A brisk, spirited novella about a man’s quest for true love, from a hip author with potential.
A divorced ne’er-do-well seeks to reinvigorate his stagnant life by digging up the past in Willow’s debut novel.
Despite its risqué title, this tale about a man trying to rekindle an old high school flame is amiable and entertaining. It follows the adventures of Steve Collins, a downtrodden 30-something Pittsburgh insurance company human-resources director haunted by dreams of a better life. After a year and a half of homeownership, he swiftly backed out of his unfulfilling life and love by getting a divorce. Now, as a newly single fellow, he trolls Internet dating sites for female companionship, which results in pages of humorous attempts to connect with the opposite sex: Suzie looks “exactly like her photo, age-progressed twenty years”; Kathy seems nice but is secretly attached; and Paula has nine rescue-shelter cats. Then Jennifer Mello, a beautiful, out-of-his-league brunette he’d let slip away back in high school, reappears at his workplace looking for a job. Twenty years have improved Jennifer’s attractiveness along with her career acumen, the love-struck Steve observes. Although she initially declines his attentions, he insinuates himself into her life—even as his pessimistic friends Paulie and Chris and his amiable, unfaithful ex-wife, Sara, advise against living in the past. A highly coincidental chance meeting brings Steve and Jennifer face to face again, and they date until former classmate Bobby (the “cockblocker” of the title), who also feels puppy love for Jennifer, threatens to sabotage Steve’s romantic strategy. Willow concludes his short tale with a confusing one-page epilogue that switches the narrative’s point of view. This novel is stunted by its brevity and lack of plot development, and it only minimally explores the idea that “no one ever recovers from high school.” However, this deceptively slim, effective story about reinvigorating a past love will surely entertain fans of romance and other readers looking for an uncomplicated, breezy, and fun beach distraction. It has a winning protagonist whose need for love and acceptance will likely resonate with every reader.
A brisk, spirited novella about a man’s quest for true love, from a hip author with potential.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1503224681
Page Count: 100
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 14, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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