Might not appeal to general readers but serves its narrow intended audience well.
In this contemporary parable, debut author and retired New York City public school teacher Banks explores a young woman’s rocky freshman year of college, intermittingly interjecting Scripture-based advice, words of wisdom and “discussion questions” for receptive readers.
Kim is a wholesome, hardworking girl from a close-knit New Jersey family. For Banks, she exemplifies how a “righteous” woman can be brought down by desire, jealousy and rage if she doesn’t listen to her inner voice and hold tight to her commitment to God. Banks’ purpose is to teach young African-American women how to maintain their own values and boundaries when tempted by a suitor who may not have commitment in mind. Although intended for Christian women, much of the advice will be applicable to any woman who wants a loyal life partner. But the story gets caught up in a pheromone rush; for example, when Kim ends up grinding on the dance floor with a slick guy named Slim, she wonders if he is a potential boyfriend, but the narrator advises: “Make your boundary lines clear, or someone else will draw them for you.” The book ends with two other brief tales, one showing an older woman’s romantic downfall; the other portraying a woman who finds a good man through church and lets him court her slowly through to their engagement before consummating the relationship. The end of the book offers “chocolateisms”—advice on how to maintain a strong sense of self while searching for the one. Throughout, the constant, unconventional shifts in tone, from a close first-person narrative to didactic oration, are rather disruptive; however, as the writer’s intention to mentor becomes more apparent, the interruptions are easier to bear. Still, the book is most engrossing when Banks lets go of the lesson and just tells Kim’s story, which on its own has a recognizable moral.
Might not appeal to general readers but serves its narrow intended audience well.Pub Date: May 8, 2013
ISBN: 978-1449791094
Page Count: 162
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Hannah, after eight paperbacks, abandons her successful time-travelers for a hardcover life of kitchen-sink romance. Everyone must have got the Olympic Peninsula memo for this spring because, as of this reading, authors Hannah, Nora Roberts, and JoAnn Ross have all placed their newest romances in or near the Quinault rain forest. Here, 40ish Annie Colwater, returns to Washington State after her husband, high-powered Los Angeles lawyer Blake, tells her he’s found another (younger) woman and wants a divorce. Although a Stanford graduate, Annie has known only a life of perfect wifedom: matching Blake’s ties to his suits and cooking meals from Gourmet magazine. What is she to do with her shattered life? Well, she returns to dad’s house in the small town of Mystic, cuts off all her hair (for a different look), and goes to work as a nanny for lawman Nick Delacroix, whose wife has committed suicide, whose young daughter Izzy refuses to speak, and who himself has descended into despair and alcoholism. Annie spruces up Nick’s home on Mystic Lake and sends “Izzy-bear” back into speech mode. And, after Nick begins attending AA meetings, she and he become lovers. Still, when Annie learns that she’s pregnant not with Nick’s but with Blake’s child, she heads back to her empty life in the Malibu Colony. The baby arrives prematurely, and mean-spirited Blake doesn’t even stick around to support his wife. At this point, it’s perfectly clear to Annie—and the reader—that she’s justified in taking her newborn daughter and driving back north. Hannah’s characters indulge in so many stages of the weeps, from glassy eyes to flat-out sobs, that tear ducts are almost bound to stay dry. (First printing of 100,000; first serial to Good Housekeeping; Literary Guild/Doubleday book club selections)
Pub Date: March 31, 1999
ISBN: 0-609-60249-7
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
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