A frothy, fabulous romantic comedy.
Kent (Shopping for a Billionaire’s Honeymoon, 2017, etc.) offers a compilation of Shopping stories full of pop culture, witty dialogue, and great sex.
Shannon Jacoby is a mystery shopper who goes undercover to conduct quality-of-service investigations for her clients. She’s scoping out a men’s restroom when Declan McCormick, one of the most eligible bachelors in Boston, literally knocks her off her feet. Their attraction is immediate. Declan likes Shannon’s “realness” (she’ll order a steak rather than the expected salad). Shannon is incredulous that she seems to have landed the handsome billionaire, though she loves the self-assured woman she is becoming with Declan. They drift along in romantic bliss until a frightening medical emergency, a scheming ex-boyfriend, and a social media maven upend their romance. The collection includes the first five of Kent’s Shopping for a Billionaire series—nearly 500 pages of the often hilarious ups and downs of Shannon and Declan’s relationship. Kent has a gift for witty dialogue and memorable characters. Rather than physical descriptions, she uses evocative analogies to animate her characters. Declan “smells like a weekend in Stowe at a private cabin with skis propped against the back wall, a roaring fire in a stone fireplace that crawls from floor to ceiling, and a bearskin rug that feels amazing against all your naked parts.” Shannon is a likable hero who has knack for landing in situations that are equal parts cringeworthy and entertaining. While the sexual innuendos are sometimes a bit too much—at an ice cream parlor, Shannon compares marshmallow and caramel sauce to the viscosity of another “salacious fluid”—the novel is at its best when it focuses on Declan and Shannon’s evolving relationship. Beneath the humor, sex, and absurd situations, this is a sweet love story about a man who adores a woman and a woman who finally realizes her own self-worth.
A frothy, fabulous romantic comedy.Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-68230-731-1
Page Count: 498
Publisher: EverAfter Romance
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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