An engrossing, quietly impassioned historical that blends some big ideas into the love story and ends with a touching burst...
In Henry VIII’s England, a spirited heroine grows from impulsive girl to wiser woman as religious intolerance rages.
British journalist Bennett’s first novel takes a sober approach to a well-trod patch of English history. Her educated heroine, Meg Giggs, is a ward in the home of Lord Chancellor Sir Thomas More, giving her a ringside seat overlooking the terrible drama of religious conflict. More is committed to defending the Catholic faith, which is coming under threat from the heretics, i.e., Lutheran Protestants. As Hans Holbein arrives to paint what will be his famous portrait of More and family, Meg comes back into contact with the man she always loved, John Clement, and with whom she shares healing aspirations. (She is an herbalist; he has been studying medicine.) John declares his love and intention to marry Meg, but More blocks the wedding until John is elected to the College of Physicians. Eventual plans for the union are eclipsed by John’s revelation that he is, in fact, Richard Plantagenet, one of the two princes assumed murdered by Richard III. But the wedding finally proceeds, initially happily, and a son is born. Suppression of the heretics, led by More, intensifies, with torture and burnings at the stake, resulting in Meg losing faith in her adopted father. When her husband reveals another important secret, she becomes estranged from him, too. The king, desperate for an heir and seeking a divorce in order to marry Anne Boleyn, begins to side with the Protestants, and More resigns. Holbein returns, now a better artist with an undying admiration for Meg, leading to the exposure of additional secrets and Meg’s final decision to opt for forgiveness and reconciliation.
An engrossing, quietly impassioned historical that blends some big ideas into the love story and ends with a touching burst of emotional insight.Pub Date: April 3, 2007
ISBN: 0-06-125183-6
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2007
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
BOOK TO SCREEN
Nerve-wracking suspense leavened with romance and spiced with sex: another hit for the prolific Roberts (Blue Smoke, 2005,...
Murder mixes with anguish in steamy Savannah.
FBI-trained hostage negotiator Phoebe MacNamara is a lieutenant in the Savannah police department. Ever since Phoebe and her family were held hostage when she was 12, her mother has been agoraphobic, and Phoebe and her brother Carter still bear the psychological scars, but Phoebe’s used the memory to hone her skills. While talking a suicidal bartender off a ledge, she meets his boss, Duncan Swift. The charming millionaire coaxes her into meeting for a drink, and their relationship slowly deepens. But life takes a turn for the worse when a misogynist cop botches a hostage situation. Suspended, he blames Phoebe and retaliates by viciously attacking her in the precinct house stairwell. He loses his job, but his father’s connections keep him out of jail. Phoebe is physically and mentally injured, but her family and her blossoming relationship with Duncan help her cope until a dangerous pattern develops: A strange man keeps crossing her path. Dead animals begin appearing on her doorstep. A hostage taker is shot after she talks him into surrendering. Her ex-husband is brutally murdered by the mystery man, who phones her with sadistic threats. Is it the spiteful disgraced cop or someone from her past? Phoebe must identify the killer before he can carry out his final outrage.
Nerve-wracking suspense leavened with romance and spiced with sex: another hit for the prolific Roberts (Blue Smoke, 2005, etc.).Pub Date: July 10, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-399-15434-8
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2007
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