An enjoyable, thoughtful romance.
A heroine faces her unlucky future when she must either become a courtesan or rely on the favor of the aristocratic family she believes abandoned her to save herself from financial ruin.
From the very start, it’s impossible not to root for Lia Kincaid—a force so powerful the novel opens with her name. In a precarious position, at once an illegitimate child and of aristocratic heritage (the daughter of an actress and the Duke of York), Lia is taken care of by her maternal grandmother’s lover, the Marquess of Lendale, and yet is still considered an outsider. Although in love with her childhood friend Jack Easton, the new Marquess of Lendale, her scandalous position prevents them from ever making a match. Her luck turns even worse when Jack, having taken his late uncle’s position, must break the news that the Lendale fortune is in bad standing and that the estate will no longer be able to take care of them. The solution? Lia must take a lover at her grandmother’s insistence and follow the path of the Kincaid women before her. Determined to be different, Lia discovers a generous and well-to-do family member eager to put her on the marriage market and salvage her reputation. While the will-she, won’t-she plot can sometimes be a cheap narrative device, and the naïve romance heroine can be yawn-inspiring, Kelly (My Fair Princess, 2016, etc.) uses both tropes to challenge and often enchant the reader; there are moments, however, where the narrative pace could be picked up a little and when the love interest, Jack, could be more present. Generally, the novel is carried by the genuine natures of characters like Lia and her kind, long-lost relative Aunt Chloe.
An enjoyable, thoughtful romance.Pub Date: June 27, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4201-4111-5
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Zebra/Kensington
Review Posted Online: April 3, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A romantic suspense that skillfully balances both elements.
A successful businesswoman hires a smooth-talking bounty hunter to find a lead on her sister’s murder.
Kate Gallagher was the only one available to identify her younger sister Chrissy’s body after she was found dead, having run away from home two years earlier. Since Chrissy succumbed to drugs and turned to sex work to survive, her murder isn't taken seriously by the local homicide department. Kate is filled with grief and regret at not having been there for her sister, and she’s determined to find her killer as a kind of penance. Jason Maddox is the charming man Kate almost hooked up with at a local bar. He also happens to be on the payroll of the most successful investigation company in Dallas. He’s all too eager to help Kate out and spend more time getting to know the blonde he danced with at the Sagebrush Saloon. At first, Kate and Jason vow to keep things professional until the case is solved; there’s obvious attraction that they’re willing to pursue at a later date. But the increasing sense of danger mixed with Kate and Jason’s close proximity proves to be too heady of a combination. The tension never lets up as the pair visit seedy bars and interrogate unsavory characters. With a steamy romance and undeniably hot chemistry, the main characters are well matched. They’re both driven, slightly stubborn, and enjoy the adrenaline rush of catching criminals. Martin (The Conspiracy, 2019, etc.) doesn’t skimp on graphic, violent details as Chrissy’s murder leads her couple to something much bigger: human trafficking. Though not for the faint of heart given its weighty material, this is an un-put-down-able page-turner that’s sure to satisfy fans of romance and thrillers alike.
A romantic suspense that skillfully balances both elements.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-335-00769-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Harlequin HQN
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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