Coming back to her small hometown to regroup, Laura Bailey sets her sights on expanding her family’s lodge-and-diner business. She won't let high school adversary Eddie Jessup stand in her way with his new project, no matter how attractive or alluring he might be.
Laura Bailey couldn’t wait to leave her small town behind for college and the big city, but when the up-and-coming marketing star loses her job and her fiance in one fell swoop, she returns, determined to streamline and possibly expand her family’s business while she considers how to get back to her city life. When she learns that a big resort development company is trying to build on property nearby, she sees them as a threat and will do everything in her power to shut them down. So what if her high school crush with movie-star looks, Eddie Jessup, is the local contractor in charge of the project and that his own business expansion depends on success? He was a screwed-up, arrogant jerk then, and from what she can tell, not much has changed. So why does she feel that she wants to spend more time with him, rather than less, and that every minute in his company makes him even more attractive? Eddie’s had a thing for Laura Bailey for as long as he can remember, and she’s as annoying and meddling as ever. Trouble is, he thinks she may be on to something, and as they sift through what’s best for their town, their businesses and each other, he can’t deny that her passion, determination and intelligence are a perfect package—one he’s been waiting for all his life. Too bad her heart's set on getting back to the city. This is the latest installment of the Sierra Falls series, and Wolff has created an amiable, relatable community with primary and secondary characters that are well-drawn and convincing. Laura starts out as screechy and nearly unlikable but softens as she moves through her insecurities and comes to embrace herself, her hometown and her new love. A moving, engaging romance.
Pub Date: Dec. 31, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-425-25116-4
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Berkley Sensation
Review Posted Online: Nov. 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2012
Categories: ROMANCE | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
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BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
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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 31, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
Categories: GENERAL ROMANCE | ROMANCE | CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
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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 3, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
Categories: GENERAL ROMANCE | ROMANCE
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