by Kat Drennan ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 21, 2020
An inventive time-travel romance with an appealing mix of action and intrigue.
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A surprise discovery leads a woman on a quest through time as she seeks a priceless brooch in Drennan’s romance novel.
As a child, Tessa Madigan loved spending time with her Uncle Theo in the home built by her grandfather on Balboa Island, California. When Theo died, Tessa inherited the home—and its secrets. While renovating the property with her boyfriend, Phillip Koenig, and best friend, Alexis “Lexi” Hill, she discovers a cache of valuables, including silverware and jewelry, hidden within the walls of the house. Tessa’s fascinated by the jewelry, particularly a serpent bangle that exerts an unusual power over her (“Tess snagged the bracelet, fascinated with its red rhinestone eyes”). As she researches the jewelry’s provenance, Tessa finds herself pulled back in time to 324 C.E., during the reign of Emperor Constantine, where she experiences life through the eyes of Kindra, a slave trained as a craftsperson by a man named Haldor. Tessa is not the only person interested in jewelry: A local shop owner and collector named Karl Johns and his sister-in-law, Valerie, also want the treasure and will stop at nothing to obtain it. When Tessa discovers that another piece—an exquisite cloisonné brooch—is missing, she again dons the bracelet to embark on a trip back through time to find the precious object before it’s lost forever. The narrative offers a satisfying blend of action and romance, with well-developed characters and an irresistible time-travel hook. Tessa Madigan is an amiable protagonist whose life becomes intertwined with that of Kindra, the craftsperson responsible for creating the cloisonné brooch at the heart of the story. The story moves seamlessly between Tessa’s life on Balboa Island in 2019 and Kindra’s life in 324 and her romance with Marcus, one of Emperor Constantine’s guards. Both the mystery of the jewelry’s provenance and the suspenseful search for the brooch are engaging and suspenseful.
An inventive time-travel romance with an appealing mix of action and intrigue.Pub Date: March 21, 2020
ISBN: 9781734258417
Page Count: 426
Publisher: KCPublications
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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PERSPECTIVES
by Abby Jimenez ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 2, 2024
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.
Two people with bad luck in relationships find each other through a popular Reddit thread.
Emma Grant and her best friend, Maddy, are travel nurses, working at hospitals for three-month stints while they see the country. Just a few weeks before they’re set to move to Hawaii, Emma reads a popular “Am I the Asshole” Reddit thread from a Minnesota man who thinks he’s cursed—women he dates find their soulmates after breaking up with him, and the latest one found true love with his best friend! Emma has had a similar experience, which inspires her to DM the man and commiserate. She’s delighted by her witty, lively interactions with software engineer Justin Dahl, and is intrigued when he suggests that if they date each other, maybe they’ll each find their soulmate afterward. Emma upends the Hawaii plan and convinces Maddy to move to Minneapolis for the summer so she can meet Justin in person. The overly complex setup brings Emma and Justin together and the two hit it off, with Justin immediately falling head over heels for Emma. Jimenez then pivots to creating romantic roadblocks and melodramatic subplots centering on each character’s family of origin. Justin’s mother is about to serve six years in prison for embezzlement, which means Justin must move back home to care for his three much younger siblings. Emma was traumatized by her own mother for much of her childhood, left to fend for herself and eventually abandoned in the foster system. When her mother shows up in Minnesota, Emma must face her traumatic childhood and admit that she has prioritized her mother’s well-being over her own. There is little time devoted to Emma’s painful efforts to heal herself enough to accept Justin’s love, which leaves the novel feeling unsatisfying.
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781538704431
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
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SEEN & HEARD
by Colleen Hoover ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 2, 2016
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
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Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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