A breezy romantic romp with plenty of heat.
An aspiring writer and a shop owner figure out how to fall in love in Hall’s romance series installment.
Mistletoe, Idaho, seems like the perfect small town in which to fall in love; things have worked out for siblings Merry, Nick, and Holly Winters, who are all happy in their respective relationships (as seen in other books in Hall’s series). But for Delilah Gill, Holly’s best friend, the burg feels more like a series of dead ends. No publisher wants her romantic fantasy book series, her parents nag her about getting a real job, and she’s sexually unsatisfied. Meanwhile, Anthony Russo is dealing with his mother’s death and has sworn himself to celibacy until he can find true love and build a life with someone. He and Delilah saw potential in each other the year before at a bachelor party and shared a promising kiss before insecurities and misunderstandings drove them apart. Anthony thought Delilah seemed hung up on his best friend Pike Sutton, and Delilah thinks Anthony doesn’t want her because she’s a plus-size woman, but they’re both wrong. After a night out (and puking incident), the two get closer, initiating a sexual and emotional connection that supersedes decorum and friendship, leading to some friction between them. As the holiday season progresses, however, and new obstacles arise, the intensity of their passion can’t be denied. Both Delilah and Anthony have believable emotional baggage that hinders their ability to effectively communicate. The timeframe means that the pace at which they go from acquaintances to lovers is quick, but their chemistry, rendered with brazen flourishes, makes their compatibility clear. Hall’s dialogue excels at conveying Delilah and Anthony’s wit, though it can sometimes veer into excessively quippy territory with Anthony dispensing lines like “does this earn me a check mark in the romantic column or the crazy-and-insecure column?” The small-town cozy atmosphere and the sprawl of secondary and tertiary characters set up plenty of future relationship opportunities, and readers will be eager to see how Delilah and Anthony grow beyond their initial coupling.
A breezy romantic romp with plenty of heat.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781039478190
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Podium Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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