A sweet but slow-moving tale of a love affair in Paris.
A financially strapped university student in Paris starts an affair with a sophisticated married woman over the course of one tumultuous year.
Marc Fontbleu is a 23-year-old French student who makes ends meet by mowing lawns. When he glimpses Emma Delors, the wife of a faculty member, walking past him early one morning, his world is rocked. He can’t help but approach beautiful Emma, who reveals that, as usual, her husband is out of town. Emma readily relays that her husband often neglects their marriage in favor of his archaeology studies. Marc and Emma begin a deep and intense affair, spending long hours getting to know each other in and out of bed. They gallivant through parks, restaurants, and the attractions of Paris, falling deeply in love. Marc confesses that he has published poetry under the pseudonym Léopold Montblé and hopes to become famous. Emma worries that she is too old for Marc and should set him free. As they luxuriate in their mutual feelings, they are simultaneously troubled by their own worries about protecting the happiness of the other. Told in the third person, the narrative is broken into four sections based on the temporal seasons and interspersed with short poems and uncredited artwork. There is a heavy emphasis on monologues and dialogue, both internal and external, throughout Cullen’s sentimental story. For the first two-thirds of the book, the main action consists primarily of lengthy conversations between the two central characters. The plot does move more quickly as the novel approaches its conclusion, and if readers can hang on, the tale becomes increasingly engrossing. While there are some stylistic oddities (such as a plethora of parentheses) and errors (like the scene in Chapter 6 in which Emma takes her shoes off after having already removed them), the story features lovely descriptions of French foods, locations, and landmarks. There are also several beautifully rendered moments of human connection and self-sacrifice.
A sweet but slow-moving tale of a love affair in Paris.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-0-7433-2154-9
Page Count: 244
Publisher: Clocktower Books
Review Posted Online: May 8, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A gentle love story perfect for anyone looking for love amid personal, family, and financial crises.
With her promotion to vice president of digital inventory at a Sonoma winery, Natalie Harper finally has the financial security she's always wanted, but a sudden tragedy sends her home to rescue her late mother's charming bookstore.
Once in San Francisco, Natalie moves back into her childhood home, an eclectic set of apartments above the bookshop, a home she shares with her grandfather Andrew, who is suffering from dementia and other mysterious ailments. Blythe, Natalie's mother, loved books, but she was not a savvy businesswoman. Natalie arrives to find unpaid bills and back taxes. Housed in the historic Sunrose Building, the bookshop certainly has stories of its own to tell: Originally a saloon and brothel, it was eventually bought by Natalie's great-grandparents, who converted it into a home and apothecary. Luckily, “hammer for hire” Peach Gallagher shows up. Strong and gorgeous, the contractor catches Natalie's eye, and he certainly is drawn to the curly-haired proprietress. But Peach doesn't date clients, and Natalie is gun-shy from her previous relationship. Plus, she's already met Peach’s adorable little girl, Dorothy. Natalie isn't about to break up a marriage, but she doesn’t know Peach is actually divorced. Wiggs skillfully manipulates the stock in trade of a master romance novelist as she orchestrates Peach and Natalie's inevitable love story. To challenge Peach, enter Trevor Dashwood, a gorgeous and wealthy children's book author, whose books have already won Dorothy's heart. Hosting a book signing with Trevor might help the store’s bottom line. Meanwhile, Natalie, Peach, and Andrew find historical artifacts hidden in the Sunrose building’s walls. Will it be enough to save the store?
A gentle love story perfect for anyone looking for love amid personal, family, and financial crises.Pub Date: July 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-291409-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
A little slower-paced than the typical Roberts romantic mystery (Black Hills, 2009, etc.) but every bit as steamy. It may...
A dog trainer and a wood craftsman dance around love and danger in the Pacific Northwest.
Fiona Bristow is the only victim who got away from serial killer George Perry. Now a copycat, inspired and perhaps guided by the jailed Perry, is on her trail. After Perry murdered her fiancé, Fiona rebuilt her life as a dog trainer and search-and-rescue expert on lovely Orcas Island. She’s recently met talented woodworker Simon Doyle and his misbehaving puppy Jaws, and her dormant love life is about to revive as she and the reluctant Simon slowly build a complicated relationship. Though she’s done her best to overcome her fears and make herself whole again, this new series of killings, with herself as the ultimate target, can’t help but strain her nerves. As the police and FBI track the killer, a persistent reporter makes Fiona’s life more difficult by printing information about her life and location. Through it all, Fiona keeps working. As she continues to go on rescue missions with a team that may soon include Simon and Jaws, her friends help to keep her balanced. But ultimately it will be the trust she has built up with Simon and the talents of her dogs that will change her life forever.
A little slower-paced than the typical Roberts romantic mystery (Black Hills, 2009, etc.) but every bit as steamy. It may well add dog lovers to her legion of fans.Pub Date: July 7, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-399-15657-1
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: March 6, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2010
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