Standard Regency fare with a cast of gentry who are fairly indistinguishable from many such characters.
A war veteran and a woman who has suffered a personal betrayal are thrown together during her debut London season in 1809.
Gwyn Drake is a 30-year-old heiress who’s been avoiding marriage because of a past liaison that threatens to cloud her future prospects. When her brother asks their cousin by marriage, estate gamekeeper Maj. Joshua Wolfe, to be her bodyguard in London, she worries about keeping her secrets from both and avoiding infamy. Seriously wounded and left with a disability after a naval battle, Joshua just wants to serve his country again, but being forced to spend time with Gwyn is tempting him to risk intimacy and marriage. The novel is concerned with representing veterans’ issues, notably PTSD, and with highlighting the unfair and unequal consequences, physical and emotional, that women face in sexual relationships, especially with predatory men. Gwyn’s wariness also comes from her wealth (and Joshua’s lack thereof) while his stems from his leg impairment and scarring. Though the themes are worthwhile, the romance is uneven in tone, with sudden bouts of passion between the couple interspersed with arguments, doubts, and dishonesty. Most of the episodes, whether in parks, ballrooms, or London streets, feel wooden, never quite allowing readers to identify with the feelings of the characters. The villain does double duty as both Gwyn’s ex and the major’s professional antagonist but feels like a plot device without substance. A related subplot about espionage is an unnecessary addition meant to pad out the story’s drama. The novel also relies a little too much on the reader’s prior knowledge of the family—it is the second in Jeffries’ Duke Dynasty series (Project Duchess, 2019, etc.)—and some details require a rereading to register.
Standard Regency fare with a cast of gentry who are fairly indistinguishable from many such characters.Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4201-4856-5
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Zebra/Kensington
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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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