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RECIPE FOR PERSUASION

An endearing romance that sensitively depicts the poignancy of loss and reconciliation.

A traumatized Indian American chef is pushed over the edge when she reencounters her teenage love in this modern-day interpretation of Persuasion.

Ashna Raje, daughter of Prince Bram of Sripore, is struggling to breathe life into her late father's luxury restaurant. Once the most popular Indian outlet in Palo Alto, Curried Dreams is now running the risk of closure. Ashna needs money to save her father's legacy and a job to keep her overachieving mother out of her hair. So when she's offered a role on Cooking With the Stars, a reality TV show that pairs celebrities with professional chefs for a range of culinary challenges, Ashna decides to overcome her natural reticence and join the cast. But old wounds resurface when Ashna is partnered with award-winning international soccer star Rico Silva, her high school boyfriend. Since their relationship had been uncommonly intense, Rico and Ashna are still nursing scars from their painfully abrupt separation. With his return to her life, Ashna is forced to confront not only her painful past, but also her strained relationship with her mother, Shoban. As Ashna's story unravels alongside her mother's, the novel deftly unpacks some of the ways in which Indian women's experiences of oppression have changed with time, though Dev details Shoban's crusade against patriarchy with much more empathy and insight than her daughter's. The second installment in the Raje Family series, following Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors (2019), is ripe with an insider's understanding of Indian, specifically Maharashtrian, culture: luscious references to traditional food and attire jostle with bitter reminders of several deeply entrenched social and religious biases. As Dev swaps Austen's Regency England for aristocratic India, she credibly builds a world in which social privilege insulates upper-class and upper-caste men from the consequences of their actions.

An endearing romance that sensitively depicts the poignancy of loss and reconciliation.

Pub Date: May 26, 2020

ISBN: 978-0-06-283907-7

Page Count: 448

Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 28, 2020

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2020

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  • New York Times Bestseller

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IT STARTS WITH US

Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.

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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

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REMINDERS OF HIM

With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.

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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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