A funny, heartwarming introduction to a heaven-watched town.
A widower and widow, both pastors touched by tragedy, find new love and faith together in this first of a planned angel-themed romance series.
In 1997, pastor CJ Aldermann returns from the deathbed of his pastor father in nearby Paradise, Wyoming, to discover that his wife and two children died overnight in a fire. Ten years later, CJ lives with his mother in Paradise, is no longer a pastor, and works as a rancher. He finally sparks to life again after meeting Shannon Hutchins, the new pastor of Paradise. She, too, has experienced great loss. Her first husband, who was abusive, shot dead her second spouse and young son several years earlier. Shannon’s daughter, Julie, now 19, survived the rampage, but was left disabled. Shannon, a flame-haired beauty, has taken the Paradise job because Julie wants to set up a service-dog training facility near town. The place they acquired, however, is in bad shape, so they stay at the Aldermann farm during its repair. Attraction builds between Shannon and CJ, who share their stories and soon get engaged. Some townsfolk don’t want a female pastor, however, and some of CJ’s horses are shot dead as a warning. Luckily, this couple is literally on the side of angels. Debut author Spar leavens what could have been heavy-handed spiritual romance/drama with folksy comedy, including having his angels gibe each other (“Okay—‘Grumpy-Gabby’! Get up on the wrong side of the Nebula?”) and a running gag about avoiding the local diner’s lunch special. This narrative is ambitious with subplots, however, and the motives for the horse killing are puzzling. Overall, however, Spar sets an engaging, expansive world in motion, consisting not only of angels but also, given Julie and the clients who arrive near the end of this novel, a commendably diverse array of romance-seeking individuals.
A funny, heartwarming introduction to a heaven-watched town.Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4917-9792-1
Page Count: 288
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: Dec. 27, 2016
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
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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