Make an Aperol spritz, get out the lounge chair, and enjoy this Roman holiday.
It’s not all la dolce vita and Pucci dresses in Dunlay’s 1969 Rome.
From the outset it’s apparent that something has gone off the rails in the life of Teddy, the eponymous narrator of Dunlay’s debut novel. Teddy Huntley Carlyle, recently married to the stolid David Shepard—ostensibly a business development liaison at the U.S. Embassy in Rome—is a beautiful debutante, Texas born and raised. Before a whirlwind courtship with David, who was visiting Dallas on government business, Teddy worked for her wealthy and politically influential family’s art foundation, but her remaining single at age 34 had caused consternation within the clan. Teddy sees her move to Rome with David as an opportunity to create a new life and to become the wife she believes David wants while cleaning up a few loose ends and secrets she has been carrying with her. Finding herself alone for stretches as David travels, Teddy’s resolve to stay on the straight and narrow is tested as it slowly becomes clear to her that she is not the only player in her personal drama with secrets to hide. Teddy’s account of how she winds up being “interviewed” by security agents from the embassy is, by turns, a fast-paced overview of the glittering high life of late 1960s Rome and a slow-burn reveal of the family and personal secrets weighing so heavily upon her. Her direct approach in relating her complicated life story creates sympathy for a character who is otherwise messy, not always scrupulously honest, and prone to self-indulgence. Descriptions of couture dresses, jewelry, and extravagant accessories provide enjoyable eye candy, and it is easy to visualize Teddy’s well-clad life in Rome on a big screen in this satisfying meetup of suspense, rom-com, family drama, and historical fiction.
Make an Aperol spritz, get out the lounge chair, and enjoy this Roman holiday.Pub Date: July 2, 2024
ISBN: 9780063354890
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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