Loren’s second title in a series that revolves around survivors of a high school shooting (The Ones Who Got Away, 2018)...
Divorce attorney Rebecca Lindt has a demanding job and emotional baggage; she's aiming for partner in her father’s firm and helping on his election campaign. Getting involved with the has-been chef she helped ruin is not a good idea even if he's smart, sexy, and just what she needs.
After another successful yet depressing divorce proceeding, Rebecca is on her way home when she’s mugged at gunpoint. A school-shooting survivor, Rebecca completely shuts down in the moment and would probably be killed if not for a stray dog and a passer-by who come to her rescue. The dog is shot, and the stranger arranges for his veterinarian brother to come pick them up. Rebecca is attracted to the man until she recognizes his name, Wesley Garrett, and realizes she represented his wife in divorce proceedings and he’d cheated on her. At first judgmental, she changes her tune when she hears his side of the story—a first step toward a less black-and-white view of the world, a perspective which expands as she is folded into his life in unexpected ways. She becomes involved in a cooking program he runs for at-risk teens and supports it through her firm’s charitable fund. After their relationship turns sexual, her disapproving father threatens to expose her deepest, most painful secret if she doesn’t stop seeing Wes and supporting the program. Rebecca must finally take a stand for her own happiness, facing her own deep-seated wounds and confronting her father’s controlling manner.
Loren’s second title in a series that revolves around survivors of a high school shooting (The Ones Who Got Away, 2018) maintains the complexity and emotional intensity that earned the first book huge acclaim but never loses its way as a sexy, captivating romance.Pub Date: June 5, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4926-5143-7
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2018
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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