Intelligent summer reading, light but perceptive about the many passions that obsess and delight. Gardeners will especially...
A love story with a difference, as English cookbook author and third-novelist Leith (Sisters, 2002, etc.) deftly portrays an Englishwoman smitten with a famous garden—and the two men who vie for her heart.
As in many Brit novels through the centuries, the essential plot is deliciously embellished with generous amounts of lore about old country houses, famous gardeners, and the landscapes they designed. Agreeably contemporary, however, is the tale of middle-aged Lotte Warren, whose professional life is as absorbing and fulfilling as her family and lovers. When husband Sam leaves her and their three children for a younger woman, Lotte, now in her 40s, abandons her architectural practice and, following her heart’s desire, studies horticulture. Once qualified, she is employed by Brody Keegan, a charming and veddy rich Irish entrepreneur who has just bought Maddon Park, a stately 15th-century estate. Lotte moves there with her children and, given a free hand, begins restoration work. A famous map of the grounds depicts such subsequently lost features as a grotto, fishponds, and a temple to the goddess Diana; Lotte is determined to find them. Meanwhile, Brody, married to superthin model Jade, is more interested in making a splash than restoring the past, but he soon admires not only Lotte’s energy and vision but her warmth and beauty. Also smitten with her midlife charms is Peter, archivist at an Oxford college that owns many of the estate archives. He’s good with the kids and helpful in researching the past, but while Lotte is grateful for his company, she’s sexually attracted to Brody—and the feeling is mutual. He and Jade have been spending lavishly, and when Brody’s dot-com empire crumbles, Lotte’s budget is severely curtailed. Brody moves to the US to raise capital, but Maddon Park, with Lotte’s help, has a golden future. As for our heroine, her own future may be unconventional—but, naturally, it’s a happy one.
Intelligent summer reading, light but perceptive about the many passions that obsess and delight. Gardeners will especially appreciate.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-312-32617-3
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Dunne/St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2004
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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