Expect a lot of skimming to get to the good parts.
A one-night stand and a mysterious attack complicate the “just friends” relationship between a Drug Enforcement Administration agent and the younger sister of his two best friends.
Jay Bennett and Alina Cooke can’t resist their attraction while attending the double wedding of Alina’s brothers. The aftermath of their fling quickly leads to a dizzying back and forth of returning to formality and then jumping back into bed. While it’s clear their chemistry is the motivation for their trysts, both are worried about anything more serious. They know the life of a DEA agent is dangerous. Jay doesn’t want to leave Alina worrying about whether or not he’ll come home safely. Alina doesn’t want to live with that constant uncertainty either considering she’s already spent time fretting over her brothers, who are fellow agents. Whatever fun the two are having, as they wind up in each other’s beds, is dashed by a frightening incident when Alina’s car is purposefully run off the road. Jay isn’t sure if his work as an agent has engendered Alina or something else is at play. The suspense element is the most interesting part of the book; unfortunately, it doesn't mesh particularly well with Jay and Alina’s romance. Often, the story feels like two different books were Frankenstein-ed together, with neither plot getting the depth it needs to be satisfying. Many characters are superfluous, with their introductions having little relevance to the main story. Jay’s DEA assignments and career history provide some insight to his actions, but they still seem more like filler than anything else. Admittedly, Alina and Jay are adorable together, with Jay’s protectiveness and worry making him a caring, thoughtful hero. Alina’s constant waffling over her feelings for Jay isn’t as endearing. With the added action and threat of danger, this should have been a fast-paced read, but it never truly reaches a level above tepid.
Expect a lot of skimming to get to the good parts.Pub Date: Aug. 21, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-264529-6
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 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
To her usual mix of love, mystery, and passion, Roberts (Sanctuary, 1997, etc.)—author of 115 romancers in some 17 years—adds Renaissance art and a decidedly Medici-like family: the Joneses of Maine. Dr. Miranda Jones, nearly six feet with flaming red hair and a glacial reserve, is an archeometrist who specializes in the analyzing and dating of Renaissance bronze sculpture. Miranda hopes to secure a world-class reputation for herself by authenticating a 15th-century statue of the Dark Lady, one of the mistresses of Lorenzo the Magnificent, as the undiscovered work of a young Michelangelo. Miranda's mother, Dr. Elizabeth Standford-Jones, the emotionally remote director of the Standjo art lab in Florence, has summoned her daughter from the family's Victorian cliffside home in Jones Point, Maine, to test the statue. Meanwhile, Miranda's father, equally remote, is an archaeologist who spends more time at his digs than at home. In fact, no one in the Jones family has made a successful run at marriage, a failure that Miranda and her alcoholic brother Andrew call the Jones curse. As for the statue, when it's discovered to be a fake, Miranda sets out to prove that someone stole the original. In this she's helped by gorgeous art thief Ryan Boldari (half-Italian, half-Irish), who's come to Jones Point to steal yet another bronze, which also turns out to be a forgery. Ryan's plan had been to use Miranda as a pawn, but now, naturally, he finds himself falling hard for her. While the two search for bronzes, a standard-issue romance-novel psychotic is stalking them. Most readers will twig to the killer's identity: Here, as always, Roberts's sexual tension is more compelling than her suspense. Perhaps it's time to take a sabbatical from the pink sweatshop and turn her considerable wit and narrative skills to a more original piece of work.
Pub Date: March 23, 1998
ISBN: 0-399-14387-4
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 1998
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