A detailed but slightly flat historical novel.
Stark’s 19th-century violinist proceeds to London for her final act in this, the third in a trilogy of historical novels.
After two decades in Paris, famed British-born American violinist Emily de Koningh (nee Alden) and her family are relocating to London. She isn’t quite looking forward to returning to the land of her birth or to her father, Lord Alden, who sent her to be raised by his best friend in New York. Some of her reservations are personal. Her open marriage to her childhood sweetheart, Corey de Koningh, is variable at best, and her sons—the sullen, politically inclined William and the artistic Connie, rumored to be gay—have just reached adulthood. Other reservations are professional. “I no longer get the lift of joy from playing before an audience, no matter how beautiful the music is,” she tells Corey. “Something is missing for me, and I suppose I’m afraid if I go to England now, I’ll never find it again.” There is a new energy in London’s music scene, however, where the Royal College of Music was recently founded to compete with the storied conservatories of the Continent. Are Emily’s prospects about to experience a similar renaissance, or is her fragile ensemble of friends, relatives, and lovers about to disband for good? Stark’s novel displays a depth of research and command of history. Emily and company are joined by real figures from the period, including Royal College of Music founder Charles Villiers Stanford and Austrian socialite Pauline von Metternich. The history isn’t always injected seamlessly into the story, however, and the dialogue, in particular, can be awkwardly expositional: “You can get inoculated against smallpox, William,” Emily chides her son. “This is the 1880s, remember. The vaccine has been in use successfully for decades!” The novel seems to function mostly as a vehicle for the author’s interest in the period, and the plot is thin. The stakes are never high enough to give Emily’s ennui much meaning, and the period’s musical upheavals, however momentous, are not terribly dramatic on the page.
A detailed but slightly flat historical novel.Pub Date: June 13, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-73588-931-3
Page Count: 262
Publisher: Momentum Ink Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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