A gratifying romantic and personal adventure.
In Cook’s debut romance, an experimental sleeping pill allows thrilling, lucid dreams, which upends a married woman’s life.
A month ago, Vanessa “Ness” Brown’s husband, Pete, expressed his desire to start a family, and since then, she’s been in turmoil—as reflected in her terrible anxiety dreams. She notes that having children isn’t an unreasonable notion; she and her husband are both in their early 30s and have a strong three-year marriage. But Ness isn’t interested in children, and she can’t even bear thinking about it, let alone tell Pete. She has an undemanding job as a clinical drug trial assistant in downtown Seattle, and one perk is her daily banter with her handsome, laid-back co-worker Altan Young, on whom she has a “teeny, tiny crush.” She discovers that he’s been stealing leftover capsules of a new sleeping pill, Morpheum; his resulting dreams, he says, are “amazing.” Ness decides to try the drug herself, and she gets a great night’s sleep, complete with a delightful dream. She soon finds Morpheum too wonderful to give up—especially after she and Altan start sharing steamy, adventurous encounters within their dreams. Soon, Ness seeks further escape—which leads her into a nightmare. Cook concocts a fantasy with huge appeal; who wouldn’t want to have adventures where we can be our best selves without boundaries? Even Ness’ terrible mistakes, as the author describes them, seem to be a necessary part of her journey. The characterization falters somewhat due to Ness’ insufficiently explained feelings of shame, and Pete doesn’t seem to deserve her harsh treatment. She won’t even tell him about her desire to become a photographer; her justification is that “it felt wrong to want something other than” Pete. Meanwhile, her relationship with Altan seems effortless thanks to the dreams’ “mind meld”; a real-life relationship could never compete. The whole story feels a bit like a wish-fulfilling reverie—but it’s a well-written one, and readers will be glad about a promised sequel.
A gratifying romantic and personal adventure.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-73299-841-4
Page Count: 310
Publisher: Brass Anvil Books
Review Posted Online: March 7, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.
A violent surfacing of adolescence (which has little in common with Tarkington's earlier, broadly comic, Seventeen) has a compulsive impact.
"Nobody big except me" is the dream world of Holden Caulfield and his first person story is down to the basic, drab English of the pre-collegiate. For Holden is now being bounced from fancy prep, and, after a vicious evening with hall- and roommates, heads for New York to try to keep his latest failure from his parents. He tries to have a wild evening (all he does is pay the check), is terrorized by the hotel elevator man and his on-call whore, has a date with a girl he likes—and hates, sees his 10 year old sister, Phoebe. He also visits a sympathetic English teacher after trying on a drunken session, and when he keeps his date with Phoebe, who turns up with her suitcase to join him on his flight, he heads home to a hospital siege. This is tender and true, and impossible, in its picture of the old hells of young boys, the lonesomeness and tentative attempts to be mature and secure, the awful block between youth and being grown-up, the fright and sickness that humans and their behavior cause the challenging, the dramatization of the big bang. It is a sorry little worm's view of the off-beat of adult pressure, of contemporary strictures and conformity, of sentiment….
A strict report, worthy of sympathy.Pub Date: June 15, 1951
ISBN: 0316769177
Page Count: -
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1951
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
APPRECIATIONS
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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