A satisfyingly delightful tale of deception, retribution, and romance.
A Regency romp refreshingly centering a multiracial cast of characters of South Asian, East Asian, and African descent.
Three years ago, Lady Ela Dalvi was devastatingly betrayed by her best friend, Poppy Landers, and left hanging by her budding paramour, Lord Keston Osborn, the Marquess of Ridley. Fueled by a desire for retribution for a reputation ruined and relationships cast aside, Ela returns to the London social scene in 1817 as mysterious heiress Miss Lyra Whitley with one Machiavellian goal in mind: taking Poppy down. Disguised by hair dye, a new name courtesy of her benefactor, Lady Felicity Whitley, and the fuller figure of an 18-year-old, Ela schemes to infiltrate and dismantle Poppy’s inner circle, sway her suitors, and tarnish her reputation. It’s mostly easy to stay the course since Poppy’s become even more unapologetically slanderous, but meeting a kindred spirit who’ll become a casualty to her ruse leads to guilt that’s hard to swallow. Ela thought she had steeled her heart, but it’s all too easy to fall back into banter with dashingly distracting Keston. Will Ela’s scheme ultimately satisfy? Dare she set her eyes on long-term happiness? Howard crafts an entertaining exploration of themes of forgiveness and choice as well as power and agency in a society with restrictive rules for women. Alternating chapters switch between the present and the events of three years prior, teasing and unraveling Ela’s motivations and development.
A satisfyingly delightful tale of deception, retribution, and romance. (author’s note) (Historical romance. 13-18)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 978-0-593-48350-3
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Joy Revolution
Review Posted Online: Jan. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2023
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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