Though Callahan's heroine achieved what many could only dream of, she lacked the capacity to define her own life as a...
A young woman feels the heavy burden of a coveted crown.
Betty Jane Welch had no desire to compete in the Miss America pageant. But after accepting her mother’s bribe of her absolute favorite lemon cake, she felt she was at least obligated to participate in 1949’s Miss Delaware scholarship pageant. Though everyone around Betty sees her potential, she is unable to even fathom the possibility of making it past the first round of the competition. As her beauty, talent at the harp, and sharp wit move her swiftly up the ranks, it's what happens behind the scenes at the pageant that offers the most surprises. Upon meeting her escort, John Griffin “Griff” McAllister, Betty is equally charmed and confounded by the strikingly handsome young man. His temperament flip-flops throughout their first encounter, with him appearing bored and then thoroughly smitten often in the same breath. Griff whisks her away from the strict rules of the pageant system, and while Betty does notice some quirks in his character—those rapid mood swings, his incessant mumbling—she brushes them aside as nothing. When Betty wins the title, Griff pulls away from her, citing the stress of being known as Miss America’s boyfriend. Overcome by the pressure of the tiara, Betty turns to Griff and is willing to give it all up to be with him. What results is the wild tale of a disgraced pageant winner and a story that reporter Bronwyn McCall is anxious to uncover more than 60 years later. Early in her pageant experience, Betty muses that “Miss America does odd things to people.” Clearly, she had no idea. Callahan (Searching for Grace Kelly, 2015) creates a story that is brisk-paced and fluid. Characters like Betty’s roommate Ciji and reporter Eddie Tate add depth and emotion to the story.
Though Callahan's heroine achieved what many could only dream of, she lacked the capacity to define her own life as a 19-year-old. Luckily, the novel offers her time.Pub Date: April 18, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-544-80997-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Review Posted Online: Feb. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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