A briskly paced romance featuring breathless suspense.
A search for a stolen painting brings an art appraiser in contact with a dangerous man from her past in Forand’s (Snippets of Suspense, 2015, etc.) latest novel.
Alex Lemoine appears be a Frenchwoman enjoying a thriving career as an art appraiser and a romance with a man named Luc, but appearances are deceiving. In reality, she’s an American named Alex Northrop, and Luc is a sadist who regularly abuses her. (She even hides the fact that she has a mother and sisters from him in order to keep them safe.) When she discovers that he’s planning to murder her, she flees to Oxford, England, where she reinvents herself as a woman named Gabe West. One evening, she seeks refuge in the home of Henry Chilton, a professor of anthropology who helps run the Ripon Women’s Group, which assists battered women and children. He’s also an art lover who’s planning on using a portrait of his ancestor Lady Elizabeth Gillett as collateral for a loan to help fund the group. But when Henry shows her the painting, she informs him that it’s a forgery. She offers to help him locate the original painting, and, with the help of Henry’s half brother, Simon, they begin an international search. As things heat up, she and Henry fall in love—but when Luc re-emerges, Alex must make some difficult choices to protect her family members and the man she loves. The plot is filled with globe-trotting intrigue, stolen art, secret identities, and dangerous villains, and Forand balances the suspenseful mystery with a passionate romance. Alex is an intriguing heroine—a linguistic genius and a master of disguise with an uncanny eye for appraising art. She’s complemented by Henry, a dashing anthropology professor and earl who’s dedicated his life to helping abused women and children. Their romance unfolds in scenes that are both tender and erotic. The supporting characters are also strong, including Simon, whose sexy swagger conceals an unrequited love for “Gabe.” Detailed settings and references to real stolen art, including Henri Matisse’s 1901 painting The Luxembourg Gardens, enhance the story.
A briskly paced romance featuring breathless suspense.Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5084-2288-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Jan. 20, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.
A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.
Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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