An entertaining and well-meaning novel, but by the end, we’re wishing everyone in it would just grow up already.
Sherl’s debut novel wonders what would happen if we could see the future—at least where relationships are concerned.
In Baltimore, doctors—called "envisionists"—have found a way to show people willing to spend the time (and having adequate insurance coverage) what their future with any one person will be like. Evelyn Shriner, a 25-year-old librarian, is a firm believer in envisioning; she may even be addicted to it. She breaks up with her current boyfriend after seeing their future—not awful but not great either—and becomes obsessed with finding her ideal mate. Godfrey Burkes is skeptical of envisioning as a process, but he goes because Madge, his almost fiancee, makes it a condition of their engagement. Godfrey and Evelyn meet in the waiting room, and the rest, with a few twists, is more or less history. The novel has the feel of an indie rom-com: boy meets girl, etc. The dialogue, while clever, is not especially realistic or emotionally resonant, and quirky clothing (mitten clips, a vintage 1976 bicentennial bikini) abounds. But the book does reveal some absurd truths about relationships in a society fully geared toward self-improvement and couples therapy, such as Madge’s constant insistence that she and Godfrey work to fix their relationship while Godfrey isn't sure it’s actually broken. Both Evelyn and Godfrey are shadowed by elements of their parents’ lives that leave them questioning their own identities, but the severity of their struggle gets a bit lost among the witty exchanges and eccentric minor characters.
An entertaining and well-meaning novel, but by the end, we’re wishing everyone in it would just grow up already.Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-61620-369-6
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Algonquin
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2014
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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