A sharp and well-observed portrait of lives at the crossroads.
Asprakis’ novel follows four intertwined 20-somethings in 2004 Cyprus.
After seven years abroad in London, Aristos returns to Cyprus with his new girlfriend, Wendy. Soon they are settling in, living in an apartment owned by Aristos’ father and connecting with the childhood friend group that Aristos left behind. His best friends, Petros and Melina, are recently engaged, and his former girlfriend, Agathi, does not seem to be entirely over him. The story begins with a tight focus on Aristos but soon expands as the narrative alternates between the perspectives of the major characters (aside from Agathi). Giving each character their own attention and weight, Asprakis fills in their complicated backstories and shows how their pasts have shaped their present. Melina must decide whether or not she really loves Petros and if their engagement is something she will see through all the way to marriage. Wendy, as the outsider, serves as a reader surrogate as she experiences Cyprus, detailing her experiences on the island with the fresh eyes of a newcomer. Like the other characters, she is also confronting issues from her past—in her case, a less-then-ideal stint in art school. As she reflects at an evening church service, “People are beaming and linking arms, not one of them lonely. Not one of them free. So many times in her young life, Wendy has feared that art would not work out—and then what would she do?” Interspersed throughout the story are historical details about Greece (and Cyprus in particular), including references to the 1974 Greek takeover of Cyprus and the Turkish invasion. Every so often, the narrative is interrupted by Accident Investigation reports for airplane crashes, leading to the deadliest airplane crash in Cyprus history. Readers unfamiliar with this particular incident may find the reports jarring, disconnected as they are from anything else in the story. Still, the dark cloud they generate has its intended effect, even if readers do not know what’s coming.
A sharp and well-observed portrait of lives at the crossroads.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781036918910
Page Count: 329
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
© 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.
