An often engaging take on a complex artist.
Hood offers a historical novel that explores of the early life of a famed 20th-century poet and feminist.
The future poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, who calls herself “Vincent,” born in 1892, has a childhood marked by strife and hardship. The eldest of three daughters, her parents’ marriage is already falling apart by the time she’s born. Her father Henry’s drinking and gambling, makes it difficult for him to hold down a job, and although her mother, Cora, works as a nurse and weaves hairpieces for money, it’s difficult to make ends meet. As a result, the family frequently moves and Vincent is responsible for the well-being of her two younger sisters from a young age. By the time Vincent’s parents formally divorce, Henry has been largely absent for years. Despite the family’s struggles, Cora makes sure that the girls are well-read, and young Vincent’s love for poetry is clear early on. She begins writing poetry at the age of 5, and in 1904, she assembles a book of poetry as a gift for her mother. Hood’s novel is studded with Vincent’s poetry, with chapter titles pulled from her famous 1912 poem “Renascence.” The author, who interviewed the poet’s sister for the work, portrays her subject in all her complexities and doesn’t shy away from showing how vicious she could be. One scene in particular showcases Vincent’s duality: When a pipe bursts in 1904 and ice coats the first floor of their home, Vincent lightheartedly encourages her sisters to skate through the house to complete their chores. However, when she must empty the basins the girls have been using as toilets outside, she flies into a sudden rage and thrusts a knife into a tree. The author also intriguingly explores Vincent’s sexuality, discussing her attraction to her minister’s daughter and her later physical and emotional affairs with both women and men. Overall, it’s a compulsively readable work, even though some sections move so quickly that they can be disorienting.
An often engaging take on a complex artist.Pub Date: May 23, 2025
ISBN: 9798895430712
Page Count: 568
Publisher: Austin Macauley
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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