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