A romance with a believable premise, but its unsympathetic protagonist makes it fall flat.
Krawitz’s debut novel, set squarely in Nicholas Sparks–style territory, offers a romance between a computer programmer and a public relations executive.
Greg Janera is a 20-something man without a plan. He’s gainfully employed as an app designer and happily devoted to his dog, Rocky, but he’s less attached to his girlfriend, Heather, a successful event planner who’s four years his senior. Although there isn’t anything particularly wrong with the relationship, he just can’t see himself settling down with her in the way she expects. When the two take a relationship break following an awkward moment involving an engagement ring at Tiffany’s, Greg isn’t sure what to do. Then he crosses paths with single PR exec Kate Shuster at the park, and the two immediately hit it off. Greg is drawn to her kind, easygoing nature, and Kate finds Greg funny, intelligent, and very handsome. Before long, they fall in love, and Greg decides to break up with his old girlfriend permanently. But when he meets with Heather, she reveals that she’s pregnant. What was once a no-brainer decision becomes an agonizing choice for Greg, who wants to do right by his babies (Heather’s pregnant with twins) but can’t imagine a life without Kate. Instead of being honest with Heather, he makes a decision that has repercussions that last for years. There are moments in this book that appealingly feel like real life; Greg and Kate’s initial connection is believable and charming, and Krawitz has a knack for capturing day-to-day moments with perfect clarity; one particular incident involving a tuna casserole will ring true to any frazzled new parent. However, the author is less successful at garnering sympathy for Greg. It’s only correct for him to want to be a good father to his children, but it’s disappointing that he doesn’t feel the need to be honest with Heather, a woman who deserves the same love and respect that he feels for Kate. He paints himself as making a noble sacrifice, but he sometimes comes across as cowardly. The ending, which removes any sort of accountability from Greg’s shoulders, is also unsatisfying.
A romance with a believable premise, but its unsympathetic protagonist makes it fall flat.Pub Date: March 15, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4808-2831-5
Page Count: 250
Publisher: Archway Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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