An uneven but often clever mystery with a plant-loving focus.
A young college student must solve unexpected crimes in Seamon’s debut horticultural whodunit.
Holly Jackson is a student at Shellesby College in Massachusetts, but because the horticulture department’s director, Professor Emeritus Ashton Berkeley, dislikes her, her scholarship is in danger of being taken away. She’s also competing with fellow pupil Ivy Berkeley to get an internship with Professor Ogletree, an acclaimed horticulturist. Holly finds herself in charge of organizing a series of charity events for prestigious donors, comprising presentations of rare, carefully cultivated plant species through greenhouse tours and sumptuous meals using local produce. She eagerly awaits the Night Lights Ball, where donors will be able to witness the nighttime blooming of the beautiful cereus plant—and the winner of the internship will be announced. But before that can happen, dramatic events unfold: A longstanding rivalry between Ogletree and his former colleague, Professor Dudley, creates suspense; student protests cause chaos; and Holly becomes a witness to murder and kidnapping. Together with her attractive, devoted, and intelligent boyfriend, William Smith, Holly finds herself in a race against time to save both her rival and her scholarship. The novel, told through Holly’s third-person perspective,juggles mystery, humor, and factoids about the science and art of horticulture, and offers a well-paced tale, to boot. However, a few characters come across as predictable and stereotypical, with Holly conforming to the redhead-with-a-fiery-temper cliché, and William revealing himself as little more than a supportive boyfriend. The dialogue also seems unrealistically childlike at times, with 20-somethings Holly and Ivy lobbing insults such as “loser” and “jerk.” Fortunately, the author does develop this combative relationship as the story continues. The author’s writing style also has a fun, if occasionally distracting, goofiness, with plant-related endearments, such as “little prickly pear,” and the exclamation “Blistering bluebells!” Its thematic use of a greenhouse also sets it apart from other entries in the genre.
An uneven but often clever mystery with a plant-loving focus.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 979-8-9850-9562-3
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
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
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
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
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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