by Quinn Anderson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 5, 2017
This is a good pick for something sexy, but skip it if you're looking for substance.
Pete is living a double life. By day, he's himself—a boring, slightly awkward college student and barista. But on the weekends, he's Jaden, a sexy, confident porn star. Despite all this, he's stuck in a rut until he's cast to co-star with the sinfully gorgeous Kyle Darko in Heat Wave, which his director promises will be more cinematic than the work he's used to.
Pete is using porn to pay his way through college and using his coffee job as a cover for the real money he's making. Even with two jobs and a full course load, things are beginning to seem a little routine—so much so that his director notices and offers him something substantial. Heat Wave is meant to be porn with a plot. It's the story of a young man who learns about love and sex from a more experienced lover. More importantly, it will have an advertising budget and could do good things for Pete's career. He isn't quite sure he's interested until he sees his co-star. Kyle Darko is more than hot, he's mysterious, and his flirtation with Pete borders on cruel. In the beginning, Pete thinks the dude just runs hot and cold, but as they get to know one another and Kyle tells Pete his real (non–porn star) name, they begin to get closer and art starts to imitate life. In addition to being older than Pete, Kyle's also out to his friends and family as a porn star, which is, if not a point of contention in their budding relationship, a point of concern to be sure. Kyle is a dead ringer for Pete's ex, with whom things ended badly when he found out about Pete's porn work. While there's plenty of steamy sex in this book (it is about porn stars, after all), the love story is a hard sell.
This is a good pick for something sexy, but skip it if you're looking for substance.Pub Date: June 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-62649-573-9
Page Count: 366
Publisher: Riptide
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017
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by Colleen Hoover ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 2, 2016
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
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Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
by Robinne Lee ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 13, 2017
A fascinating, thought-provoking, genre-bending romantic read.
When Solène Marchand takes her 12-year-old daughter to a concert by the hottest boy band on the planet, she doesn't expect to fall in love with one of the singers.
Middle-aged art gallery owner Solène hasn’t dated since her divorce, but when her ex-husband buys their daughter and a group of her friends tickets to Vegas and a backstage concert experience, then backs out at the last minute, she steps in as escort. The five guys in the wildly popular English boy band August Moon appeal to women of all ages, but Hayes, the brains behind the group’s success, flirts with Solène at the concert meet and greet, invites them to a party after the show, then pursues her once she gets back to Los Angeles. He’s only 20 and he’s incredibly famous; his attention is flattering and heady. The two fall into an affair that’s supposed to be light and easy, but before long they can’t ignore their intense emotional attachment. Solène is hesitant to tell her daughter, but when she procrastinates, Isabelle learns about it through an online tabloid, which damages their relationship and leaves Solène open to censure from her ex. Then, once the affair goes viral, she experiences the darker side of Hayes’ fan base. What started out as a jaunty adventure turns into an emotionally fraught journey, and Solène must decide what she’s willing to risk for her happiness and what she won’t risk for her daughter’s. Actress Lee, who appeared in Fifty Shades Darker, debuts with a beautifully written novel that explores sex, love, romance, and fantasy in moving, insightful ways while also examining a woman’s struggle with aging and sexism, with a nod at the tension between celebrity and privacy.
A fascinating, thought-provoking, genre-bending romantic read.Pub Date: June 13, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-12590-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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