A witty, classic Regency romance.
One too many marquesses for a near spinster.
Ellie Parrish has known her entire life that she’s destined to marry a marquess. One in particular, actually: her childhood friend George, Marquess of Nethersole. He’s certain to settle down and propose any day now, she keeps telling herself, even though she’s already 25. So he’s the only marquess she cares to think about, even after she runs into another one accidentally. But Brandon, Marquess of Hullworth, is sure their collision is no accident. As the most eligible bachelor in London, he can’t walk through a park without half a dozen women dropping their handkerchiefs or turning their ankles to get his attention. Ellie has no interest in Brandon beyond being friends with his sister, though, and by the time he finally believes that, he realizes that he might actually be interested in her. Anxious by nature, Ellie is drawn to Brandon’s gentle ways and actual interest in her, and the two begin a powerful and clandestine courtship, but even their intense chemistry might not be enough to pull her away from the certainty of having the life she’s always expected with the thoughtless, inconsistent George. Her ongoing indecision is a weak spot in an otherwise charming Regency. Lorret’s writing sparkles, as ever, with delicious banter between Ellie and Brandon and clever writing throughout. But with their attraction so strong and George such an obvious cad, it's hard to fathom why it takes Ellie the entire book to figure out which one of her marquesses is the wrong one. Though Ellie and her friends are still working on The Marriage Habits of the Native Aristocrat, the guidebook introduced earlier in the Mating Habits of Scoundrels series, she is surprisingly naïve about George’s behavior. Nevertheless, this is an enjoyable entry, with slightly purple intimate scenes heightened by Ellie’s intense physical reactions to the unexpected and a cliffhanger ending setting up the fourth book in the series nicely.
A witty, classic Regency romance.Pub Date: June 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-297662-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 28, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.
Two struggling authors spend the summer writing and falling in love in a quaint beach town.
January Andrews has just arrived in the small town of North Bear Shores with some serious baggage. Her father has been dead for a year, but she still hasn’t come to terms with what she found out at his funeral—he had been cheating on her mother for years. January plans to spend the summer cleaning out and selling the house her father and “That Woman” lived in together. But she’s also a down-on-her-luck author facing writer’s block, and she no longer believes in the happily-ever-after she’s made the benchmark of her work. Her steadily dwindling bank account, though, is a daily reminder that she must sell her next book, and fast. Serendipitously, she discovers that her new next-door neighbor is Augustus Everett, the darling of the literary fiction set and her former college rival/crush. Gus also happens to be struggling with his next book (and some serious trauma that unfolds throughout the novel). Though the two get off to a rocky start, they soon make a bet: Gus will try to write a romance novel, and January will attempt “bleak literary fiction.” They spend the summer teaching each other the art of their own genres—January takes Gus on a romantic outing to the local carnival; Gus takes January to the burned-down remains of a former cult—and they both process their own grief, loss, and trauma through this experiment. There are more than enough steamy scenes to sustain the slow-burn romance, and smart commentary on the placement and purpose of “women’s fiction” joins with crucial conversations about mental health to add multiple intriguing layers to the plot.
A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0673-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Jove/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK TO SCREEN
PERSPECTIVES
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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