A satisfying romance that unpacks not only the joys of companionship, but also the adjustments it demands.
In 1753, a sharply ambitious and straightforward London barrister finds his careful plans upended by the politics and personality of a rebellious Scotswoman.
Charismatic and worldly-wise, Cecelia MacDonald is the leader of a league of Scotswomen. Formed a few years after the Scottish uprising of 1745, the main mission of the league is to reacquire the treasures that have been wrested from their clan. Cecelia’s primary goal is clear: She is to retrieve the sgian-dubh, a symbolically significant ceremonial dagger that once belonged to the chief of her clan. However, her path is littered with dangerous obstacles, including the steadfastly law-abiding barrister Alexander Sloane, who works for the Duke of Newcastle. Alexander is tasked with following Cecelia, who, in the eyes of the magistrate, is a suspected Jacobite sympathizer. If he does the job well, he could achieve his long-cherished dream of becoming Baron of the Exchequer. Alexander and Cecelia find themselves attracted to each other, engaging in a cat-and-mouse game with each seeking the upper hand. But when Cecelia and her league catch the attention of several dangerous adversaries, the steady barrister is forced by the defiant “demirep” to reevaluate his ideas of loyalty, truthfulness, and love. The second installment in Conkle’s Scottish Treasures series doles out angst and wit in equal measure. The characters are instantly likable, and it's easy to sympathize with their internal struggles. Cecelia’s relationships with other women, enlivened simultaneously by a smidge of uneasiness and dollops of steady solidarity, are especially well etched. Her pursuit of the dagger is replete with suspense, and Alexander’s official pursuit of Cecelia is intriguing, but the thrill flags when their goals shift and each becomes more interested in the other than in their long-held aims.
A satisfying romance that unpacks not only the joys of companionship, but also the adjustments it demands.Pub Date: April 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-299900-9
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Haphazard and undemanding.
A sports agent’s first official client is the man she dumped years ago in college.
After two years of hard work as an underling, Nora Mackenzie is finally being promoted to full-time sports agent. She’s worked hard, kept quiet, and allowed men in the office to call her Mac—a nickname she hates—all to show she’s a team player and “one of the guys.” Unfortunately, her boss instructs her to sign Derek Pender, a football player coming off an injury, who happens to be the man she heartlessly dumped in their senior year of college. Derek signs with her for revenge, seeing it as his opportunity to pay Nora back for callously breaking his heart eight years earlier. He insists she be at his beck and call: answering his emails, running his errands, cooking dinner for his dates. He also refuses to let her explain why she broke up with him without warning or explanation. Nora feels she has no choice but to acquiesce to Derek’s humiliating demands, since she’s worked too hard to let him ruin her dream job. She hopes he’ll thaw and they might become friends, but Derek’s bad behavior is designed to hide the fact that he’s still in love with her. Nora’s characterization is uneven, veering between anger at how she’s treated in the male-dominated field to immature bickering and bantering with Derek. Although Adams likely meant for Derek and Nora’s interactions to have an enemies-to-lovers vibe, the characters instead seem juvenile and stuck in the past. The novel is fueled by a string of tropes—second chance romance! married in Vegas! only one bed!—each randomly deployed to keep the book going despite thin characterization and wan plotting.
Haphazard and undemanding.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593723678
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dell
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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