Beautifully written, boldly imaginative, action-packed and captivating.
Part of an ancient contingent sent to Earth to destroy the Deceiver, Mary and Michael have lost nearly all of their friends over the thousands of years they’ve existed here, but now, despite exhaustion and grief, victory may be in sight for the soul mates.
Thousands of years ago, a criminal from another planet escaped his confines and fled to Earth, wreaking havoc through the ages. Focused on world domination, aided by physical and psychic advantages, and unburdened by any moral compass, this monster can only be stopped by his own kind. Hunted by a group of his species through the ages, he has destroyed all but three of them. Michael and Mary have left their home planet behind to seek the Deceiver, unable to ever return. Mated for eternity, the two made the mutual decision to follow the villain across time and space in hopes of curtailing his murderous, power-hungry rampage, but 900 years ago, Mary was so badly injured that she was unable to regenerate into human form until the end of the 20th century. Michael has been searching for her for centuries, and now that he’s found her, they must destroy the Deceiver to ever have a chance at a peaceful, secure life. Mary is only beginning to remember her gifts and the fact that she isn’t truly human. Furthermore, she doesn’t have the benefit of centuries of training and preparation for a showdown. Still, she is a quick study, and some of her more empathetic qualities may be just what the two need to balance the power scale in ways Michael could never have imagined. Harrison builds a creative, fascinating urban fantasy world that looks a lot like ours but with one troubling supervillain who has slashed and burned his way through human history. In this second of two installments, Michael and Mary just might be able to stop the demonic Deceiver once and for all, with help from the enigmatic Astra, some Native American wisdom and heroes, and some ancient and powerful allies.
Beautifully written, boldly imaginative, action-packed and captivating.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-425-25510-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.
Another reboot of Jane Austen?!? Hadlow pulls it off in a smart, heartfelt novel devoted to bookish Mary, middle of the five sisters in Pride and Prejudice.
Part 1 recaps Pride and Prejudice through Mary’s eyes, climaxing with the humiliating moment when she sings poorly at a party and older sister Elizabeth goads their father to cut her off in front of everyone. The sisters’ friend Charlotte, who marries the unctuous Mr. Collins after Elizabeth rejects him, emerges as a pivotal character; her conversations with Mary are even tougher-minded here than those with Elizabeth depicted by Austen. In Part 2, two years later, Mary observes on a visit that Charlotte is deferential but remote with her husband; she forms an intellectual friendship with the neglected and surprisingly nice Mr. Collins that leads to Charlotte’s asking Mary to leave. In Part 3, Mary finds refuge in London with her kindly aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. Mrs. Gardiner is the second motherly woman, after Longbourn housekeeper Mrs. Hill, to try to undo the psychic damage wrought by Mary’s actual mother, shallow, status-obsessed Mrs. Bennet, by building up her confidence and buying her some nice clothes (funded by guilt-ridden Lizzy). Sure enough, two suitors appear: Tom Hayward, a poetry-loving lawyer who relishes Mary’s intellect but urges her to also express her feelings; and William Ryder, charming but feckless inheritor of a large fortune, whom naturally Mrs. Bennet loudly favors. It takes some maneuvering to orchestrate the estrangement of Mary and Tom, so clearly right for each other, but debut novelist Hadlow manages it with aplomb in a bravura passage describing a walking tour of the Lake District rife with seething complications furthered by odious Caroline Bingley. Her comeuppance at Mary’s hands marks the welcome final step in our heroine’s transformation from a self-doubting wallflower to a vibrant, self-assured woman who deserves her happy ending. Hadlow traces that progression with sensitivity, emotional clarity, and a quiet edge of social criticism Austen would have relished.
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-12941-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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