An entertaining yarn about time travel, infidelity, and art, executed with sure brush strokes.
In this debut novel, a modern Amsterdam man gets repeatedly thrown back in time to earlier eras in the Netherlands and to different incarnations of an enticing woman.
Robert Dekker is an Amsterdam resident living a semi-bohemian life in 2019 as a concert planner who’s often away on entertainment business, to the detriment of his dull marriage. A side enterprise that markets Chinese-made reproductions of classic paintings has run into a potentially ruinous lawsuit, and now his exciting mistress, Saskia, tells him she’s finding their relationship stale and may want to make a change. In this troubled state of mind, Robert drives on a bridge over the Brouwersgracht Canal and mysteriously finds himself cast back three crucial years in the past, to 2016. Now, Robert has a second chance to begin (or not) his relationship with Saskia more meaningfully and perhaps avoid other future pitfalls. Film fans, meanwhile, may detect similarities to such time-twisted romances as Groundhog Day, Sliding Doors, Mr. Destiny, Peggy Sue Got Married, and Twice Upon a Yesterday(though the only one referenced repeatedly in the text is Back to the Future). But Foley, a transplanted Englishman living in the Netherlands, expands the concept. With clear, businesslike prose, the author relates his unstuck-in-time hero’s slipping ever further back in Dutch history (it is telegraphed that Rembrandt will be involved), encountering different iterations of Saskia. In addition to awkward reintroductions, Robert uses his knowledge of past events to stay out of harm’s way and—if possible—extend his limited supply of insulin for the life-threatening diabetes that afflicts him. Although a few key plot threads seem to be introduced but then lead nowhere (one concerns Robert’s being able to diagnose Saskia’s impending breast cancer years in advance), the overall result is an extremely readable, intelligent, and entertaining work of paranormal fiction. The story has a built-in appeal for consumers of Diana Gabaldon’s blockbuster bodice- and kilt-ripper Outlander franchise as well as readers of time-trippy adventures who would not normally browse any novel in a bookstore’s romance section. Extra points will be awarded by aficionados of Dutch history who are interested in armchair Amsterdam travel, temporal or otherwise.
An entertaining yarn about time travel, infidelity, and art, executed with sure brush strokes.Pub Date: June 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-9-09034-589-5
Page Count: 291
Publisher: San San
Review Posted Online: Sept. 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.
An earnest grad student and a faculty member with a bit of a jerkish reputation concoct a fake dating scheme in this nerdy, STEM-filled contemporary romance.
Olive Smith and professor Adam Carlsen first met in the bathroom of Adam's lab. Olive wore expired contact lenses, reducing her eyes to temporary tears, while Adam just needed to dispose of a solution. It's a memory that only one of them has held onto. Now, nearly three years later, Olive is fully committed to her research in pancreatic cancer at Stanford University's biology department. As a faculty member, Adam's reputation precedes him, since he's made many students cry or drop their programs entirely with his bluntness. When Olive needs her best friend, Anh, to think she's dating someone so Anh will feel more comfortable getting involved with Olive's barely-an-ex, Jeremy, she impulsively kisses Adam, who happens to be standing there when Anh walks by. But rumors start to spread, and the one-time kiss morphs into a fake relationship, especially as Adam sees there's a benefit for him. The university is withholding funds for Adam's research out of fear that he'll leave for a better position elsewhere. If he puts down more roots by getting involved with someone, his research funds could be released at the next budgeting meeting in about a month's time. After setting a few ground rules, Adam and Olive agree that come the end of September, they'll part ways, having gotten what they need from their arrangement. Hazelwood has a keen understanding of romance tropes and puts them to good use—in addition to fake dating, Olive and Adam are an opposites-attract pairing with their sunny and grumpy personalities—but there are a couple of weaknesses in this debut novel. Hazelwood manages to sidestep a lot of the complicated power dynamics of a student-faculty romance by putting Olive and Adam in different departments, but the impetus for their fake relationship has much higher stakes for Adam. Olive does reap the benefits of dating a faculty member, but in the end, she's still the one seemingly punished or taunted by her colleagues; readers may have been hoping for a more subversive twist. For a first novel, there's plenty of shine here, with clear signs that Hazelwood feels completely comfortable with happily-ever-afters.
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-33682-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A lovely and moving romance that examines what it truly means to live.
Opposites attract when a Grim Reaper clashes with a Guardian Angel in this whimsical paranormal romance.
Darcy Moore is in a bit of a tough spot; she’s a Grim Reaper who’s grown tired of death. When she’s given her next assignment, Darcy decides to go rogue. Rather than reaping, Darcy is determined to save her mark, which only upsets the balance kept by the Department of Hauntings and Spirits. Nothing good comes from a Grim Reaper who’s gone AWOL. Bartender Gabriel Aetos works as a Guardian Angel. He doesn’t take kindly to the fact that a Grim Reaper is slinking around his territory. His role is to protect people, while hers is to usher souls into death. To him, their very natures are at odds and his sudden attraction to Darcy won’t change that. This is very much a grumpy-meets-grumpy romance. Gabriel tries hard to keep Darcy at arm’s length and is open about his mistrust of her. Darcy’s standoffishness, though, is born out of her feelings of isolation and loneliness. Dealing in death has taken an obvious toll on her, and she’s traveling her own introspective path on what it means to be human. Darcy’s fragility is what slowly convinces Gabriel to get close to her, despite the heady yearning he keeps under wraps. However, both view their jobs as central to their existence, for better or worse. While Darcy is actively wondering what it would mean to break free of her Grim Reaper responsibilities, Gabriel has never seemed to ponder being anything other than a Guardian Angel. Borison’s romances—most recently And Now, Back to You (2026)—always strike an emotional chord, with deep-seated conflicts that tap into themes of identity, connection, and grief. This addition is truly the epitome of a Borison romance.
A lovely and moving romance that examines what it truly means to live.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9780063430464
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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