A lean and very moving page-turner about a woman’s bond with a dog she saved.
A young woman rescues an abused dog and tries to build a new life in McClure’s debut novella.
Nina Locklear, a 22-year-old Native American from the Navajo Reservation near Tucumcari, New Mexico, feels utterly hopeless. She lives in an illicit compound as “something more like living furniture than a live-in girlfriend” to its boss, the violent drug dealer James Savin, who runs a horrifyingly brutal dog-fighting operation. Nina is forced to watch these savage death matches, and she feels an instant connection with a golden-brown shepherd mix that seems destined for death in the cage matches. She realizes that, like the beautiful and seemingly doomed dog, she is trapped. When she can endure Savin’s savagery no more, she collects the golden dog and makes a daring escape by stealing Savin’s money and one of his cars. She’s unaware that her escape has been carefully watched via drone by agents Lianna Cortez and Andrew Davis, who’ve been building a case against Savin for a long time. Suddenly Nina and her canine companion find themselves being pursued by both law enforcement agents and a vengeful Savin. They make their way from New Mexico to California, where by chance they encounter a friendly surfer named Charlie, described by McClure in glowing terms: “He stepped out onto the sand with his bronze skin glistening, surfboard under his arm, shaking his wet hair out, striding directly over to her.” From these sparse elements, McClure crafts a fast-paced story, aided a great deal by the wise decision to curtail its length; as a novel, all of this might feel overcooked, but as a novella, it works perfectly. And the standout narrative strengths of the story—Nina's raw courage and her steadily deepening attachment to her rescued dog—make for the book's most memorable elements.
A lean and very moving page-turner about a woman’s bond with a dog she saved.Pub Date: Dec. 20, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63792-228-6
Page Count: 134
Publisher: Beyond Publishing
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
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
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism.
Three woman who join together to rent a large space along the beach in Los Angeles for their stores—a gift shop, a bakery, and a bookstore—become fast friends as they each experience the highs, and lows, of love.
Bree is a friendly but standoffish bookstore owner who keeps everyone she knows at arm’s length, from guys she meets in bars to her friends. Mikki is a settled-in-her-routines divorced mother of two, happily a mom, gift-shop owner, and co-parent with her ex-husband, Perry. And Ashley is a young, very-much-in-love bakery owner specializing in muffins who devotes herself to giving back to the community through a nonprofit that helps community members develop skills and find jobs. When the women meet drooling over a boardwalk storefront that none of them can afford on her own, a plan is hatched to divide the space in three, and a friendship—and business partnership—is born. An impromptu celebration on the beach at sunset with champagne becomes a weekly touchpoint to their lives as they learn more about each other and themselves. Their friendship blossoms as they help each other, offering support, hard truths, and loving backup. Author Mallery has created a delightful story of friendship between three women that also offers a variety of love stories as they fall in love, make mistakes, and figure out how to be the best—albeit still flawed—versions of themselves. The men are similarly flawed and human. While the story comes down clearly on the side of all-encompassing love, Mallery has struck a careful balance: There is just enough sex to be spicy, just enough swearing to be naughty, and just enough heartbreak to avoid being cloying.
A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism.Pub Date: May 31, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-778-38608-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2022
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