A swoony Victorian romance that celebrates the genre.
A cloistered wallflower and a notorious war hero look between the covers.
Julia Wychwood doesn’t want to get married, especially if it means actually talking to someone at a ball. Unfortunately, her overbearing and sickly parents are insisting that she do her duty, as long as she chooses a titled man who lives close enough to their house on Belgrave Square that she can keep taking care of them. They have an elderly nearby earl in mind, but she's drawn to Capt. Jasper Blunt, a mysterious hero (or possible villain) of the Crimean War who happens to love romantic novels as much as she does. Capt. Blunt is taken by Julia as well—and especially her dowry, which would allow him to fix his estate—though he's quickly warned off by her father. But after a brush with death makes Julia realize she needs to escape her family before it’s too late, the two impulsively marry and then run away to Blunt’s country estate in Yorkshire. Despite mysteries and misunderstandings between them, Julia begins to settle into her new country life, and it seems they may find some happiness in their marriage of convenience. But as secrets from Blunt’s past continue to unfurl, Julia wonders whether she will ever trust him enough to love him. The heat in this relatively chaste story comes entirely from the slowest of slow burns between Julia and Jasper, which is irresistible. Matthews brings their story to life with dozens of impeccable details, especially when it comes to fashion and medicine, giving readers a unique glimpse into how the era looked. Secondary characters may feel a bit one-note, but most won’t notice, distracted by the beautiful relationship blossoming between the captain and Mrs. Blunt. Julia’s bluestocking ways will please contemporary readers, but Matthews never truly abandons the realities of the Victorian era, giving the book excellent balance overall and the feel of a story from Heyer or even Austen.
A swoony Victorian romance that celebrates the genre.Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-33715-8
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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
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