A touching, sexy and surprising story of two people from completely different worlds who turn out to be a perfect match.
After an uncharacteristic one-night stand, congressional candidate Harrison Montgomery is facing scandal when Ryan Kaminski winds up pregnant; marrying her is the obvious solution, but falling in love is an unexpected surprise.
After facing a family crisis, Harrison gives into temptation and connects with Ryan, the beautiful, compassionate bartender with blue-collar roots and a slightly shady past he meets in his hotel. After a sizzling one-night stand, he leaves her a sweet note that nonetheless expresses his intention to never see her again, then feels betrayed when he learns she’s pregnant and claims the baby is his. Desperate to salvage his reputation, he convinces her to marry him, but while the two maintain a very cozy and romantic public image, privately they are too clouded by distrust and uncertainty to forge an authentic relationship, especially since Harrison’s parents and sister are struggling to navigate their own personal and public personae. Ryan wants to learn more about the “real” Harrison she met in a Manhattan hotel room but is stymied by the cool, remote man he’s become since their quick wedding. Set against the backdrop of Southern politics, the book is a modern rendition of the classic “marriage of convenience” romance trope, and in O’Keefe’s very capable hands, readers are drawn into Ryan and Harrison’s engaging journey to understanding and love. With two generations of Montgomery family scandal and drama to sift through, Harrison’s parents, especially, seem to shift from supporters to saboteurs and back again, while Ryan, especially, is an intriguing character who surprises everyone, including herself, by becoming an asset rather than a liability. Overall a great read, though there are perhaps too many moments when Ryan and Harrison seem on the brink of emotional breakthrough, only to retreat into yet another moment of uncertainty. O’Keefe, however, is a master of explaining—and selling—character motivations.
A touching, sexy and surprising story of two people from completely different worlds who turn out to be a perfect match.Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-345-54905-1
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bantam
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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
You’ll need your own detective’s notebook to keep tabs on all the characters and connections on display here. Even so,...
A tenacious reporter won’t let personal ties to a decades-old case stop her from finding the truth.
On the advice of her agent, Savannah Sentinel reporter and author Nikki Gillette is looking for fodder for her latest true-crime novel when she realizes that the perfect subject is about to be released from prison. Savannah’s notorious Blondell O’Henry has been locked up for some 20 years for the murder of her oldest daughter and Nikki’s childhood friend, Amity. Now that Blondell’s son Niall has recanted the testimony that put her away all those years ago, it looks as if she’ll be a free woman unless Nikki’s fiance, Detective Pierce Reed, can find a reason to keep her detained. Pierce and Nikki both work to discover what happened years ago at that cabin in the woods, though Pierce bridles at Nikki’s rather unconventional—all right, illegal—research methods. It seems to Nikki that the more she investigates, the more connections she discovers to her own family, beginning with the fact that her Uncle Alex was the original defense attorney on the case. But all of these uncomfortable connections make Nikki still more determined to learn the truth, even if she doesn’t like what that may mean.
You’ll need your own detective’s notebook to keep tabs on all the characters and connections on display here. Even so, Jackson (You Don’t Want to Know, 2012, etc.) shows a mastery of the true-crime thriller formula that will please fans.Pub Date: June 25, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7582-5858-8
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Kensington
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
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