Deeply and surprisingly moving.
If you could undo one moment in your life, what would it be?
For Lauren Novak, a 37-year-old accountant in West Hollywood, California, that question isn’t an ice breaker to ask at a party, but an essential part of her being. Because Lauren—along with her mother, Marcella, and grandmother Sylvia—received something special at birth: a silver ticket that would allow her to undo a single event. And while some might see this as a gift from the universe, Lauren views it as a millstone around her neck: “The world is full of tragedy. There are fires that kill thousands of people, guns that kill hundreds at a clip. I could stop it, maybe. Travel there, capture the ember, point out the backpack. I could help. Every day, every year, there are things I could undo…” When Lauren’s husband, Leo, goes to New York for a summer job opportunity, Lauren moves in with her parents and grandmother in Malibu. As Lauren, who is working through the trauma she feels after multiple failed fertility attempts, makes a series of questionable decisions involving her ex-boyfriend Stone, the silver ticket begins to look more and more appealing. But Lauren has felt the effects of the ticket her entire life: When she was a teenager, her father, Dave, died in a car crash, and Marcella used hers to bring him back. Marcella has spent the ensuing years being overprotective of her husband, to the detriment, Lauren feels, of her relationship with her daughter. Lauren has to decide whether to follow the naturally rocky course of her life or take back her mistakes. The book is at its best as Serle combs through the messy relationships among the three generations of women. Her strength as a storyteller becomes clear about halfway through the book as the tone shifts from magical rom-com to poignant reflection on the price of a person’s decisions, and how far someone will go to save the ones they love.
Deeply and surprisingly moving.Pub Date: March 10, 2026
ISBN: 9781668025918
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
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
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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