A dramatically drawn portrait of the plight and power of Elizabethan women, be they high-born or low.
Briones’ mid-16th-century romance novel is inspired by the life of Isabella Whitney, the first female English secular poet to have her work published.
Isabella (Izzy) Whitney, the daughter of a landowner with a small estate, turns 18 in 1567. She has accepted the position of maidservant to the widowed Lady Bramwell and will spend the next year in London, where she will be trained in the skills necessary to run a proper home should she marry and have children. It is not the prospect of perfecting the womanly tasks of the day that excites Izzy (she far prefers to write poetry) but rather the opportunity to avail herself of Baron Bramwell’s extensive library. (Her cousin William has been tutoring her in writing and the reading of “ancient tales of history, adventure, and romance,” subjects not deemed appropriate for proper young maidens.) Unfortunately, when she arrives at Bramwell House, she learns that the Baron’s library is locked to all but Lady Bramwell and her handsome, 21-year-old nephew Robert Barrington. Izzy finally meets the elusive Robert, a law student at Cambridge, when he is ensconced in the Baron’s library during Lady Bramwell’s lavish Twelfth Night celebration. He is charmed by Izzy’s interest in literature and poetry; he too is a poet, he tells her. Thus begins a passionate (verging on melodramatic) tale of love, ambition, secret betrothal, and a betrayal that compromises Izzy’s reputation. Briones has faithfully replicated the fashions, mores, customs, effusive linguistics, and social stratifications of the early Elizabethan era. Although little is known about the life of the historical Isabella Whitney, Briones’ fictional Izzy, an eloquent narrator of her own story, is a vibrant and independent protagonist who refuses to be felled by her lover’s betrayal—despite the hardships she undergoes, she becomes a dynamic literary advocate for women. Briones packs the novel with literary references to works of Virgil and Ovid, and the narrative overflows with vivid historical details about 16th-century London.
A dramatically drawn portrait of the plight and power of Elizabethan women, be they high-born or low.Pub Date: Jan. 9, 2024
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 286
Publisher: Historium Press
Review Posted Online: June 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 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
Deeply moving and emotional.
A hockey player falls in love with his tutor.
Matt “Freddy” Fredderic is the life of the party at Waterfell University. He’s a starter on the hockey team and can have any girl on campus—but he’s also in danger of failing out if he can’t improve his grades in math and biology. His ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia make him eligible for university tutoring services, and Ro Shariff is his newly assigned tutor. Ro had a crush on Freddy freshman year but convinced herself that she’s over it now, in her senior year. She’s been in an on-again, off-again relationship with a guy named Tyler for the past two years, but he’s manipulative, borderline abusive, and probably cheating on her. Ro is desperate for love and affection and still suffers from bouts of intense homesickness. She and Freddy develop a tentative friendship even though they couldn’t be more different on the surface—he’s a popular, gregarious athlete to her quiet, introverted academic. Ro sees beyond Freddy’s persona as a dumb jock, while he recognizes that she feels lonely and like an outsider. When Freddy swoops in to rescue Ro after an ugly disagreement with Tyler, the two admit that their feelings for each other are more romantic than friendly. Corinne’s second novel is an emotional powerhouse. Ro and Freddy share everything with each other: fears of not being good enough for their friends, details of their harmful previous romantic relationships, and the deep feelings of grief related to illness and loss of parents. They have to learn to trust themselves and each other in the midst of the pressures that come with transitioning from college to adulthood. Their evolution from friends to lovers is a classic slow burn, and it makes for an angsty and deeply affecting read.
Deeply moving and emotional.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781668068489
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: yesterday
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