A sexy, satisfying romance.
In this sequel, Hagen (Your Tempting Love, 2017, etc.) focuses on another member of the Bennett family as Alice tries to snag her childhood crush once and for all.
“From carbs to sugar to Nate, I’ve always liked things that are bad for me,” says Alice. She’s adored the older Nate Becker since they were kids, but their five-year age gap and, later, his rigorous travel schedule as a TV producer nixed any chance of a relationship. Now, she’s a successful restaurateur, and he’s back home in San Francisco for three weeks, just enough time to help Alice pitch her new venture to the show Delicious Dining and to get under her skin. The mutual attraction is palpable, but Nate’s moving to London for work, and thanks to his twice-divorced mother, he’s wary of relationships. Given the circumstances, they agree to keep their emotions in check. In the realm of romance, it is unorthodox for both leads to be so candid about their feelings (without acting on them) so early on, but here, it totally works. It allows for even more shameless flirtation, and their honesty is justified by history, including cute flashbacks like the time Nate salvaged Alice’s prom night after she caught her date with another girl. But in due time, Nate’s charisma helps Alice seal the TV deal. It’s time to give dating a try, and hopefully his fear of commitment, her dread of being hurt, and their careers will not get in the way. Admirers of the first book’s pairing should be similarly drawn to the appealing Nate and Alice. She’s a savvy businesswoman, and he’s a perfect gentleman who handles plumbing emergencies, buys lavender essential oil to help Alice sleep, and displays a penchant for dirty talk. Fans should also appreciate nods to the rest of the Bennett clan: this tale is set a couple years after the first volume. Now Ava and Sebastian have 2-year-old twins, Christopher and Max, and Pippa’s remarried with a stepdaughter. Like the preceding installment, this engaging book works as a stand-alone but should also bring new readers into the Bennett fold.
A sexy, satisfying romance.Pub Date: May 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5464-2430-7
Page Count: 302
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: May 26, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.
Another reboot of Jane Austen?!? Hadlow pulls it off in a smart, heartfelt novel devoted to bookish Mary, middle of the five sisters in Pride and Prejudice.
Part 1 recaps Pride and Prejudice through Mary’s eyes, climaxing with the humiliating moment when she sings poorly at a party and older sister Elizabeth goads their father to cut her off in front of everyone. The sisters’ friend Charlotte, who marries the unctuous Mr. Collins after Elizabeth rejects him, emerges as a pivotal character; her conversations with Mary are even tougher-minded here than those with Elizabeth depicted by Austen. In Part 2, two years later, Mary observes on a visit that Charlotte is deferential but remote with her husband; she forms an intellectual friendship with the neglected and surprisingly nice Mr. Collins that leads to Charlotte’s asking Mary to leave. In Part 3, Mary finds refuge in London with her kindly aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. Mrs. Gardiner is the second motherly woman, after Longbourn housekeeper Mrs. Hill, to try to undo the psychic damage wrought by Mary’s actual mother, shallow, status-obsessed Mrs. Bennet, by building up her confidence and buying her some nice clothes (funded by guilt-ridden Lizzy). Sure enough, two suitors appear: Tom Hayward, a poetry-loving lawyer who relishes Mary’s intellect but urges her to also express her feelings; and William Ryder, charming but feckless inheritor of a large fortune, whom naturally Mrs. Bennet loudly favors. It takes some maneuvering to orchestrate the estrangement of Mary and Tom, so clearly right for each other, but debut novelist Hadlow manages it with aplomb in a bravura passage describing a walking tour of the Lake District rife with seething complications furthered by odious Caroline Bingley. Her comeuppance at Mary’s hands marks the welcome final step in our heroine’s transformation from a self-doubting wallflower to a vibrant, self-assured woman who deserves her happy ending. Hadlow traces that progression with sensitivity, emotional clarity, and a quiet edge of social criticism Austen would have relished.
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-12941-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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