A vague relationship saga with a commonplace plot.
In Longden’s debut novel, a young widow becomes the housekeeper to a wealthy, difficult man—and realizes her potential.
Californian Sydney Holmes had been performing odd, temporary jobs for years following the deaths of her husband and children, when she applies to be a personal secretary and housekeeper for Jason Jamieson. Sydney is beautiful, with a propensity for wearing low-backed dresses, and a slow simmer of tension starts to build between her and her employer, a prominent corporate executive whose temper and coldness are gradually proven to mask a sense of compassion. As Sydney takes on greater responsibility at Jason’s firm, and as she demonstrates her thoughtfulness over the course of their live-in professional relationship—particularly during Jason’s health crisis—Jason cannot help but reconsider their platonic situation. The novel tells an age-old story (rich man, poor woman who teaches him virtues) through a string of anecdotes, which, while sometimes touching, lacks the specifics that would ground the story or distinguish it from previous, similar iterations. For instance, Sydney seems intended to be close to perfect, but her actions and dialogue instead make her seem abrasive. Jason, whose handsomeness is understood (though we have no idea what he looks like) and whose position is important (though what he does, exactly, remains ambiguous), doesn’t have many depicted attributes beyond an affinity for poker. We are told what he is like, but we do not witness it. Some of the dialogue perplexes (“ ‘Don’t get fat, Sydney.’ ‘Who cares?’ ‘About five guys who will see you shortly.’ ‘You’re sweet.’ ”) or aggravates (“ ‘I like it when you get angry; the minute you get defeated you have a beautiful look about you. You succumb,’ Jason said”). Other exchanges, however, bristle with playful yet demure sexiness; it’s in those moments that the chemistry between Sydney and Jason becomes unmistakable—and thoroughly enjoyable. The message of redemption through love is an admirable one, but that message too often becomes overshadowed by episodes and language that cause stumbling rather than smooth progression toward the end.
A vague relationship saga with a commonplace plot.Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2013
ISBN: 978-1489582133
Page Count: 326
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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