In this sensual road trip across LA there are deep conversations, adult situations, and a sweet love story at every turn.
An out-of-work project manager and his two brothers are broke and brokenhearted in Los Angeles—until a trio of sex workers offers him a way to help his whole family.
A “pace of asses” is what Brick jokingly calls them. But the three women he works with—Penny, Christiana, and Mocha Latte—are sophisticated, well educated, and down on their luck thanks to bad jobs and worse relationships. He’s initially hired to serve as their chauffeur, but soon their high-end female clients invite him inside for more. These high-powered women have deep pockets and deep emotional issues to match, but Brick seems to enjoy giving them the boyfriend experience. He’s out of work after a bout with cancer, and he’d also like to help out his brother Dwayne, whose kid and ex-girlfriend are struggling too. Dwayne is a fairly successful stage actor, but after hitting a rough patch he’s behind on his child support payments, and his ex-girlfriend won’t let him forget it. Their other brother, André, meanwhile, has managed to turn his unfortunate run-ins with the cops (and other hazards of being black in America) into a popular comedy routine. The brothers see LA from all angles, from its high-end hotels to its neglected homeless population. An education alone can’t guarantee survival in California’s unforgiving real estate market, especially not for people of color. But love can help (or hurt) their chances, and when it goes wrong, as Dwayne’s ex observes, “Love spares no one. We all pay.” Brick’s neighborhood is also home to fictional bill collector Ken Swift, and here Dickey (Before We Were Wicked, 2019, etc.) has left an Easter egg for readers to find.
In this sensual road trip across LA there are deep conversations, adult situations, and a sweet love story at every turn.Pub Date: April 21, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5247-4520-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
IN THE NEWS
Hannah, after eight paperbacks, abandons her successful time-travelers for a hardcover life of kitchen-sink romance. Everyone must have got the Olympic Peninsula memo for this spring because, as of this reading, authors Hannah, Nora Roberts, and JoAnn Ross have all placed their newest romances in or near the Quinault rain forest. Here, 40ish Annie Colwater, returns to Washington State after her husband, high-powered Los Angeles lawyer Blake, tells her he’s found another (younger) woman and wants a divorce. Although a Stanford graduate, Annie has known only a life of perfect wifedom: matching Blake’s ties to his suits and cooking meals from Gourmet magazine. What is she to do with her shattered life? Well, she returns to dad’s house in the small town of Mystic, cuts off all her hair (for a different look), and goes to work as a nanny for lawman Nick Delacroix, whose wife has committed suicide, whose young daughter Izzy refuses to speak, and who himself has descended into despair and alcoholism. Annie spruces up Nick’s home on Mystic Lake and sends “Izzy-bear” back into speech mode. And, after Nick begins attending AA meetings, she and he become lovers. Still, when Annie learns that she’s pregnant not with Nick’s but with Blake’s child, she heads back to her empty life in the Malibu Colony. The baby arrives prematurely, and mean-spirited Blake doesn’t even stick around to support his wife. At this point, it’s perfectly clear to Annie—and the reader—that she’s justified in taking her newborn daughter and driving back north. Hannah’s characters indulge in so many stages of the weeps, from glassy eyes to flat-out sobs, that tear ducts are almost bound to stay dry. (First printing of 100,000; first serial to Good Housekeeping; Literary Guild/Doubleday book club selections)
Pub Date: March 31, 1999
ISBN: 0-609-60249-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
The heartfelt soap appears to be Hannah’s chosen romance niche, and she mines it skillfully. (First printing of 125,000)
Hannah’s sequel to On Mystic Lake (1999) is yet another tear-jerker set in northwest Washington State.
Perfect mother Mikaela (“Mike”) Campbell takes a hard fall off a horse, hits her head, and sinks into a coma. In order to help bring her out of it, perfect husband-doctor Liam sits at her bedside and begins to talk to her about their life together. He brings her favorite music, scented potpourri, and, to place across her inert body, sweaters that may smell like home. He also tries to keep life as normal as possible for their two kids: Bret, nine years old, and Jacey, Mike’s teenaged daughter by her previous husband. Going through Mike’s closet to find a prom dress for Jacey, Liam stumbles on souvenirs of her first marriage and a picture of her ex—not just any old, anonymous first husband, but Julian True, a gorgeous superstar actor, the hero of women’s fantasies all over America. Liam has always known that he got Mikaela on the rebound; she was honest about the fact that he was not the love of her life. But she is the love of his life, and when she doesn't respond to the sound of his voice, he contacts Julian in hopes that the actor can save Mikaela. Julian travels up to Last Bend, a cutesy town founded by Liam’s larger-than-life father and filled with homey shops like the Emperor’s New Clothes store and Zeke’s Feed and Seed. When Mike finally comes out of unconsciousness and into her family’s emotional upheaval, she apologizes to Liam and bids goodbye to Julian. Yes, she’s discovered that it’s that gentle guy who stays with you through years of cramps and decorating the Christmas tree who defines what love really is.
The heartfelt soap appears to be Hannah’s chosen romance niche, and she mines it skillfully. (First printing of 125,000)Pub Date: April 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-609-60592-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
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