A delightful medical drama that’s infused with gallows humor.
A young nurse and a cynical doctor find love in this novel set in a 1970s emergency room.
Mary Grace Kelly is a young nurse who has recently left her small town to start work in a big-city ER in Ohio. She soon crosses paths with Dr. David Korn, whom she initially dislikes for his brash, arrogant personality. But David develops a crush on her, and eventually asks her out on a date, which she surprisingly accepts. The pair quickly grows close, but Mary Grace harbors a traumatic secret from her childhood that keeps her from fully letting her guard down around David, especially sexually. She befriends a homeless man, Frankie MacAnnany, and they get an apartment together, with her new roommate becoming a father figure. Frankie also bonds with David’s Uncle Solly. When Mary Grace’s abusive father becomes ill, her sister, Kathleen, demands that she return home to care for him. Mary Grace dreads this and her mental health starts to deteriorate, affecting her relationship with David. Her loved ones devise a plan to spare her a final traumatic meeting with her father. Callaghan’s story is skillfully told in an epistolary format, with letters and journal entries from the main characters. These are interspersed with the ER’s logs and case notes that are wonderfully immersive while still providing room for fully realized character arcs. The ER logs offer great opportunities for gallows humor and hint at the social issues medical workers face. One nurse writes: “What is the sense in what we do? Do we just provide band-aids to cover up the owies of society?” The scheme Solly, Frankie, and Mary Grace’s mentor, Sister Dolores, concoct to save the protagonist stretches credulity a bit. And some readers will wish Mary Grace had come up with her own road map. But the trio’s plan does lead to a believable resolution. Ultimately, this story is sure to please lovers of ER tales who also enjoy romance novels.
A delightful medical drama that’s infused with gallows humor.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 316
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 23, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
A charming love story that absolutely radiates warmth.
A single mom winds up fake dating an incredibly wealthy man in her hometown.
Dolly Brick is back in her hometown of Whitfield, Rhode Island, for the summer to help her dad and disabled brother manage their house and family business. As a 39-year-old single mother with multiple jobs—which now include working at the Brick Fish House—Dolly is always busy. When her mom left their family years ago, Dolly took over caring for her siblings and father and never really stopped. When she runs into Stewart Whitfield after making a shrimp delivery to his family’s mansion, she doesn’t think they could be more different. She’s had to figure out how to do everything by herself, and he can’t even change a tire. That’s why Stewart’s proposal that she pretend to be his girlfriend feels so unbelievable—but it comes with a hefty check that she desperately needs for home repairs. So she becomes the fake girlfriend of Stewart Whitfield (as in, the Whitfields her town is named after; his real fiancée just dumped him and it’s a bad time for him to be single) and experiences what it’s like to walk into fancy buildings through the front door instead of the service entrance. More than the boats and helicopter and expensive dinners, though, Dolly is impressed by what a kind man Stewart is—and how it feels to let someone else take care of her for a change. Soon, their relationship starts to feel more real than fake. Monaghan creates an impossibly winning story with a charming, lovable heroine. Dolly is capable, hardworking, and will do anything for the people she loves. She and Stewart both possess real flaws, and while their relationship begins with one of the most beloved rom-com tropes, their challenges feel like realistic adult obstacles rather than easily solved miscommunications. It’s also refreshing that, even though Dolly must learn to allow other people to help her, she never views her caretaking responsibilities as burdens. She deeply loves her family, and that love carries through the entire story.
A charming love story that absolutely radiates warmth.Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9780593853979
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
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