A ho-hum contemporary fairy tale from Heller (Female Intelligence, 2001, etc.).
Perfectionist wife slips a potion into her less-than-perfect husband’s orange juice.
Elizabeth Baskin figures she’s doing him a favor. After all, Roger used to be her ideal man: brainy plus lots of fun in bed and out. But the handsome attorney has become a workaholic—and a jowly glutton with an appetite for Cheetos and penchant for long naps. He’s still a nice guy, but that’s not good enough for the exacting Elizabeth, an undercover inspector of swanky hotels for AMLP (America’s Most Luxurious Properties) who expects the best and usually gets it. She pays a call on Dr. Gordon Farkus of Beverly Hills (whose mysterious life-enhancing herbal concoctions get raves from celebrities) and afterward sneaks a packet of green stuff into her husband’s juice every morning. Bingo! Roger gets up from the sofa and is a sex machine who, um, takes Elizabeth on every available surface. He’s such fun that he makes Elizabeth into the one who wants to nap. So Roger dusts off his dancing shoes—and goes clubbing with a younger woman, not the predictable twist that control-freak Elizabeth had in mind. But Roger isn’t her only problem. A disgruntled hotel manager is harassing her because his establishment lost its coveted five-key rating thanks to her scathing review. Being a professional faultfinder isn’t as satisfying as it used to be—in fact, Roger is actually finding fault with her! Desperate calls to Dr. Farkus aren’t returned, so Elizabeth, figuring there must be an antidote, breaks in to ransack the doctor’s files and is promptly arrested. Contrite, she confesses all to Roger, who’s deeply hurt and heads for his favorite mountain to think things over. She goes after—and is followed by the disgruntled hotel manager, who ties her to a tree and . . . .
A ho-hum contemporary fairy tale from Heller (Female Intelligence, 2001, etc.).Pub Date: Feb. 11, 2002
ISBN: 0-312-26172-1
Page Count: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2001
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
BOOK REVIEW
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