A sometimes-brutal but also heartwarming book about two people who learn life lessons from their war experiences.
The second book in a historical fiction trilogy set in the Japanese-occupied Philippines during World War II.
Taylor’s (Eden Lost, 2014) latest picks up in 1941 with Joe Armand—the son of Joshua from the previous novel—who’s in Manila to arrange for the purchase of a ship. Joe knows of Joshua’s own experience in the Philippines, during which his father fell in love with a woman named Isabella. Although she’s not his mother, Joe wants to know more about this legendary woman. While waiting for orders, he wanders to the church where she was buried and meets Luci Blake, an American from Hawaii with bright red hair—and it’s love at first sight. Luci has come to the islands to join the Red Cross and has become a part of an elite social circle. She finds out more information about Isabella from her friend Leah Ramirez, a Spanish-American socialite. After Pearl Harbor is attacked in December 1941, the Japanese military bombs the Philippines and begins its invasion. Together, Joe and Luci face near-death experiences that serve to strengthen their already close bond. Leah helps Luci escape the Philippines on a ship bound for Australia, leaving Joe alone to avoid capture by the Japanese. At the last minute, though, Luci and Leah decide not to go. Separately, Luci and Joe fight for their lives; they eventually meet again, transforming from young lovers into guerrilla fighters opposing the Japanese occupation. Overall, Taylor has embarked on a great undertaking in this second novel in his trilogy. He incorporates a great deal of history into his novel—each chapter, for example, opens with a historical note or an entry from Leah’s journal. A common theme soon emerges in the parallel stories of Isabella and Luci of how women (and men) are changed by war. At times, though, the prose is hindered by its staccato rhythm, which is choppy rather than nimble. That said, Taylor does succeed in illustrating the complex history of WWII in the Pacific through the eyes of his characters.
A sometimes-brutal but also heartwarming book about two people who learn life lessons from their war experiences.Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-1501069413
Page Count: 254
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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