Sparks fly and guns blaze in Smith's latest.
The daughter of a drug kingpin is kidnapped alongside a charming CIA operative in Smith's action-packed sequel to The Spy and I (2024).
Andee Paxton is used to things blowing up...literally. She's a fireworks designer, and while there aren't many sparks in her love life, her career is literallly on fire. For 26 years, Andee has been under the impression that her father is Oscar-winning actor Keith Huxley-Beck, a fact she regrettably shared with her coworkers, who enjoy teasing her about it. Though Andee has never met Keith, her single mother swears he's the one. Andee even studied American Sign Language for him, since he'd learned it once for a movie role. But then Andee decides to take a DNA test to prove her claim, and the results are nothing if not explosive. The same day Andee learns she's not descendant of Hollywood royalty, she comes face to face with a handsome CIA operative named Adam Chan who happens to know the identity of her real father—and it turns out to be a man known as Holt, one of the most wanted and dangerous drug lords in the world. As fate would have it, he's been searching for her, too. Just as suddenly as Chan fills Andee in about her father's evil deeds, Holt arrives and kidnaps them both. Locked in Holt's secret hideout within the French catacombs, Andee and Chan devise a quick plan to parade as a couple, which offers them some privacy under the guise of romantic rendezvous. They also have a secret advantage: Chan is hard of hearing, and since Andee is fluent in ASL, they can communicate virtually undetected. Can Andee stop her father's nefarious plans and score the hot CIA agent, or will her plan crash and burn? In Smith's second My Spy novel, it's Chan's turn to play the hero, and Andee is another savvy-smart heroine. While Holt and his henchmen are caricature villains, all guns and bravado, Chan is devilishly charismatic and capable, and his hearing loss works seamlessly as a critical part of the story.
Sparks fly and guns blaze in Smith's latest.Pub Date: Nov. 5, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550328
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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
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