by Karyn Rae ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 29, 2018
The plot twists are genuinely surprising, and the complicated relationships give this page-turner a touch of humor and a ton...
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On her 40th birthday, a woman uncovers long-buried family secrets connected to the night she got pregnant—and gets a chance to make things right.
It’s not a happy birthday for Harlow, and the tragedies are piled on like icing on a layer cake. Her mother, Vivian Ausby, is on her deathbed. Her ex-husband, Patrick McDade, is the sole benefactor of her mother’s will. Her estranged best friend, Savannah “Van” Pratt, is also in the hospital—and dying of cancer. But a chance reunion with her first love, Jade Ryan, brings up old memories and ignites new feelings. Told in five parts, the story begins in Vivian’s hospital room and flashes back to the night that changed the course of Harlow’s life. At the time, Harlow was a shy 20-year-old with a disapproving mother and an ugly birthmark on her left leg; she didn’t fit in with the upper crust of South of Broad, an exclusive neighborhood in Charleston, South Carolina. If not for her mother’s frosty relationship with Jade’s family, Harlow would have happily chosen easygoing Jade over stuck-up, entitled Patrick. But 20 years later, Harlow is once again single and still pining for the life she should’ve had. It’s easy to see why she’s held a torch for Jade all these years: Now a doting father, Jade even got a tattoo to match his daughter’s unusual birthmark. His relationship with Harlow is as sweet as it is steamy. But Harlow doesn’t know whether he’ll take her back after all this time. Though Van betrayed Harlow years ago, her sassy Southern humor—“A fat ass is the best punishment, and hers busts out like a can of warm biscuits”—makes her easy to forgive. The key to Harlow’s happiness, then, is standing up to her mother and Patrick. But Vivian’s nurse, Beth, has a secret that could overturn everything Harlow thought she knew about her family. The final pages include an excerpt of Rae’s debut, The Achilles Heel (2014).
The plot twists are genuinely surprising, and the complicated relationships give this page-turner a touch of humor and a ton of drama.Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9960922-4-1
Page Count: 270
Publisher: Karyn Rae Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Karyn Rae
by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2006
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.
Sisters work together to solve a child-abandonment case.
Ellie and Julia Cates have never been close. Julia is shy and brainy; Ellie gets by on charm and looks. Their differences must be tossed aside when a traumatized young girl wanders in from the forest into their hometown in Washington. The sisters’ professional skills are put to the test. Julia is a world-renowned child psychologist who has lost her edge. She is reeling from a case that went publicly sour. Though she was cleared of all wrongdoing, Julia’s name was tarnished, forcing her to shutter her Beverly Hills practice. Ellie Barton is the local police chief in Rain Valley, who’s never faced a tougher case. This is her chance to prove she is more than just a fading homecoming queen, but a scarcity of clues and a reluctant victim make locating the girl’s parents nearly impossible. Ellie places an SOS call to her sister; she needs an expert to rehabilitate this wild-child who has been living outside of civilization for years. Confronted with her professional demons, Julia once again has the opportunity to display her talents and salvage her reputation. Hannah (The Things We Do for Love, 2004, etc.) is at her best when writing from the girl’s perspective. The feral wolf-child keeps the reader interested long after the other, transparent characters have grown tiresome. Hannah’s torturously over-written romance passages are stale, but there are surprises in store as the sisters set about unearthing Alice’s past and creating a home for her.
Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences.Pub Date: March 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-345-46752-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2005
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by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2008
Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of...
Lifelong, conflicted friendship of two women is the premise of Hannah’s maudlin latest (Magic Hour, 2006, etc.), again set in Washington State.
Tallulah “Tully” Hart, father unknown, is the daughter of a hippie, Cloud, who makes only intermittent appearances in her life. Tully takes refuge with the family of her “best friend forever,” Kate Mularkey, who compares herself unfavorably with Tully, in regards to looks and charisma. In college, “TullyandKate” pledge the same sorority and major in communications. Tully has a life goal for them both: They will become network TV anchorwomen. Tully lands an internship at KCPO-TV in Seattle and finagles a producing job for Kate. Kate no longer wishes to follow Tully into broadcasting and is more drawn to fiction writing, but she hesitates to tell her overbearing friend. Meanwhile a love triangle blooms at KCPO: Hard-bitten, irresistibly handsome, former war correspondent Johnny is clearly smitten with Tully. Expecting rejection, Kate keeps her infatuation with Johnny secret. When Tully lands a reporting job with a Today-like show, her career shifts into hyperdrive. Johnny and Kate had started an affair once Tully moved to Manhattan, and when Kate gets pregnant with daughter Marah, they marry. Kate is content as a stay-at-home mom, but frets about being Johnny’s second choice and about her unrealized writing ambitions. Tully becomes Seattle’s answer to Oprah. She hires Johnny, which spells riches for him and Kate. But Kate’s buttons are fully depressed by pitched battles over slutwear and curfews with teenaged Marah, who idolizes her godmother Tully. In an improbable twist, Tully invites Kate and Marah to resolve their differences on her show, only to blindside Kate by accusing her, on live TV, of overprotecting Marah. The BFFs are sundered. Tully’s latest attempt to salvage Cloud fails: The incorrigible, now geriatric hippie absconds once more. Just as Kate develops a spine, she’s given some devastating news. Will the friends reconcile before it’s too late?
Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters’ willed helplessness, sap this tale of poignancy.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-312-36408-3
Page Count: 496
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2007
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