A heartfelt and hilarious read about books, sisters, and writing your own love story.
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A cutthroat literary agent finds herself stuck in a small town with the grumpy editor she despises.
Nora Stephens knows she isn’t anything like the heroines in small-town love stories. She’s not sweet or unassuming, and she definitely doesn’t own a Christmas tree farm or a quaint B&B. With her Peloton obsession, high-powered job at a literary agency, and expensive shoes, she’s the villainous girlfriend who gets dumped when the hero realizes he really wants to leave New York City and embrace the simple life in a small town. But Nora has no interest in slowing down—she embraces the hustle of her life, enjoying the city and spending her time either negotiating for her clients or helping her pregnant sister, Libby. When Libby suggests they take a girls’ trip to Sunshine Falls, a picture-perfect North Carolina town, Nora agrees. Trying to make her sister happy, Nora throws herself into Libby’s checklist of classic small-town experiences. But there’s one brooding, annoying wrench in her plans: editor Charlie Lastra. He and Nora met years before when he brusquely rejected one of her books, and now he’s here in Sunshine Falls for some reason, terrorizing her by having the nerve to be both good-looking and funny. As Nora and Charlie get to know each other, she learns that there may be more to him than she suspected. But Nora’s also concerned about her relationship with Libby—they’ve been close all their lives, but now something seems off. Can Nora get her happily-ever-after even if she doesn’t want to ride off into the small-town sunset with a lumberjack? As in People We Meet on Vacation (2021), Henry creates a warm, sparkling romance brimming with laugh-out-loud banter, lovable characters, and tons of sexual tension. High-maintenance, high-strung Nora shows that uptight, goal-oriented women deserve romance, too, and Charlie is a perfect grumpy hero with a secret soft side. What’s more, Henry never falls into the easy trap of vilifying either small towns or big cities, allowing her characters the room to follow their dreams, wherever they lead. And while the romance between Nora and Charlie is swoonworthy and steam-filled, it’s Nora’s relationship with Libby that really brings the tears.
A heartfelt and hilarious read about books, sisters, and writing your own love story.Pub Date: May 3, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-44087-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 4, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2022
Categories: ROMANCE | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE | GENERAL ROMANCE
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PERSPECTIVES
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A wistfully nostalgic look at endings, beginnings, and loving the people who will always have your back.
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Exes pretend they’re still together for the sake of their friends on their annual summer vacation.
Wyn Connor and Harriet Kilpatrick were the perfect couple—until Wyn dumped Harriet for reasons she still doesn’t fully understand. They’ve been part of the same boisterous friend group since college, and they know that their breakup will devastate the others and make things more than a little awkward. So they keep it a secret from their friends and families—in fact, Harriet barely even admits it to herself, focusing instead on her grueling hours as a surgical resident. She’s ready for a vacation at her happy place—the Maine cottage she and her friends visit every summer. But (surprise!) Wyn is there too, and he and Harriet have to share a (very romantic) room and a bed. Telling the truth about their breakup is out of the question, because the cottage is up for sale, and this is the group’s last hurrah. Determined to make sure everyone has the perfect last trip, Harriet and Wyn resolve to fake their relationship for the week. The problem with this plan, of course, is that Harriet still has major feelings for Wyn—feelings that only get stronger as they pretend to be blissfully in love. As always, Henry’s dialogue is sparkling and the banter between characters is snappy and hilarious. Wyn and Harriet’s relationship, shown both in the past and the present, feels achingly real. Their breakup, as well as their complicated relationships with their own families, adds a twinge of melancholy, as do the relatable growing pains of a group of friends whose lives are taking them in different directions.
A wistfully nostalgic look at endings, beginnings, and loving the people who will always have your back.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9780593441275
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
Categories: ROMANCE | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE | GENERAL ROMANCE | GENERAL FICTION
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Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
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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
Categories: GENERAL ROMANCE | ROMANCE | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
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