A pleasantly sweet tale about true love, fate, and family.
A woman runs a magical chocolate shop in this heartwarming story from Crispell (The Secret Ingredient of Wishes, 2016).
Penelope Dalton and her mother, Sabina, run the Chocolate Cottage. They sell plenty of “regular” chocolate, but their most popular offerings include a little something extra: magic. Their special wares can make people dream about their futures and become temporarily happy or lucky. The magic comes from a mysterious cabinet that provides them with recipes for what they really need, like truffles that can mend a broken heart. But even though Penelope makes these chocolates, she doesn’t trust them. For all the magic her chocolate can produce, it can’t cure her daughter, Ella, who has an inoperable brain tumor. Ella doesn’t have long to live, so Penelope spends most of her time helping her check items off her bucket list—things like eating cake for breakfast and dyeing her hair purple. But a big distraction comes to town in the form of Noah Gregory, Penelope’s high school sweetheart—and, unbeknownst to him and everyone else, Ella’s dad. Under the hot chocolate’s spell, Penelope once dreamed that Noah was her true love—but when she told him so and he left town, she assumed the magic was wrong. Now that he’s back, Penelope has to juggle her feelings for him, her cynicism about the magic, and the desire to tell him the truth about Ella. All of this takes place in the charmingly named town of Malarkey, home to many quirky residents who love festivals and hold town meetings to mediate disputes—sort of like a fantastical version of Stars Hollow in Gilmore Girls. How the cabinet came to produce magical recipes is never really explained in detail, and most townspeople seem to accept the magic a little too readily. That’s forgivable, though, since the focus here is more on the fraught relationships between characters instead of the mechanics behind the magic. Readers looking for a feel-good story with a little bit of enchantment sprinkled in will eat this one up.
A pleasantly sweet tale about true love, fate, and family.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-08907-6
Page Count: 288
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: Nov. 13, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.
A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.
Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Roberts’ newest is part thriller, part romance, part survivors’ psychological study with a touch of New Age magic—and a...
The victims of a mass shooting—including two young heroes from the tragedy—are moving forward in their lives, affected in different ways, when they're stunned to discover a serial killer is targeting survivors.
Simone Knox and Reed Quartermaine were both survivors of a mass shooting at a mall in Portland, Maine. Afterward, Simone, grateful to be alive, vows to be a better daughter and at first tries to conform to her parents’ conservative expectations. However, she soon realizes she’ll never be happy appeasing them and finally chooses to follow her artistic dreams in order to lead a more authentic life. Reed, inspired by Essie McVee, the first police officer on the scene, becomes a detective, eventually becoming Essie's partner and close friend. Years later, survivors of the massacre begin to die, and Reed is convinced the deaths are connected—but not even Essie takes him seriously until the killer targets him. Reed is wounded but survives, and suddenly everyone believes him. The cunning psychopath escapes into the ether, armed with money, lots of false identification, and a seething desire for revenge. Taking time to heal, Reed visits Tranquility Island, Maine, his childhood vacation spot, and falls in love with the place. He also meets a charismatic older woman who helps him land the house of his dreams and the position of police chief. Falling in love with her granddaughter, Simone—whom he had been aware of since the tragedy but had never met—seems like fate. Reed settles into his new job and hooks up with the FBI regarding the case, convinced their face-off has frustrated the vengeful killer. As heroic survivors, Reed and Simone are prime targets, and now that they’ve found each other, the stakes are higher than ever. Facing the hunter means fighting for their lives, love, and happiness while silencing the violent echoes of the worst day of their lives. Fascinating characters—Simone's grandmother is a standout—and a sprawling plot that covers a lot of ground yet keeps the reader engaged offer a surprisingly compelling and poignant redemption story that begins with a tragic mass shooting.
Roberts’ newest is part thriller, part romance, part survivors’ psychological study with a touch of New Age magic—and a lively, captivating read.Pub Date: May 29, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-250-16159-8
Page Count: 448
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2018
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