Two young lovers contend with the political unrest of 1930s Shanghai in this historical novel.
Blair draws readers into a world of political unrest, slashed dreams and persistent hope for peace in the war-torn city of Shanghai. Dually narrated by Shiying, the dapper, headstrong Chinese writer, and Peipei, a bright, sophisticated courtesan, Blair showcases the challenges the couple faces trying to build a life together in desperate circumstances. For Shiying, there’s nothing more important than pursuing his writing career, even if it means putting his life on the line. The upright Peipei, on the other hand, fears losing her love in the fight for Chinese freedom. She worries that the Japanese Imperial army will execute Shiying and that they will never start a family together. Shiying differs from his politically active coterie because he believes that mutual cooperation and understanding between the Chinese and Japanese could bring peace and because he insists that he’s an apolitical artist. He contends artists can exist beyond politics. Unfortunately, this sentiment proves futile; Japanese forces follow him, convinced he’s part of the opposition. The novel skillfully explores the duty of the artist during wartime. More potent even than the descriptions of Peipei and Shiying is the rendering of Shanghai itself. The narrative exudes an ominousness that saturates the city. The Japanese Sandman, a sinister, foreboding presence, haunts Peipei’s dreams throughout the novel as she tries to convince Shiying to take safety precautions against the Japanese authorities. Readers will clearly see through the foreshadowing to the loving couple’s future.
Serious, informative and graphic, this book expertly plumbs despair.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2012
ISBN: 978-1466914711
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Trafford
Review Posted Online: Jan. 7, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Categories: GENERAL ROMANCE | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE | ROMANCE | SUSPENSE | SUSPENSE
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BOOK REVIEW
British babies born in the same hospital in the first minutes of New Years' Day 1990 meet again on their 30th birthdays.
"Look, Shaylene, I'm sure you've seen Sleepless in Seattle? You know that bit where Meg Ryan is supposed to meet Tom Hanks at the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day? Well I'm in a situation a bit like that," pleads the likable but self-defeating pie entrepreneur Minnie Cooper during the climax of Cousens' debut. Yes, she certainly is, having struggled for more than 300 pages through every rom-com trope in the book. Her story begins on New Years' Eve 1989, when her mother, Connie, goes through labor with a waifish but well-heeled wardmate named Tara Hamilton. One of them will win a cash prize for giving birth to the first baby of 1990, and wouldn't you know, it's the rich lady who doesn't need the money. Not only that, she steals the lucky name Connie has chosen for her child: Quinn. Furious, the Coopers decide instead on Minnie, not realizing that this will subject their daughter to a lifetime of self-esteem–crushing car jokes. On the other hand, Minnie needs her self-esteem crushed so that when she runs into the rich, handsome, mensch-y Quinn Hamilton on their shared birthday 30 years later she can spend a year spontaneously generating one mistaken impression after another so the two don't just accept what fate so clearly intends for them. While Quinn and Minnie don't stray far from type, they are surrounded by an entertaining supporting cast—Minnie's irritating punster boyfriend; her amateur horologist dad; her employees at the not-for-profit pie bakery, particularly a platinum blond wastrel named Fleur. Mother Connie is a bit of a problem, though. Seething with resentment about the stolen name and other injustices, she's a cold and negative mother who passes the chip on her shoulder to her daughter—until something happens offstage and she turns into a completely different person. Not sure what movie this comes from, but it doesn't work.
A cozy quilt of recycled rom-com tropes.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
Categories: GENERAL FICTION | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP | ROMANCE
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SEEN & HEARD
A clever, romantic, sexy love story.
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The much-loved royal romance genre gets a fun and refreshing update in McQuiston’s debut.
Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the American President Ellen Claremont, knows one thing for sure: He hates Henry, the British prince to whom he is always compared. He lives for their verbal sparring matches, but when one of their fights at a royal wedding goes a bit too far, they end up falling into a wedding cake and making tabloid headlines. An international scandal could ruin Alex’s mother’s chances for re-election, so it’s time for damage control. The plan? Alex and Henry must pretend to be best friends, giving the tabloids pictures of their bromance and neutralizing the threat to Ellen's presidency. But after a few photo ops with Henry, Alex starts to realize that the passionate anger he feels toward him might be a cover for regular old passion. There are, naturally, a million roadblocks between their first kiss and their happily-ever-after—how can American political royalty and actual British royalty ever be together? How can they navigate being open about their sexualities (Alex is bisexual; Henry is gay) in their very public and very scrutinized roles? Alex and Henry must decide if they’ll risk their futures, their families, and their careers to take a chance on happiness. Although the story’s premise might be a fantasy—it takes place in a world in which a divorced-mom Texan Democrat won the 2016 election—the emotions are all real. The love affair between Alex and Henry is intense and romantic, made all the more so by the inclusion of their poetic emails that manage to be both funny and steamy. McQuiston’s strength is in dialogue; her characters speak in hilarious rapid-fire bursts with plenty of “likes,” “ums,” creative punctuation, and pop-culture references, sounding like smarter, funnier versions of real people. Although Alex and Henry’s relationship is the heart of the story, their friends and family members are all rich, well-drawn characters, and their respective worlds feel both realistic and larger-than-life.
A clever, romantic, sexy love story.Pub Date: June 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-31677-6
Page Count: 432
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
Categories: GENERAL ROMANCE | ROMANCE | LBGTQ
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