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
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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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