A fizzily entertaining, emotionally sensitive take on the tug of war between success and fulfillment.
A young man must choose between love, authenticity, and manufacturing pantyhose in Abbott’s comic romance novel.
Alex Halaby, a 30-year-old Princeton grad who labors at his father’s pantyhose company (and who feels like his life has been preprogrammed by his domineering parents), quits and roars into the Manhattan night on his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, his sole signifier of independent manhood. There he meets Emily, the equally dissatisfied young wife of billionaire layabout Charles Lukes, who is dismissive of her ambition to be a painter and unforgivably bad at sex. Alex is great at sex, intimate conversations about their yearning souls, and singing satirical Tom Lehrer songs while accompanying himself on the piano; Emily can’t resist, and in short order she is pregnant with his baby. Guilt-stricken over the infidelity, Emily cold-shoulders Alex, who has his hands full when his father, Harry, suffers a heart attack, requiring Alex to step in to save the family company from bankruptcy. The author’s soap opera is a glittering sendup of Manhattan high society in the early 2000s, an upper-crust in which the men are fatuous stuffed shirts and the women frivolous fashionistas (“ ‘the banning of lapdogs from New York City restaurants is utterly deplorable, inhumane, and anal,’ ” declaims Charles’ sublimely shallow ex-wife, Claire). But the novel takes its protagonists’ longings seriously, and as Alex matures, he begins to appreciate Harry’s business as a meaningful outlet for his talents. Abbott probes his characters in vigorous prose that’s two-fisted (“You’re nothing but a cocky little punk who’s been playing in Daddy’s sandbox for, what, a month?”) and psychologically resonant (“The expertly rendered expressions were fractured, chaotic, and intense but oddly enigmatic: a savage glare full of amusement, a smile about to dissolve into weeping,” Alex observes of Emily’s clown paintings). Readers will root for Alex and Emily to figure themselves out amid the circus of preening wealth that surrounds them.
A fizzily entertaining, emotionally sensitive take on the tug of war between success and fulfillment.Pub Date: Dec. 14, 2022
ISBN: 9781663246974
Page Count: 284
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A steamy, romantic summer read with a charming setting.
A florist attempts to avoid her best friend’s brother—and their powerful chemistry—on Prince Edward Island.
When Lucy Ashby visits her best friend Bridget’s family home on Prince Edward Island for the first time, Bridget gives her three rules: Eat your weight in oysters….Leave the city behind. And, most importantly, Don’t fall in love with my brother. Unfortunately for Lucy, she sleeps with Felix basically the second her plane lands, unaware that he’s Bridget’s brother until it’s too late. Lucy has never felt understood or accepted by her immediate family, and Bridget is one of the very few people she allows into her inner circle, so Lucy’s desperate to abide by these rules. And so she and Felix try to avoid each other on every one of Lucy’s visits to PEI over the years. And, of course, they fail spectacularly, always returning to each other when they’re in between relationships. But it’s never been anything serious…Lucy makes sure of that, backing off whenever her emotions feel too strong. In her “real life” back in Toronto, it’s easier for Lucy to avoid thinking of Felix as she runs a busy floral shop, working herself into the ground. But when Bridget asks Lucy to come to PEI for an emergency girls’ trip less than two weeks before Bridget is supposed to get married, Lucy drops everything to be there for her best friend. She doesn’t expect to find Felix there, along with feelings that are stronger and more difficult than ever to ignore. Even more than jeopardizing her relationship with Bridget, Lucy is afraid that giving in to her feelings could ruin the life she’s worked so hard to build. Fortune, the author of hits like Every Summer After (2022), gives readers another refreshingly summery story full of angst, romance, and sex scenes aplenty. The PEI setting is a beautiful backdrop for Lucy and Felix’s secret hookups and Lucy’s journey of self-discovery as she learns how to stand on her own two feet as a business owner, friend, and daughter. In addition to frequent (and welcome) Anne of Green Gables references, there are oysters galore and many sandy, windy scenes that transport readers straight to the island.
A steamy, romantic summer read with a charming setting.Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780593638880
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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