An often enchanting novel that offers a fresh take on a love triangle.
Moyer’s debut historical novel details one woman’s journey to find herself and the love she discovers along the way.
The year is 1910, and 19-year-old Catherine Ogden lives in luxury with her wealthy aunt and uncle in New York City. However, she still harbors deep sadness over her father’s death 11 years before as well as her mother’s disappearance shortly thereafter. Dashing William Brandt, the 30-year-old heir of a California railroad magnate, has recently arrived in town, and Manhattan’s high society is in a tizzy as a result—and before long, Catherine catches his eye. As William courts her, she also befriends her family’s head gardener, a young man named Thomas O’Shea. Catherine and Thomas quickly bond over their mutual love of beautiful flora, and their friendship deepens. Then Catherine and William become engaged despite her honest declaration to her fiance: “I don’t love you. Yet.” As the days leading up to the wedding fly by, Catherine’s tenuous grasp on her future—and her desires—begins to slip. She begins an arduous journey to track down her mother, who may be the one person who could help her make sense of her feelings. The conflict that Catherine feels between doing her duty and doing what her heart wants burns brightly at the center of this novel, which also tackles relevant issues regarding gender roles and consent. The prose and dialogue flow naturally, with the author spinning phrases that beautifully capture the passion of youth and love: “They had become something electric, friendship turned into fire.” Catherine’s predicament and decisions manage to consistently avoid cliché, which keeps the work from becoming predictable. This ultimately results in a moving story with strong female characters and twists that will satisfy readers who enjoy well-researched history alongside their romantic narratives.
An often enchanting novel that offers a fresh take on a love triangle.Pub Date: May 9, 2023
ISBN: 9781647424268
Page Count: 376
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.
A French art historian’s English-language fiction debut combines the story of a loving relationship between a grandfather and granddaughter with an enlightening discussion of art.
One day, when 10-year-old Mona removes the necklace given to her by her now-dead grandmother, she experiences a frightening, hour-long bout of blindness. Her parents take her to the doctor, who gives her a variety of tests and also advises that she see a psychiatrist. Her grandfather Henry tells her parents that he will take care of that assignment, but instead, he takes Mona on weekly visits to either the Louvre, the Musée d’Orsay, or the Centre Pompidou, where each week they study a single work of art, gazing at it deeply and then discussing its impact and history and the biography of its maker. For the reader’s benefit, Schlesser also describes each of the works in scrupulous detail. As the year goes on, Mona faces the usual challenges of elementary school life and the experiences of being an only child, and slowly begins to understand the causes of her temporary blindness. Primarily an amble through a few dozen of Schlesser’s favorite works of art—some well known and others less so, from Botticelli and da Vinci through Basquiat and Bourgeois—the novel would probably benefit from being read at a leisurely pace. While the dialogue between Henry and the preternaturally patient and precocious Mona sometimes strains credulity, readers who don’t have easy access to the museums of Paris may enjoy this vicarious trip in the company of a guide who focuses equally on that which can be seen and the context that can’t be. Come for the novel, stay for the introductory art history course.
A pleasant if not entirely convincing tribute to the power of art.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798889661115
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Europa Editions
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
SEEN & HEARD
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