A compulsively readable second-chance romance that’s full of pining and laughs.
A dating columnist vows to stay single…and then her high school boyfriend shows up.
Lana Parker is a serial monogamist. After her devastating breakup with her high school boyfriend, Seth Carson, she made sure she always had a long-term boyfriend. Lana is good at being a girlfriend—but perhaps less good at being herself. Her experience with relationships might make her the perfect person to write a relationships and dating column for the website she works for, but she’d much rather write about pop culture. When her latest relationship implodes, Lana’s boss, Natasha, decides that Lana should write about staying single. It’s a terrifying prospect for Lana, but she’s determined to do everything she can to stay away from relationships. However, there’s one problem: Seth Carson himself, also a writer, just showed up at her job. Natasha, desperate for traffic, decides to pit the two of them against each other in a not-so-friendly competition: Lana has to learn how to live life on her own, while Seth has to focus on settling down with the right person. They both have to write about their journey, and the writer who is most popular with the site’s readers wins their own column. This could finally be Lana’s chance to break out of the dating department and write about what she wants—and destroy the man who broke her heart so many years ago. But Seth doesn’t make things easy, mostly because he’s infuriatingly charming. As they spend more time together, Lana finds herself wondering what she really wants. Lana is a likable character whose background (she was mostly ignored as a child by her philanthropist mother) makes it easy to see why she jumps into relationships. Seth and Lana have instant chemistry on the page, and it’s a joy to read their snarky banter that transforms into something more heartfelt. Their longing for each other and the obstacles in their way feel realistic. Ballard also creates a warm and witty friend group for Lana that adds plenty of comic relief.
A compulsively readable second-chance romance that’s full of pining and laughs.Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-41993-9
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
A propulsive thriller with heart that will keep readers guessing.
A husband learns his wife is hiding a secret life.
Emma and Leo have been happily married for seven years, although they’ve weathered their share of struggles (such as infertility and Emma’s cancer diagnosis). Emma’s a marine ecologist and erstwhile TV presenter whose bubbly personality is loved by all, while Leo is an obituary writer and his wife’s No. 1 fan. Both are head over heels for their young daughter, Ruby. Although Emma’s currently doing well, Leo is given the job of prewriting her obituary, a common strategy with people who are in the public eye. In his quest to write the perfect tribute to his wife, he starts looking into her past and discovers a few inconsistencies he can’t explain. Why did Emma lie about her university degree? Why is she so cagey about her life before Leo? How is she connected to a famous actress who just went missing? And, most importantly, is her name even Emma? As Emma attempts to cover up her secrets, Leo digs through their house for clues and tracks down people from her past in an attempt to figure out why she’s lying and what she’s hiding from him. The old life Emma tried so carefully to hide threatens to destroy the new life she’s built with Leo. Walsh masterfully shows both Emma’s and Leo’s points of view while maintaining an intoxicating air of mystery. As readers get to know them both, it seems unbelievable that lovable Emma could be deceiving Leo…but how else to explain the secrets he’s uncovering? The big reveal about Emma’s life manages to be both surprising and heartbreaking, with many twists and turns along the way.
A propulsive thriller with heart that will keep readers guessing.Pub Date: March 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-59-329699-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Pamela Dorman/Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
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