For fans of movie star fiction and rarely seen Asian romance.
Hollywood meets Myanmar in a murder-meets-romance plot.
Freelance journalist Khin Haymar jumps at the chance to do a cover story on Hollywood star Tyler Tun for Vogue Singapore even as she’s reeling from the recent end of her short-lived marriage. The assignment feels like a ticket to a permanent job and life in Singapore, away from her seeming failures in Yangon, Myanmar, where she lives and where Tyler is about to start filming a movie. Shadowing Tyler for two months and getting a scoop about his future plans seems like it will be easy—till the two of them accidentally kill a stranger who was menacing Khin on location at a park late at night. Though initially suave and genial to the point of unknowability, Tyler lets down his guard around Khin after they collude to hide the incident from the Myanmar police, a decision they make to avoid being railroaded into prison and ruining the first major Hollywood movie directed by and starring people from Myanmar. But Khin’s professional goal and ethics start to war with her feelings for Tyler once he confides several secrets, setting up an inevitable third-act dark moment that any romance reader will see coming. This debut novel falls into the “romantic suspense” category and shows some newbie flaws, including a greater reliance on telling rather than showing character traits. But the Myanmar setting and characters are novel, as is the theme of supporting abortion access in a country where it’s illegal (an issue Khin has written about). While more could have been done to flesh out the Yangon backdrop and finesse the deus ex machina resolution to the murder plot, it’s a creditable attempt to rejuvenate a somewhat neglected subgenre with celluloid glamor.
For fans of movie star fiction and rarely seen Asian romance.Pub Date: Oct. 8, 2024
ISBN: 9781250330512
Page Count: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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