Christmas? An afterthought. But Michaels’s millions of uncritical fans won’t care.
Saccharine story of a candy queen.
Loretta Cisco (from the paperback No Place Like Home) is distraught. She believes in counting her blessings, but her grown grandkids (triplets) haven’t been happy lately and won’t tell her why. And just like that, her beloved little house in rural Pennsylvania is wiped out by a tornado! Fortunately, live-in love Ezra got her, himself, and their dogs into the root cellar seconds before it struck and whirled away a lifetime of memories. Unflappable to a fault, Ezra says he wouldn’t be surprised if the whole town turns out to rebuild the place, seeing that Loretta moved Cisco Candies to Larkspur from New York and provided employment for so many local folks. But all that’s left is this old electric teakettle, whines Loretta, who feels she can’t go on. Hey, no one can take away your memories, replies Ezra. They learn that seven people died but—what a relief—the teakettle still works when they plug it in! Sara and Hannah, Loretta’s granddaughters, arrive, wringing their hands over the misfortune but unwilling to confide their suspicions about their husbands’ working-late-tonight-honey excuses. Their brother, good-natured Sam, shows up shortly afterward. His pregnant wife (sister of Hannah’s husband) just left him. What next? Not exactly heartwarming scenes of old family grievances dragged forth, chewed over, and tied up with a red ribbon in a tacked-on ending.
Christmas? An afterthought. But Michaels’s millions of uncritical fans won’t care.Pub Date: Oct. 19, 2004
ISBN: 0-7434-7747-2
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2004
Entertaining and unpredictable; Reid makes a compelling argument for happiness in every life.
Reid’s latest (After I Do, 2014, etc.) explores two parallel universes in which a young woman hopes to find her soul mate and change her life for the better.
After ending an affair with a married man, Hannah Martin is reunited with her high school sweetheart, Ethan, at a bar in Los Angeles. Should she go home with her friends and catch up with him later, or should they stay out and have another drink? It doesn’t seem like either decision would have earth-shattering consequences, but Reid has a knack for finding skeletons in unexpected closets. Two vastly different scenarios play out in alternating chapters: in one, Hannah and Ethan reconnect as if no time has passed; in the other, Hannah lands in the hospital alone after a freak accident that marks the first of many surprising plot twists. Hannah’s best friend, Gabby, believes in soul mates, and though Hannah has trouble making decisions—even when picking a snack from a vending machine—she and Gabby discover how their belief systems can alter their world as much as their choices. “Believing in fate is like living on cruise control,” Hannah says. What follows is a thoughtful analysis of free will versus fate in which Hannah finds that disasters can bring unexpected blessings, blessings can bring unexpected disasters, and that most people are willing to bring Hannah her favorite cinnamon rolls. “Because even when it looks like she’s made a terrible mistake,” Hannah’s mother observes, “things will always work out for Hannah.” The larger question becomes whether Hannah’s choices will ultimately affect her happiness—and it’s one that’s answered on a hopeful note as Hannah tries to do the right thing in every situation she faces.
Entertaining and unpredictable; Reid makes a compelling argument for happiness in every life.Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4767-7688-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Washington Square/Pocket
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
An excellent debut that combines wit, humor, and emotional intensity.
A woman refuses to be with her soul mate, but life intervenes, making her choice harder and more heartbreaking.
Josh meets Kristen with a bang, literally, when she slams on her brakes and he runs into her. There's minimal damage, so she disappears. Minutes later they discover that their best friends are engaged to each other and they were slated to meet that day at the fire station where Brandon and Josh work. Josh is immediately smitten, but Kristen has a boyfriend, Tyler, who’s deployed overseas. Counting down the days until he gets home for good, Kristen adamantly puts Josh in the friend zone, refusing to acknowledge their growing closeness and her spiking attraction. Then Tyler reenlists, effectively breaking up with her. Kristen and Josh sleep together, but she slams the door on his hope for a real relationship, telling him it will never be more than a friends-with-benefits situation. Josh thinks Kristen is mourning the end of her relationship with Tyler, but really, Kristen realizes Josh is her perfect match. Unfortunately she also knows Josh wants children, which would be nearly impossible for them due to her malfunctioning reproductive system. The two reach a painful impasse, but when tragedy strikes, they find themselves reevaluating their relationship. Josh knows he’ll never be happy without Kristen, but he’ll have to think outside the box to convince her to take a chance on them. Jimenez tackles a myriad of issues in her debut and hits each one with depth and sensitivity. Kristen’s take-no-prisoners attitude is smart and sassy and perfectly balanced by Josh’s easygoing resourcefulness, though at times her lack of transparency while jerking him around makes her seem more immature than self-sacrificing.
An excellent debut that combines wit, humor, and emotional intensity.Pub Date: July 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5387-1560-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
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