A sentimental but never sappy coming-of-age tale that hits all the right notes in unexpected ways.
After the death of her mother, a young woman vows to live her life to the fullest and embarks on a career as a race car driver, defying the norms of 1950s America in Duffy’s debut novel.
Prudence Baylor is a force to be reckoned with. A childhood accident took most of her ability to hear, but it also sparked her deep desire to prove herself. After fleeing an unhappy home life, the 20-year-old takes up her aunt’s offer to come to Los Angeles for a Hollywood audition. But when she’s robbed during a stopover in San Francisco, Prudence is too proud to ask for help and resolves to make it on her own in a new city. Her determination and never-say-die attitude help her land a waitressing gig at a top jazz club. Later, when an opportunity to join the race car circuit presents itself, Prudence eagerly takes it and quickly falls in love with the profession. Within the cocoon of her car, she thinks, there’s no “need to hear well, here she had no shortcomings.” She soon becomes a star, both on and off the track, using beauty pageants and celebrity appearances to help finance her racing career. But as she deals with dizzying developments in her personal life, can she, a woman who prides herself on beating the odds, admit that she may be in over her head? Overall, this is a fun read with a hard edge. Duffy dabbles in nostalgia but isn’t held hostage by it; his characters, including Prudence, may live in an idealized time, but they’re far from perfect. These flaws make them relatable as people and provide avenues for character development. In one race, for example, a multi-leg journey across Mexico, Prudence makes a decision that will haunt her, but it’s in her search for redemption that she ultimately finds a way forward. Duffy’s narrative lags a bit as he approaches the novel’s climax. However, the story finishes strong, providing surprising insights into the lives of those closest to Prudence.
A sentimental but never sappy coming-of-age tale that hits all the right notes in unexpected ways.Pub Date: Nov. 20, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-60489-159-1
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Livingston Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An effervescent Regency romantic mystery brings a decrepit estate to life.
A hunt for treasure—and treasures of the heart.
Peter Rathbone, the Duke of Compton, isn’t ever expecting visitors—his estate is so impoverished that he keeps a tennis racquet at the dinner table to fend off attacks from bats. Suddenly, however, he becomes the host to two parties: the Earl of Macklin, whom he hasn’t seen in six months, and a group of young women (plus chaperone, naturally) who went to school with his late sister, Delia. Led by Miss Ada Grandison, Sarah and Charlotte and Harriet are all eager to help the duke uncover a secret that Delia told Ada about just before her accidental death. Though the house is in disrepair, they all settle in, with chaperone Aunt Julia taking the opportunity to teach them how to run a household. Ada keeps looking for chances to be alone with the duke, to discuss Delia’s secret, and their private encounters spark a mutual interest. But Peter, for his part, won’t act on his feelings, having nothing to offer her, and Ada grows frustrated. After they all discover that Delia’s secret is a potential treasure trove hidden on the estate, the girls race to solve the puzzle Delia left behind and find the fortune. Peter’s not sure anything will come of it—but the chemistry between Ada and him continues, treasure or not. In the fourth volume of her The Way to a Lord’s Heart series (How To Cross a Marquess, 2019), Ashford continues her explorations of a world outside, but not apart from, London society. With a light mystery and evocative detail, she sketches a gentler side of Regency life, away from the haut ton. Although the budding romance between Ada and Peter is sweet and compelling, it’s the friendship between Ada and her three girlfriends that really sets the book apart. All of the dialogue, but especially theirs, is fast-paced and charming, adding a welcome richness to the story. The appearance of Lord Macklin might seem odd to readers who are new to the series, but the book can be read on its own, and fans of the series are sure to enjoy the latest entry.
An effervescent Regency romantic mystery brings a decrepit estate to life.Pub Date: April 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4926-6344-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2020
Empty calories, presented cutely enough.
A family wedding forces a runaway fiancée to stick her toe back in the dating pool.
In this weightless debut, Emmy Everett emerges from seclusion—three years in Rhode Island working in a tackle shop—to return to Scarsdale for older brother Josh’s wedding to graceful Meryl. But Josh isn’t sure he wants to get married this weekend: He might be in love with Elizabeth, a holistic veterinarian with whom he has a connection (it was “like they were hearing the same song”). Urged on all sides to be supportive of her sibling during his crisis of indecision, Emmy can’t avoid contemplating the vacuum in her own love life. Mind you, that could easily be remedied, since suitors dog her every step. There’s Josh’s best friend, sexy chef Jaime; old local boyfriend Justin, although he now reveals himself to be gay; and above all ex-fiancé Matt, last seen sleeping in a motel room next to the abandoned engagement ring as Emmy slipped out the door with the knowledge that “she was losing him slowly anyway.” Dave milks the reliable wedding scenario set pieces, supplementing them with various comic characters, including Meryl’s birth parents, a pair of sociology professors never previously seen outside the Ozarks, and Emmy’s Jewish mother (“Eat just a little”). The book offers a kind of innocent yet worldly-wise charm via Emmy’s perky running commentary, but for every burst of invention, like the power outage that throws the doomed wedding off course, there’s a heaping portion of familiarity, especially in Matt’s prostration before Emmy (“I still have the engagement ring”) and her inevitable conjoining with an even more over-romanticized prospect.
Empty calories, presented cutely enough.Pub Date: May 22, 2006
ISBN: 0-670-03756-7
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2006
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