While it lacks pressing conflicts, this book delivers a breezy rendition of a Hollywood dream.
A novel presents the story of one sci-fi fan’s amazing journey.
The action begins at a Vystar convention in Atlanta. Vystar is a popular sci-fi TV show, and its conventions attract devotees from around the country. One enthusiast is an unassuming Florida State University student named Arianna Drake. When a handsome man named Roger asks Arianna to come to a hotel room at the convention, she cannot be entirely sure what she is in for. In the hotel room, she meets Ellen Stratton, the wife of Henry Stratton, who plays Capt. Kosak on Vystar. Ellen explains that she is about to file for divorce due to Henry’s womanizing, and, just to prove her point as to his untoward ways, Ellen would like a young woman to seduce him. In exchange for her efforts, Arianna will not only get to meet one of her idols, she will also receive a round-trip flight to Los Angeles (where she will sit next to Henry) and a shopping spree courtesy of his credit cards. Arianna jumps at the offer, and, with the help of professionals, she is soon a stunner who turns heads throughout the convention. Henry winds up coming on to Arianna aggressively even though she insists that she is unavailable: she has a boyfriend she plans to one day marry. Once in Los Angeles, however, Arianna can no longer resist Henry’s charm. She is soon at his mansion, where the two share a steamy night, and, the following day, she accompanies him to the set of Vystar. It is on the set of Arianna’s most beloved show that the unthinkable happens: she winds up being cast as a recurring character. What else will Hollywood have in store for her? As readers follow Arianna’s bizarre odyssey from fan to star, it seems she must hit a wall at some point. What of her boyfriend back home? What if Henry becomes a jerk? But, as it turns out, these are hardly worth worrying about. Arianna engages in her share of verbal spats and even has a public fight with Henry, though most of their conversations are amicable. Dialogue often slows such events, with characters tending to speak in matter-of-fact ways, as when Henry explains a gift he bought for Arianna by noting: “I saw it and knew it was for you, so I bought it.” But the crux of Cox’s (Sheolite Fantasy Compilation, 2016, etc.) intriguing tale is Arianna’s wild ride of good luck; more intense frictions simply do not develop. The story is at its best when Arianna encounters aspects of a world she had never dreamed of, such as teenagers wanting her autograph at a grocery store. It is the type of occurrence anyone with such ambitions can identify with, no matter how minor the incident might seem to others. And that is the driving, if simplistic, power of the lively novel: if such one-in-a-million stardom can happen to Arianna, it could happen to anyone.
While it lacks pressing conflicts, this book delivers a breezy rendition of a Hollywood dream.Pub Date: July 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5429-4730-5
Page Count: 294
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 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
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.
A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.
Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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