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
Pevear's informative introduction and numerous helpful explanatory notes help make this the essential Anna Karenina.
The husband-and-wife team who have given us refreshing English versions of Dostoevsky, Gogol, and Chekhov now present their lucid translation of Tolstoy's panoramic tale of adultery and society: a masterwork that may well be the greatest realistic novel ever written. It's a beautifully structured fiction, which contrasts the aristocratic world of two prominent families with the ideal utopian one dreamed by earnest Konstantin Levin (a virtual self-portrait). The characters of the enchanting Anna (a descendant of Flaubert's Emma Bovary and Fontane's Effi Briest, and forerunner of countless later literary heroines), the lover (Vronsky) who proves worthy of her indiscretion, her bloodless husband Karenin and ingenuous epicurean brother Stiva, among many others, are quite literally unforgettable. Perhaps the greatest virtue of this splendid translation is the skill with which it distinguishes the accents of Anna's romantic egoism from the spare narrative clarity with which a vast spectrum of Russian life is vividly portrayed.
Pevear's informative introduction and numerous helpful explanatory notes help make this the essential Anna Karenina.Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-670-89478-8
Page Count: 864
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2001
PERSPECTIVES
Entertaining and unpredictable; Reid makes a compelling argument for happiness in every life.
Reid’s latest (After I Do, 2014, etc.) explores two parallel universes in which a young woman hopes to find her soul mate and change her life for the better.
After ending an affair with a married man, Hannah Martin is reunited with her high school sweetheart, Ethan, at a bar in Los Angeles. Should she go home with her friends and catch up with him later, or should they stay out and have another drink? It doesn’t seem like either decision would have earth-shattering consequences, but Reid has a knack for finding skeletons in unexpected closets. Two vastly different scenarios play out in alternating chapters: in one, Hannah and Ethan reconnect as if no time has passed; in the other, Hannah lands in the hospital alone after a freak accident that marks the first of many surprising plot twists. Hannah’s best friend, Gabby, believes in soul mates, and though Hannah has trouble making decisions—even when picking a snack from a vending machine—she and Gabby discover how their belief systems can alter their world as much as their choices. “Believing in fate is like living on cruise control,” Hannah says. What follows is a thoughtful analysis of free will versus fate in which Hannah finds that disasters can bring unexpected blessings, blessings can bring unexpected disasters, and that most people are willing to bring Hannah her favorite cinnamon rolls. “Because even when it looks like she’s made a terrible mistake,” Hannah’s mother observes, “things will always work out for Hannah.” The larger question becomes whether Hannah’s choices will ultimately affect her happiness—and it’s one that’s answered on a hopeful note as Hannah tries to do the right thing in every situation she faces.
Entertaining and unpredictable; Reid makes a compelling argument for happiness in every life.Pub Date: July 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4767-7688-0
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Washington Square/Pocket
Review Posted Online: April 14, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2015
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