by Kate Clayborn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 2021
The comforting rewrite of Romeo and Juliet you didn’t know you needed.
A wronged childhood, a potential youthful romance derailed by the actions of adults, and a hard-won love.
Will Sterling is an overworked doctor in Chicago who has carved out a functional life despite his lingering grief over the way his late parents neglected him when he was a child. When he inherits an apartment from an uncle who also abandoned him when he was in need, he’s determined to get rid of it and the bad memories it carries as quickly as possible. But there is one good memory associated with the place: Years ago, the only time he ever visited his uncle, he caught a blurred and fleeting glimpse of a girl around his own age on a terrace upstairs, and his teenage heart came alive. Now Nora DeAngelo Clarke has come back into his orbit, though she has no idea they've ever crossed paths before. Web designer Nora, who's inherited her beloved grandmother's apartment, is ready to battle this stranger who threatens to change the character of the close-knit apartment building, her small haven, and the lives of its residents by renting out his new apartment on Airbnb. But underneath the righteousness is her own grief about adults who let her down and an anxiety-laced desire for the stability that the building and her found family there represents. Her initial scheme to sabotage Will’s plans gradually folds as their chemistry crackles and they slowly reveal their fragile selves to each other. Clayborn dwells on the gap between her characters' bruised inner lives and their public faces, and the novel is shadowed by that melancholy, making for a Mary Balogh–style love story. The quirky characters who could obstruct—but eventually aid—Will and Nora’s journey to coupledom do much to lighten the mood.
The comforting rewrite of Romeo and Juliet you didn’t know you needed.Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4967-2519-6
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
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More by Kate Clayborn
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
by Colleen Hoover ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 18, 2022
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
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New York Times Bestseller
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
by Rebecca Yarros ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 2021
A charming dual-timeline romance about learning from past mistakes.
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In Yarros’ latest romance novel, a young woman hires a handsome but infuriating writer to complete her late great-grandmother’s half-finished book.
After her marriage to a Hollywood producer ends in high-profile divorce, 28-year-old Georgia Stanton returns to her childhood home in Colorado. When she arrives at the house where she was raised by her great-grandma—the famous romance author Scarlett Stanton—she finds her mother, Ava, lying in wait. Georgia is in possession of the only unfinished manuscript that her deceased relative left behind, and her own mom wants her to sell the rights so they can get some cash. Georgia succumbs to the pressure and enters a deal in which another author will finish the book’s second half. The manuscript tells Scarlett’s life story, including how she found, and lost, her one true love. Georgia feels strongly that the finished novel must reflect the true events of Scarlett’s life, as difficult as they may have been. Unfortunately, the publishers hire Noah Harrison, a stubborn writer at the height of his career, who has his own fictional vision for the novel’s ending. As Noah and Georgia butt heads, each of them researches Scarlett’s history in England during World War II. As they learn more about Scarlett and Jameson Stanton, the fighter pilot she loved, Georgia and Noah must navigate their own increasingly complicated relationship. With two equally engrossing storylines, this book will draw in even seasoned romance readers. As the story jumps between past and present, the author also alternates present-day perspectives between Georgia and Noah, moving deftly between her characters’ distinct voices. The relationships are well developed, and the love that Scarlett felt for Jameson is especially palpable. Along with the sweetly romantic themes, the book explores several heftier topics, including personal ambition, grief, family discord, and self-esteem. The story has a few digressions that do little to advance the plot, but the main characters are sufficiently engrossing that readers will want to stick with them to the end.
A charming dual-timeline romance about learning from past mistakes.Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68281-566-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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