An ardent love story that brims with sincerity and believable characters.
South Carolina teens fall in love, but their mismatched backgrounds may force them apart in Zurenda’s romance novel.
Hazel Smalls gets in-school suspension for a minor infraction regarding her JROTC uniform. It’s there that the high school junior surprisingly hits it off with senior Sterling Lovell, the scion of a rich family. Hazel doesn’t want Sterling to know that her home is a room in a “beat-up” local motel shared with her parents and kid sister (the situation is mostly due to her father’s DUI rendering him jobless). But Sterling may also have reason to be embarrassed, as his indifferent slumlord father owns that motel. Widowed English teacher Angela Witmore doesn’t miss what’s happening between these smitten teens, though she tries to stay out of her students’ personal affairs. Hazel and Sterling face many obstacles as they begin a romance, from their parents disrupting their lives (not always intentionally) to Sterling’s girlfriend, Courtney, who isn’t quite an “ex” when Sterling and Hazel start hanging out. The fledgling couple—with an unexpected assist from Angela—must fight to stay united. Zurenda populates this modern-day spin on a Romeo and Juliet pairing with superb characters: Hazel is resilient and selfless, while the privileged Sterling earns sympathy for his status as a former victim of bullying. The supporting cast is indelible, including the warmhearted Angela (who stumbles into romance of her own), Courtney’s spiteful preacher father, and Hazel’s ever-chatty sister, Chloe. The author’s effortless prose breathes life into every scene, even sequences as prosaic as Angela throwing together a spaghetti dinner and internally debating which wine to pair with it (“What did she care? The bottle of Chardonnay was already open”). Though a few of the plot turns are predictable, the ending packs a sensational dramatic punch.
An ardent love story that brims with sincerity and believable characters.Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2023
ISBN: 978-0881469011
Page Count: 291
Publisher: Mercer Univ.
Review Posted Online: Oct. 23, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Readers will devour this swoonworthy romance in one sitting.
Two talented chess players challenge each other on and off the board in bestselling author Hazelwood’s YA debut.
Eighteen-year-old Mallory Greenleaf is no longer interested in chess, not since her hypercompetitive dad left—the game calls up painful memories. But she grudgingly agrees to play in a charity tournament as a favor to best friend Easton Peña. After she unexpectedly beats current world champion Nolan Sawyer, she’s offered a fellowship that will prepare her to play professionally. Even though Mallory doesn’t want to play anymore, she needs the money that winning would provide; she’s delayed college to support her family, since her mother is chronically ill with rheumatoid arthritis and is unable to work regularly. The more time she spends with Nolan, the more Mallory comes to like and respect him—and the more time she spends playing chess, the more she remembers how much she loved it. But when she learns that Nolan has been keeping a big secret from her, she isn’t sure if she’ll be able to move past it to build a relationship with him. Filled with the author’s signature humor, well-developed characters, and realistic conflicts, plus the fully realized setting of competitive chess, this captivating romance will delight teen readers as well as Hazelwood’s adult fans. Mallory and Nolan are both cued white; there is some racial diversity among the supporting cast. Mallory and Easton are queer.
Readers will devour this swoonworthy romance in one sitting. (author’s note) (Romance. 14-adult)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9780593619919
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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