A multilayered blend of romance and suspense with the right amount of paranormal intrigue for fans of the genre.
The return of a mysterious man from her past upends a ballerina’s life in this paranormal tale.
Mia Allistair should be enjoying her career as a ballerina with a prestigious classical troupe. But on the night of a major performance, she is overcome by the feeling she can no longer dance and skips her curtain call. Discouraged, she quits the company and turns to her longtime boyfriend, Alex, for support. On the drive home, they are involved in a serious car accident and saved from certain death by Gabriel, a man who offered Mia support during a difficult childhood. As a teenager, she fell in love with him, but he disappeared from her life without explanation. Now Gabriel’s back and offering Mia help with her career and finances, but things have changed. Alex is pressuring her for a commitment, and despite her love for Gabriel, she may accept his proposal. After Gabriel’s arrest for kidnapping, he reveals to Mia that he is part of a group that captures and rehabilitates Nephilim. She believes he’s involved with a cult, but her loyalties are soon tested. Stutz’s (Bodysculpting for Bombshells, 2016) novel offers a captivating mix of romance and paranormal mystery. The tale’s key strengths are its adroit structure, appealing protagonists, and well-drawn supporting characters. The story opens on a strong note, with a poignant description of Mia’s personal and professional crossroads followed by the dramatic accident that brings Gabriel back into her life. Stutz’s skillful use of flashbacks establishes Mia and Gabriel’s shared history, adding a layer of emotional depth to the main story. Mia is a sympathetic heroine whose concerns about career longevity are particularly well-drawn. She is complemented by Alex, whose obsession with 1950s-style relationships masks a dark side, and Gabriel, a man whose love for Mia compels him to keep her safe even if it means he may have to make a dangerous choice.
A multilayered blend of romance and suspense with the right amount of paranormal intrigue for fans of the genre.Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5403-6582-8
Page Count: 366
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.
Another reboot of Jane Austen?!? Hadlow pulls it off in a smart, heartfelt novel devoted to bookish Mary, middle of the five sisters in Pride and Prejudice.
Part 1 recaps Pride and Prejudice through Mary’s eyes, climaxing with the humiliating moment when she sings poorly at a party and older sister Elizabeth goads their father to cut her off in front of everyone. The sisters’ friend Charlotte, who marries the unctuous Mr. Collins after Elizabeth rejects him, emerges as a pivotal character; her conversations with Mary are even tougher-minded here than those with Elizabeth depicted by Austen. In Part 2, two years later, Mary observes on a visit that Charlotte is deferential but remote with her husband; she forms an intellectual friendship with the neglected and surprisingly nice Mr. Collins that leads to Charlotte’s asking Mary to leave. In Part 3, Mary finds refuge in London with her kindly aunt and uncle, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. Mrs. Gardiner is the second motherly woman, after Longbourn housekeeper Mrs. Hill, to try to undo the psychic damage wrought by Mary’s actual mother, shallow, status-obsessed Mrs. Bennet, by building up her confidence and buying her some nice clothes (funded by guilt-ridden Lizzy). Sure enough, two suitors appear: Tom Hayward, a poetry-loving lawyer who relishes Mary’s intellect but urges her to also express her feelings; and William Ryder, charming but feckless inheritor of a large fortune, whom naturally Mrs. Bennet loudly favors. It takes some maneuvering to orchestrate the estrangement of Mary and Tom, so clearly right for each other, but debut novelist Hadlow manages it with aplomb in a bravura passage describing a walking tour of the Lake District rife with seething complications furthered by odious Caroline Bingley. Her comeuppance at Mary’s hands marks the welcome final step in our heroine’s transformation from a self-doubting wallflower to a vibrant, self-assured woman who deserves her happy ending. Hadlow traces that progression with sensitivity, emotional clarity, and a quiet edge of social criticism Austen would have relished.
Entertaining and thoroughly engrossing.Pub Date: March 31, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-12941-3
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Dec. 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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