A middling WWII novel for readers who prefer their historical fiction light.
A former nun washes ashore on an English beach during World War II, and she's saved by a local viscount who recruits her into the war effort.
It’s April 1943, and 30-year-old Alice is on her way back to Ireland from the Belgian Congo when the ship she's traveling on is torpedoed. She wakes up on a beach in Cornwall, where she's rescued by Lord Jack Trewella and his trusty canine, Brock. Alice, who's been a nun since she was 18, recently left her mission trip under scandalous circumstances and doesn't want to return to the convent. She is desperate to keep her identity a secret, so she and Jack strike up a deal—they will pretend to be cousins and Jack will provide Alice with food and shelter in exchange for her help tending his farm. Alice quickly becomes entrenched in Jack’s world, helping the “Land Girls” milk cows, striking up a friendship with Merle, a woman who was evacuated from the Channel Islands and is now living in Jack’s home with her children, and getting to know the local villagers. But Alice isn’t the only one with dark secrets, and as she gets to know Jack, Merle, and the children better, she finds herself deeply entrenched in dramas both personal and political. Readers hoping for an action-packed war novel or swoonworthy romance may be disappointed, as most of the book focuses on Alice’s internal monologue; she ruminates on leaving the religious life behind, replays her time in Africa, reminisces about her adolescence in Ireland, and worries about her growing attraction to Jack and the many rumors surrounding his romantic dalliances. The schmaltzy conclusion feels abrupt and its emotions unearned, as does the local mermaid legend woven throughout the text to little effect.
A middling WWII novel for readers who prefer their historical fiction light.Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5420-0635-4
Page Count: 285
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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