A flirty love story and fun beach read.
A man and woman have both been down the aisle once before, but maybe the second time’s the charm in this romance.
It’s not every day that a gorgeous Greek man waltzes into Emma Murphy’s bookstore, A New Chapter. But she’s laid eyes on this particular hunk before. Zack Kostas was a groomsman at her cousin Phil’s wedding—one who inappropriately came on to her when they were both there with significant others. Now, five years later, Emma and Zack are licking their wounds after their respective divorces, and Zack has just moved back to town with his 4-year-old daughter, Gracie. Despite the mutual attraction, Emma and Zack agree to be just friends. But between a loaded conversation about casual sex while they unpack Zack’s bedroom and the night Emma gets plastered and wakes up to Zack cooking her breakfast in nothing but a pair of Superman boxers, plus a host of “friendly” hangouts, it finally boils over with a steamy kiss. Now, they must navigate a relationship fraught with questions: are they friends with benefits or something more? Is either of them ready for commitment? Is all of this fair to Gracie? It turns out that love is more complicated the second time around, and life is full of surprises. The book is well-paced, with just enough sexual tension and steamy scenes. Coventry’s (Custom Built for Me, 2017, etc.) prose is funny and sometimes-sassy, as when a well-endowed waitress who flirts with Zack is nicknamed “Booby.” Emma’s tenderness toward Gracie and her jealousy of Zack’s close-knit family (her own parents are fairly aloof) make her a sympathetic heroine. As a hero, Zack is the master of the grand gesture, as when he surprises Emma in Chicago after she has flown there for a trade show. The supporting characters are solid, from Kelly, Emma’s best friend and a serial dater who invents personalities for her suitors based on their preferred book genres, to Mike, a hapless UPS delivery guy who can never muster the courage to ask Emma on a date. Overall, this is a lighthearted and satisfying tale.
A flirty love story and fun beach read.Pub Date: Nov. 23, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5399-6783-5
Page Count: 332
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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