Another grande dame of paperback romance takes the hardcover plunge into soapy waters—with less-than-inspiring results. Hopelessly babyish but handsome Mac Carlin signs up for Vietnam in a bratty rebellion against his parents—the politically grasping Judge Malcolm Carlin and the nasty Alice. En route the already married Mac falls in love with Casey Adams, a French orphan and nurse who stumbles after him—all the way to the jungles of Southeast Asia, where the melodrama, peril, and perspiration of war cause her to: become goopy best friends with Lily, a beautiful Vietnamese nurse; bond with Doctor Luke Farrell as they chitchat up to their elbows in blood and body parts; consummate her affair with Mac, who is so busy proving his masculinity on the Ho Chi Minh Trail that he forgets to tell her about his wife and baby at home. A firebomb leaves Lily dead and Casey burned beyond recognition- -and, in the confusion of the moment, Casey (who lives) is thought to be Lily, and Lily (who dies) is thought to be Casey. Later, as the real Casey gains consciousness, she simultaneously learns that she's horrendously disfigured and that Mac betrayed her. Who can blame her for continuing the charade that she is Lily until she's back in the States, where the good plastic surgeon Alan Carpenter- -presto—gives her a new face, falls in love with her, and dies, leaving her his millions after creating yet another identity for her as Mary Ashley, assistant TV producer. In her new life she meets the now Senator Mac Carlin, whose wife has become emotionally lobotomized and wears fuzzy slippers, inspired by her love for her retarded baby, whose real father is Malcolm (although, as it turns out, Malcolm is not Mac's real father). Mercifully, Casey/Lily/Mary goes back to being Casey and snags Luke, a real catch compared to wimpy Mac. Choppy love scenes, wishy-washy characters, and dialogue that just won't float.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1991
ISBN: 0-345-36775-8
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1991
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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