An engaging and sweet-natured love story featuring an unlikely couple.
A chauffeur and an heiress forge an unexpected connection in this May-December romance.
Life is uncomplicated for Neil Vincent, a chauffeur for the St. James family at its estate, Westfield Court. At the age of 38, the confirmed bachelor and war veteran is content with his room above the garage at Westfield Court, where he keeps his collection of books and pursues a relationship with a maid named Jane. Neil’s orderly life changes in March 1963 with the arrival of 18-year-old Mary Claire St. James DeWinter, a student at Radcliffe returning for a final visit with her dying grandfather Austin St. James. Mary Claire’s life is touched by tragedy. When she was 11 years old, the girl and her brother, Michael, were involved in a car accident that left her blind and her face scarred. A friendship develops between Neil and Mary Claire, who share a love of reading and discussions about philosophy and religion. After Austin dies, the reading of his will reveals a major surprise. Mary Claire will inherit Westfield Court, but she must marry within one year of Austin’s death. If she fails to meet this stipulation, then the state of Massachusetts will receive the estate. Despite the economic security promised by the inheritance, Mary Claire is uncertain she wants to marry. Neil offers to wed the reluctant heiress and have a platonic marriage of convenience. She agrees, but when the friendship turns to romance, Neil wonders if their marriage will survive its unconventional beginnings. Griffin’s novel is a tender and nuanced story of love blossoming in the most unexpected of places. Neil and Mary Claire are appealing protagonists whose rapport is bolstered by their robust discussions of literature and religion. Despite the 20-year age difference between the two leads, the author establishes their relationship as an equal partnership. The strong supporting cast of characters includes Jane, whose casual attitude toward her relationship with Neil masks hidden jealousy. That said, the book is a slender 116 pages, and the pacing is so quick that the ending feels rushed.
An engaging and sweet-natured love story featuring an unlikely couple.Pub Date: April 25, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5092-4181-1
Page Count: 126
Publisher: Wild Rose Press
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.
An earnest grad student and a faculty member with a bit of a jerkish reputation concoct a fake dating scheme in this nerdy, STEM-filled contemporary romance.
Olive Smith and professor Adam Carlsen first met in the bathroom of Adam's lab. Olive wore expired contact lenses, reducing her eyes to temporary tears, while Adam just needed to dispose of a solution. It's a memory that only one of them has held onto. Now, nearly three years later, Olive is fully committed to her research in pancreatic cancer at Stanford University's biology department. As a faculty member, Adam's reputation precedes him, since he's made many students cry or drop their programs entirely with his bluntness. When Olive needs her best friend, Anh, to think she's dating someone so Anh will feel more comfortable getting involved with Olive's barely-an-ex, Jeremy, she impulsively kisses Adam, who happens to be standing there when Anh walks by. But rumors start to spread, and the one-time kiss morphs into a fake relationship, especially as Adam sees there's a benefit for him. The university is withholding funds for Adam's research out of fear that he'll leave for a better position elsewhere. If he puts down more roots by getting involved with someone, his research funds could be released at the next budgeting meeting in about a month's time. After setting a few ground rules, Adam and Olive agree that come the end of September, they'll part ways, having gotten what they need from their arrangement. Hazelwood has a keen understanding of romance tropes and puts them to good use—in addition to fake dating, Olive and Adam are an opposites-attract pairing with their sunny and grumpy personalities—but there are a couple of weaknesses in this debut novel. Hazelwood manages to sidestep a lot of the complicated power dynamics of a student-faculty romance by putting Olive and Adam in different departments, but the impetus for their fake relationship has much higher stakes for Adam. Olive does reap the benefits of dating a faculty member, but in the end, she's still the one seemingly punished or taunted by her colleagues; readers may have been hoping for a more subversive twist. For a first novel, there's plenty of shine here, with clear signs that Hazelwood feels completely comfortable with happily-ever-afters.
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-33682-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Reads like an easy Saturday morning.
A gruff musician and a lively puppeteer join forces to revive a beloved children’s show.
Beverly Lark is a 1970s-style entertainer. With Farrah Fawcett hair and a penchant for bell-bottoms, you might think she’d stepped right out of an old TV show—and in a way, she has. Beverly carries on her grandfather’s legacy by lending her voice to TV’s beloved fuzzy blue puppet, Bernie Bird. But with budget cuts to her nonprofit variety show, Beverly desperately needs to find a way to revive her career and Bernie’s popularity. Rock star Griffin Harvey is Beverly’s complete opposite—where she brings laughter to a room, his music is often overshadowed by his brusque, brooding personality. Since Griffin secretly received custody of his 2-year-old daughter, Ava, he wants nothing more than to stay out of the spotlight, but his management is pushing for a new album and an international tour. Yet the only songs Griffin can eke out are songs for Ava...songs for kids who like Bernie Bird. Then, when Beverly and Bernie appear on a late-night talk show with Grammy nominee Griffin Harvey, everyone’s talking about their chemistry. Hoping to cure his writer’s block and help revitalize her career, Griffin and Beverly agree to work together to create new Bernie content. Holed away in Beverly’s cozy Elk Grove, North Carolina, hometown, it’s easy for them to forget they come from completely different worlds. Will the magic between them stay long after the song is over? Olivia’s latest romance is a testament to the friendly, pleasant worlds she creates, including a quirky cast of characters from Beverly’s family and a sweet single-father storyline. Fans of grumpy/sunshine tropes will devour Griffin and Beverly’s slow-burn relationship like Elk Grove’s famous pancakes, and will feel that every longing glance or touch is well earned.
Reads like an easy Saturday morning.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9798217187102
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
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