A fun and fast-paced look at the risk and value of real intimacy.
A young journalist sleeps with a sex columnist and finds himself at the center of a viral sensation.
Lucas Callahan, a recent NYC transplant by way of North Carolina, is an aspiring journalist. Stuck at his desk as a fact-checker for Empire magazine, he’s lonely and frustrated. But when he meets a glamorous woman named Carmen at a bar and then spends the night at her apartment, things seems to be looking up…that is, until he reads a column in his own magazine and realizes that Carmen is Carmen Kelly, Empire’s sex columnist. In her column, she refers to him as “Mr. Nice Guy” and eviscerates his sexual performance. Humiliated, Lucas writes a scathing anonymous rebuttal from Mr. Nice Guy’s point of view, including plenty of criticism of Carmen herself. When his response goes viral, Empire proposes a new column: “Screw the Critics,” wherein Lucas and Carmen sleep together every week, then critique each other in print. Carmen, who knows she can write about so much more than just sex, feels backed into a corner. Lucas, however, relishes the opportunity to get his words in print, even if he doesn’t have a byline. Although the two hate each other at first, they quickly become partners in crime as the column becomes wildly popular. But as things progress and their feelings start to become real, the column, their jobs, and their relationship get complicated. Miller (The Year of the Gadfly, 2012, etc.) and Feifer hit all the beats of a satisfying rom-com while still managing to surprise. Lucas can be unlikable, but he always feels realistic as a young man in the city trying to climb the journalism ladder. Carmen is the more outwardly prickly and inwardly complex character, and if there is any criticism to be found, it’s that readers don’t get enough of her point of view.
A fun and fast-paced look at the risk and value of real intimacy.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-18988-2
Page Count: 384
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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