Tries hard but fails to tell a different story of thwarted passions and family obligations.
A first novel breathlessly celebrates an unusual heroine—she works the waters of the Chesapeake Bay—in an unconvincing story of sibling rivalries that have fatal consequences.
Hart’s writing is flawless and her setting—Virginia’s barrier islands—consummately evoked, but her characters seem rootless concepts bound to an overwrought plot. The narrator, Annie Revels, is 20, the year 1920, and she is nursing younger sister Rebecca, who nearly drowned in a nor’easter that almost destroyed their home on Yaupon Island. Annie recalls how Rebecca came close to drowning another time, one day as a toddler on their father’s boat when she fell overboard. She was rescued, but her father spanked Annie because Rebecca had been her responsibility—and remains a responsibility that, despite her affection for Rebecca, Annie has resented since her sister’s birth. Their mother never fully recovered from delivering Rebecca, and not only does Annie have to take charge of the household, but she’s pained further by the fact that Rebecca is beautiful and Annie plain, something especially galling when the two attend local school and the teacher and other students are entranced with Rebecca. When their father drowns at sea, Annie cuts her hair, dresses in his old trousers and shirts, and works his crab traps and oyster beds to support the family. Her hands are scarred and callused, her skin sunburned, while Rebecca, an incompetent and dim-witted housekeeper, spends her days paging through magazines and brushing her mother’s hair. Out on the water one day, Annie meets Nathan Combs, a veteran of the recent WWI and a fishing guide for a nearby hotel. She’s smitten and the two are soon making love, even on the night he comes to dinner to meet the family. But Rebecca sees them, seduces Nathan, and marries him—because she’s pregnant. Then a big storm further complicates this bleak tale.
Tries hard but fails to tell a different story of thwarted passions and family obligations.Pub Date: June 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-425-18471-4
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2002
An excellent debut that combines wit, humor, and emotional intensity.
A woman refuses to be with her soul mate, but life intervenes, making her choice harder and more heartbreaking.
Josh meets Kristen with a bang, literally, when she slams on her brakes and he runs into her. There's minimal damage, so she disappears. Minutes later they discover that their best friends are engaged to each other and they were slated to meet that day at the fire station where Brandon and Josh work. Josh is immediately smitten, but Kristen has a boyfriend, Tyler, who’s deployed overseas. Counting down the days until he gets home for good, Kristen adamantly puts Josh in the friend zone, refusing to acknowledge their growing closeness and her spiking attraction. Then Tyler reenlists, effectively breaking up with her. Kristen and Josh sleep together, but she slams the door on his hope for a real relationship, telling him it will never be more than a friends-with-benefits situation. Josh thinks Kristen is mourning the end of her relationship with Tyler, but really, Kristen realizes Josh is her perfect match. Unfortunately she also knows Josh wants children, which would be nearly impossible for them due to her malfunctioning reproductive system. The two reach a painful impasse, but when tragedy strikes, they find themselves reevaluating their relationship. Josh knows he’ll never be happy without Kristen, but he’ll have to think outside the box to convince her to take a chance on them. Jimenez tackles a myriad of issues in her debut and hits each one with depth and sensitivity. Kristen’s take-no-prisoners attitude is smart and sassy and perfectly balanced by Josh’s easygoing resourcefulness, though at times her lack of transparency while jerking him around makes her seem more immature than self-sacrificing.
An excellent debut that combines wit, humor, and emotional intensity.Pub Date: July 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5387-1560-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2019
A perfect blend of smart, heart-wrenching, and fun.
Two years after the tragic death of her fiance, an artist begins to heal thanks to a rock star and his dog.
Sloan Monroe is on her way to the grave of her late fiance, who was killed by a drunk driver, when she nearly hits a dog who dashed into the road. When she stops to check on him, he jumps into her car through the sunroof, and when she doesn't hear from his owner after calling the number on his collar, she decides to keep him. Jason Larsen, the dog's owner, is backpacking off the grid in Australia, and when he finally gets Sloan's voicemails nearly two weeks later, he calls her and is astonished to discover that she's had Tucker, his dog, for so long; his quasi-girlfriend was supposed to be watching Tucker but it turns out she had basically abandoned him. Since he’s still in Australia for a few weeks, Jason arranges for Sloan to keep Tucker, and through it all they text and talk and plant the seeds for a friendship, if not more. Sloan is slow and wary, even before she discovers that Jason is a musician on the cusp of star status. Still, she’s charmed by his patience and talent, and when he returns to LA, she quickly falls in love with him, his dog, and his family. Just as they’re admitting to deep feelings, he’s embarking on a long musical tour and wants her with him. It’s a grind, which she isn’t expecting, and the relationship is at odds with his label’s publicity plans, which are complicated. Plus, it keeps Sloan from pursuing her art, which she wants to explore again. Following her exceptional debut (The Friend Zone, 2019), author Jimenez has written Sloan’s story with elegant, compassionate success, showcasing a romance that navigates deep grief and healing while exploring the unexpected stressors placed on a celebrity relationship. Fans of The Friend Zone will be happy to see Kristen and Josh as Sloan’s main support system and will be touched by Jimenez’s note in the acknowledgements about her inspiration for the book.
A perfect blend of smart, heart-wrenching, and fun.Pub Date: April 14, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5387-1564-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2020
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