Like the lamb shank at the cafeteria: tender, salty, and worthy of note.
What goes on behind the scenes of the search for a Unitarian minister becomes book fodder for a Southern California writer.
Huneven shows her range with a folksy, funny fifth novel on the unlikely subject of how bad decisions happen to good committees. Food writer, memoirist, and donkey owner Dana Potowski is casting about for an idea for her next book when she's beset by "search committee ideation"—the urge to join the select group of her fellow congregants that will spend one year choosing the next minister of the Arroyo Unitarian Universalist Community Church. What's more, she'll write a book about it! After all, there are books about "a year of having sex every day; a year of not generating any trash, of not buying anything"—why not this? Readers with no a priori interest in church politics may have their doubts, but Huneven makes this deep dive into the workings of the modern committee process and the politics of Unitarianism engaging and thought-provoking. The voting, the vetting, the drama, the discord, the anti-oppression training—it's all here. Her large cast—eight search committee members, a great number of prospective ministers, and several pewsful of others—is carefully constituted to embrace every age group and type, from the tattooed to the senescent, people of color, polyamorists, addicts, and a few members of the good old White heteropatriarchy. A James Beard–awarded food writer herself, Huneven gives her characters wonderful meals at home and in restaurants and includes a selection of complicated but delicious-sounding recipes at the end. A few caveats: The presentation of the novel as a surreptitiously created memoir doesn't add much; plotlines about a past friendship and a possible romance are weak.
Like the lamb shank at the cafeteria: tender, salty, and worthy of note.Pub Date: April 26, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-30005-3
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Penguin Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 23, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
PERSPECTIVES
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism.
Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores—a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore—become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love.
Bree is a friendly but standoffish bookstore owner who keeps everyone she knows at arm’s length, from guys she meets in bars to her friends. Mikki is a settled-in-her-routines divorced mother of two, happily a mom, gift-shop owner, and co-parent with her ex-husband, Perry. And Ashley is a young, very-much-in-love bakery owner specializing in muffins who devotes herself to giving back to the community through a nonprofit that helps community members develop skills and find jobs. When the women meet drooling over a boardwalk storefront that none of them can afford on her own, a plan is hatched to divide the space in three, and a friendship—and business partnership—is born. An impromptu celebration on the beach at sunset with champagne becomes a weekly touchpoint to their lives as they learn more about each other and themselves. Their friendship blossoms as they help each other, offering support, hard truths, and loving backup. Author Mallery has created a delightful story of friendship between three women that also offers a variety of love stories as they fall in love, make mistakes, and figure out how to be the best—albeit still flawed—versions of themselves. The men are similarly flawed and human. While the story comes down clearly on the side of all-encompassing love, Mallery has struck a careful balance: There is just enough sex to be spicy, just enough swearing to be naughty, and just enough heartbreak to avoid being cloying.
A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism.Pub Date: May 31, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-778-38608-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2022
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