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
A tender and moving portrait about the transcendent power of art and friendship.
An artwork’s value grows if you understand the stories of the people who inspired it.
Never in her wildest dreams would foster kid Louisa dream of meeting C. Jat, the famous painter of The One of the Sea, which depicts a group of young teens on a pier on a hot summer’s day. But in Backman’s latest, that’s just what happens—an unexpected (but not unbelievable) set of circumstances causes their paths to collide right before the dying 39-year-old artist’s departure from the world. One of his final acts is to bequeath that painting to Louisa, who has endured a string of violent foster homes since her mother abandoned her as a child. Selling the painting will change her life—but can she do it? Before deciding, she accompanies Ted, one of the artist’s close friends and one of the young teens captured in that celebrated painting, on a train journey to take the artist’s ashes to his hometown. She wants to know all about the painting, which launched Jat’s career at age 14, and the circle of beloved friends who inspired it. The bestselling author of A Man Called Ove (2014) and other novels, Backman gives us a heartwarming story about how these friends, set adrift by the violence and unhappiness of their homes, found each other and created a new definition of family. “You think you’re alone,” one character explains, “but there are others like you, people who stand in front of white walls and blank paper and only see magical things. One day one of them will recognize you and call out: ‘You’re one of us!’” As Ted tells stories about his friends—how Jat doubted his talents but found a champion in fiery Joar, who took on every bully to defend him; how Ali brought an excitement to their circle that was “like a blinding light, like a heart attack”—Louisa recognizes herself as a kindred soul and feels a calling to realize her own artistic gifts. What she decides to do with the painting is part of a caper worthy of the stories that Ted tells her. The novel is humorous, poignant, and always life-affirming, even when describing the bleakness of the teens’ early lives. “Art is a fragile magic, just like love,” as someone tells Louisa, “and that’s humanity’s only defense against death.”
A tender and moving portrait about the transcendent power of art and friendship.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781982112820
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
A steamy, romantic summer read with a charming setting.
A florist attempts to avoid her best friend’s brother—and their powerful chemistry—on Prince Edward Island.
When Lucy Ashby visits her best friend Bridget’s family home on Prince Edward Island for the first time, Bridget gives her three rules: Eat your weight in oysters….Leave the city behind. And, most importantly, Don’t fall in love with my brother. Unfortunately for Lucy, she sleeps with Felix basically the second her plane lands, unaware that he’s Bridget’s brother until it’s too late. Lucy has never felt understood or accepted by her immediate family, and Bridget is one of the very few people she allows into her inner circle, so Lucy’s desperate to abide by these rules. And so she and Felix try to avoid each other on every one of Lucy’s visits to PEI over the years. And, of course, they fail spectacularly, always returning to each other when they’re in between relationships. But it’s never been anything serious…Lucy makes sure of that, backing off whenever her emotions feel too strong. In her “real life” back in Toronto, it’s easier for Lucy to avoid thinking of Felix as she runs a busy floral shop, working herself into the ground. But when Bridget asks Lucy to come to PEI for an emergency girls’ trip less than two weeks before Bridget is supposed to get married, Lucy drops everything to be there for her best friend. She doesn’t expect to find Felix there, along with feelings that are stronger and more difficult than ever to ignore. Even more than jeopardizing her relationship with Bridget, Lucy is afraid that giving in to her feelings could ruin the life she’s worked so hard to build. Fortune, the author of hits like Every Summer After (2022), gives readers another refreshingly summery story full of angst, romance, and sex scenes aplenty. The PEI setting is a beautiful backdrop for Lucy and Felix’s secret hookups and Lucy’s journey of self-discovery as she learns how to stand on her own two feet as a business owner, friend, and daughter. In addition to frequent (and welcome) Anne of Green Gables references, there are oysters galore and many sandy, windy scenes that transport readers straight to the island.
A steamy, romantic summer read with a charming setting.Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780593638880
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
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