A strong start to the series, with enough sizzle to stand alone and plenty of likable characters.
Sparks fly when marketing consultant Ava Lindt lands a contract at a high-end jewelry company run by Sebastian Bennett, San Francisco’s most eligible bachelor.
From the moment Ava shakes hands with the CEO of Bennett Enterprises, she’s smitten. Sebastian is smart, sexy, and...totally off limits. Her contract is only four months long, and past long-distance affairs have left her jaded: “Finding a decent man and counting on him seems like an impossibility, akin to comfortable high heels or sexy period panties.” More importantly, her supervisor, Dirk, forbids romance on the job. But after a few textbook romantic comedy mishaps—a fall which results in Sebastian seeing Ava’s underwear and a face-palm moment when she accidentally sends him a compromising text message meant for her best friend Nadine—her resolve wanes. Sebastian’s incessant flirtation, gifts, and promises to make this the best four months of her life prove, well, irresistible. At first, the lovebirds are content with an illicit fling, but soon, the thought of leaving one another becomes unbearable. And with no family of her own, Ava has grown fond of being an honorary Bennett, complete with nine new siblings and two loving parents. What’s a career-minded woman to do? In this first installment of the Bennett Family series, Hagen (Your Tempting Love, 2017, etc.) employs an easy, conspiratorial writing style, alternating perspectives between the two leads. The CEO–employee power dynamic is hot, and though Ava is impressed by Sebastian’s power and masculinity, she is still every bit his equal. In terms of supporting cast, siblings Logan (chief operating officer and bad cop to Sebastian’s good cop) and Pippa (the company’s creative director) never threaten to steal center stage but are memorable enough that readers will look forward to seeing them again in future books. Toward the finale, Ava and Sebastian’s motivations do drift toward the implausible—both jump to irrational conclusions. It’s mostly forgivable, however, and the resulting conflict makes for a more satisfying ending.
A strong start to the series, with enough sizzle to stand alone and plenty of likable characters.Pub Date: July 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5232-4581-9
Page Count: 326
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
