An underwhelming historical romance.
A New York shipping heiress finds herself in the midst of a London season after her parents steal her away from an inadvisable engagement.
Sara Fleming is in love with a wonderful, handsome man. Unfortunately, that man is back in New York, and she has been whisked off to London by her parents. While they don’t reveal their reasoning, the rest of her extended family supports the decision and helps her get enmeshed in the season. Sara can't help seeking out her cousin’s best friend, the Earl of Bridgeton, even as the Earl himself embarks on a path to gain a rich wife and save his sinking ship of an earldom. Unfortunately, thanks to efforts on the part of Sara’s extended family to keep the fortune hunters at bay, rumors abound that Sara’s shipping magnate father has fallen on hard times. So while Bridgeton would rather spend every waking moment with Sara, he must look elsewhere for a wife. While the plot is intriguing, O’Riley (His by Christmas, 2013, etc.) does not execute it well. Weak writing, historical missteps (gentlewomen in 1894 would certainly be wearing underwear, for example), and an unclear progression of the chemistry between hero and heroine leave the reading experience wanting. Add a cast of supporting characters with varying levels of usefulness to the story—including one with unexplained supernatural capabilities—and the novel feels a good 50 pages too long. The expected outcome does not leave a reader satisfied but merely glad it’s over.
An underwhelming historical romance.Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4201-4463-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Zebra/Kensington
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
At the outset, this might seem like minor Morrison (A Mercy, 2008, etc.), not only because its length is borderline novella,...
A deceptively rich and cumulatively powerful novel.
At the outset, this might seem like minor Morrison (A Mercy, 2008, etc.), not only because its length is borderline novella, but because the setup seems generic. A black soldier returns from the Korean War, where he faces a rocky re-entry, succumbing to alcoholism and suffering from what would subsequently be termed PTSD. Yet perhaps, as someone tells him, his major problem is the culture to which he returns: “An integrated army is integrated misery. You all go fight, come back, they treat you like dogs. Change that. They treat dogs better.” Ultimately, the latest from the Nobel Prize–winning novelist has something more subtle and shattering to offer than such social polemics. As the novel progresses, it becomes less specifically about the troubled soldier and as much about the sister he left behind in Georgia, who was married and deserted young, and who has fallen into the employ of a doctor whose mysterious experiments threaten her life. And, even more crucially, it’s about the relationship between the brother and his younger sister, which changes significantly after his return home, as both of them undergo significant transformations. “She was a shadow for most of my life, a presence marking its own absence, or maybe mine,” thinks the soldier. He discovers that “while his devotion shielded her, it did not strengthen her.” As his sister is becoming a woman who can stand on her own, her brother ultimately comes to terms with dark truths and deep pain that he had attempted to numb with alcohol. Before they achieve an epiphany that is mutually redemptive, even the earlier reference to “dogs” reveals itself as more than gratuitous.Pub Date: May 8, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-307-59416-7
Page Count: 160
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2012
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PROFILES
The heartfelt soap appears to be Hannah’s chosen romance niche, and she mines it skillfully. (First printing of 125,000)
Hannah’s sequel to On Mystic Lake (1999) is yet another tear-jerker set in northwest Washington State.
Perfect mother Mikaela (“Mike”) Campbell takes a hard fall off a horse, hits her head, and sinks into a coma. In order to help bring her out of it, perfect husband-doctor Liam sits at her bedside and begins to talk to her about their life together. He brings her favorite music, scented potpourri, and, to place across her inert body, sweaters that may smell like home. He also tries to keep life as normal as possible for their two kids: Bret, nine years old, and Jacey, Mike’s teenaged daughter by her previous husband. Going through Mike’s closet to find a prom dress for Jacey, Liam stumbles on souvenirs of her first marriage and a picture of her ex—not just any old, anonymous first husband, but Julian True, a gorgeous superstar actor, the hero of women’s fantasies all over America. Liam has always known that he got Mikaela on the rebound; she was honest about the fact that he was not the love of her life. But she is the love of his life, and when she doesn't respond to the sound of his voice, he contacts Julian in hopes that the actor can save Mikaela. Julian travels up to Last Bend, a cutesy town founded by Liam’s larger-than-life father and filled with homey shops like the Emperor’s New Clothes store and Zeke’s Feed and Seed. When Mike finally comes out of unconsciousness and into her family’s emotional upheaval, she apologizes to Liam and bids goodbye to Julian. Yes, she’s discovered that it’s that gentle guy who stays with you through years of cramps and decorating the Christmas tree who defines what love really is.
The heartfelt soap appears to be Hannah’s chosen romance niche, and she mines it skillfully. (First printing of 125,000)Pub Date: April 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-609-60592-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2007
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