Psychodrama, romance and mystery mingle, but not cohesively.
In Coll’s debut novel, a brilliant mathematician’s childhood tragedies pave an ominous path for her work and marriage.
Cathryn Barrington-Weiss is only 8 years old when her father dies, her mother commits suicide and her brother goes missing. After a bout in a psychiatric hospital, young Cathryn goes to Germany to live with her new guardian, family friend Dr. Isaac Schlosser. The girl keeps quiet about the conversation she overheard between her father and a mysterious man right before he died, and a note her mother wrote explaining everything. Cathryn’s aptitude for math and science leads to her life’s work in quantitative psychologistics, a concept based on Asimov’s fictional science of psychohistory. While launching her project, affectionately named “little isaac,” Cathryn falls in love with the tenacious, controlling Carl von Wahrberg, an older man about to serve time for shady financial dealings. Her first and only night with him leads to twins and a new life together post-incarceration, in a town where people are not quick to forgive notorious Carl. A whirlwind of events leaves readers wondering what to anticipate. Coll is skilled in dropping enticements and dotting the tale with divergent characters such as Dr. Alison Burke, a fling from Carl’s past, and Therese, the nanny in love with Cathryn. But a multitude of unrealistic episodes impede the flow. Belief is hard won upon seeing the twins, who don’t meet their father until they’re 9 years old, fervently embrace him on sight. Readers may also find it difficult to trust Cathyrn’s unrelenting love for a man she spent only hours with 10 years ago. Coincidences—such as running into Carl a decade after their one night together the moment she arrives on his turf, ready to put her past to rest—contribute to a loss of confidence in an otherwise engaging narrative. Also, characters and plotlines disappear for long intervals: Little isaac, the brainchild Cathryn shrouds in security measures bordering on paranoia, is ignored for lengthy stretches, creating a disjointed effect in the storytelling. But a few surprises and a gratifying ending save face in this story of uncertain genre.
Psychodrama, romance and mystery mingle, but not cohesively.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2012
ISBN: 978-1466382176
Page Count: 290
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2012
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Haphazard and undemanding.
A sports agent’s first official client is the man she dumped years ago in college.
After two years of hard work as an underling, Nora Mackenzie is finally being promoted to full-time sports agent. She’s worked hard, kept quiet, and allowed men in the office to call her Mac—a nickname she hates—all to show she’s a team player and “one of the guys.” Unfortunately, her boss instructs her to sign Derek Pender, a football player coming off an injury, who happens to be the man she heartlessly dumped in their senior year of college. Derek signs with her for revenge, seeing it as his opportunity to pay Nora back for callously breaking his heart eight years earlier. He insists she be at his beck and call: answering his emails, running his errands, cooking dinner for his dates. He also refuses to let her explain why she broke up with him without warning or explanation. Nora feels she has no choice but to acquiesce to Derek’s humiliating demands, since she’s worked too hard to let him ruin her dream job. She hopes he’ll thaw and they might become friends, but Derek’s bad behavior is designed to hide the fact that he’s still in love with her. Nora’s characterization is uneven, veering between anger at how she’s treated in the male-dominated field to immature bickering and bantering with Derek. Although Adams likely meant for Derek and Nora’s interactions to have an enemies-to-lovers vibe, the characters instead seem juvenile and stuck in the past. The novel is fueled by a string of tropes—second chance romance! married in Vegas! only one bed!—each randomly deployed to keep the book going despite thin characterization and wan plotting.
Haphazard and undemanding.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780593723678
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Dell
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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