A flawed book that’s vibrant, didactic, and problematic, by turns.
In this romance, a middle-aged woman is wary of commitment to a younger man.
Amara Glazer is a 44-year-old Jewish woman living in Chicago, working as a dog groomer after a stint as an international development consultant in Malawi. She’s also in the middle of a yearslong romantic-relationship drought. Daler Singh is a 24-year-old Tanzanian-born Sikh and international pop star whose kohl-rimmed eyes, lithe physique, and suggestive hit “Don’t Hustle Me” make him People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. He and Amara have little in common, aside from a time long ago in a Kenyan resort, when Amara spent a week having sex with the teenage Daler. They meet again in the presentwhen Amara takes a six-month gig in Los Angeles as a live-in dog trainer to a Los Angeles Lakers player, and Daler arrives in the city on tour. They instantly fall into bed, and Daler soon proposes to Amara, declaring that she’s the only woman who ever satisfied him. Amara is equally avid, but bitter experience with men makes her wonder how realistic his ardor is. Michaels’ ambivalent novel veers between explicit sexuality and a cagey critique of it as a foundation for long-term happiness. Amara is also hard-nosed about the pitfalls of meshing their lifestyles, domestic arrangements, and bank accounts: “If you’re prepared to support me financially, I want proof you can do that if you want me to stop working and be with you,” she tells Daler. Dog training also pervades the book in the many scenes of Amara coaching and primping canines and in her ethos of integrity and responsibility. As such, the novel sometimes feels more like a lively, tough-talking self-help guide than a romance. For the most part, Amara is depicted as an appealing, quirky character, holding forth endlessly on such subjects as dogs, sex, African history, and musician Freddie Mercury. However, her troubling behavior in the section set in the past, when she’s 24, goes largely unexamined. Daler, who’s only 14 at the time, is depicted as instigating the sexual interaction, which is portrayed as an unproblematic liaison that both characters find blissful and edifying.
A flawed book that’s vibrant, didactic, and problematic, by turns.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64531-595-7
Page Count: 244
Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
Review Posted Online: July 24, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
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
BOOK TO SCREEN
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