From veteran historical novelist Argers (Noblesse Oblige, not reviewed, etc.), a love story that reads like a boxing match with many bruising rounds. Set in the months before and after the 1876 Centennial, in the heart of the Gilded Age, the story is lavishly embellished with period furbelows. Details of fashion—bustles are hot; society hostesses vie to give extravagantly glitzy parties—pad the rather schematic tale of “Gilded Lily” Nina De Bonnard. As it begins, the beautiful, rich, and independent-minded Nina is spending the summer in the family mansion on the Jersey shore. She has scads of suitors and no intention of marrying any of them. But when worldly Jordan Windsor returns from Europe, she finds herself reluctantly attracted. Since true love can’t run smooth, the two are kept apart by deception for most of the narrative—Jordan, for example, in order to help his brother (who’s in love with Nina), deliberately courts Nina’s younger sister Adele, then ends up breaking the younger sibling’s heart and angering Nina. The would-be lovers are also obstructed by rumor (Jordan is supposed to be engaged to another), by illness (Nina takes sick and can’t recall the promises she made in her delirium to the visiting Jordan), and by sundry machinations: malicious letters are sent, other messages not delivered. Along the way, Nina creates quite a life for herself when she flees the shore for the city and becomes a chronicler of fashionable life for a newspaper under the moniker of The Gilded Lily. Jordan also discovers a taste for journalism and politics in Washington, while he tries to forget Nina. . . which of course he can’t. More glitter than gold.
Pub Date: July 10, 1998
ISBN: 0-312-18571-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1998
Nerve-wracking suspense leavened with romance and spiced with sex: another hit for the prolific Roberts (Blue Smoke, 2005,...
Murder mixes with anguish in steamy Savannah.
FBI-trained hostage negotiator Phoebe MacNamara is a lieutenant in the Savannah police department. Ever since Phoebe and her family were held hostage when she was 12, her mother has been agoraphobic, and Phoebe and her brother Carter still bear the psychological scars, but Phoebe’s used the memory to hone her skills. While talking a suicidal bartender off a ledge, she meets his boss, Duncan Swift. The charming millionaire coaxes her into meeting for a drink, and their relationship slowly deepens. But life takes a turn for the worse when a misogynist cop botches a hostage situation. Suspended, he blames Phoebe and retaliates by viciously attacking her in the precinct house stairwell. He loses his job, but his father’s connections keep him out of jail. Phoebe is physically and mentally injured, but her family and her blossoming relationship with Duncan help her cope until a dangerous pattern develops: A strange man keeps crossing her path. Dead animals begin appearing on her doorstep. A hostage taker is shot after she talks him into surrendering. Her ex-husband is brutally murdered by the mystery man, who phones her with sadistic threats. Is it the spiteful disgraced cop or someone from her past? Phoebe must identify the killer before he can carry out his final outrage.
Nerve-wracking suspense leavened with romance and spiced with sex: another hit for the prolific Roberts (Blue Smoke, 2005, etc.).Pub Date: July 10, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-399-15434-8
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2007
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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