A familiar plot refreshingly enhanced by its setting during the Revolutionary War, which is depicted realistically and with...
A love story set in Philadelphia during the American Revolution explores an unlikely pairing between an aristocratic woman with loyalist attachments and an unrefined rebel agitator.
In 1776, Philadelphia is a tinderbox of contentious political division—the city is torn between those who reaffirm their loyalty to the British crown and those who angrily demand political independence from it. And besides the tension created by the gathering clouds of war, the city is terrorized by a bandit known as Jack Flash who only targets wealthy loyalists and who is seen by the poor as a “hero.” One night, Jack Flash purloins a diamond- and sapphire-studded necklace from Alexandra Pennington, a recently widowed loyalist of exquisite elegance and beauty, a bold move that puts pressure on an otherwise feckless Sheriff Owen DeWalt to bring the culprit to justice. Meanwhile, Alexandra makes the acquaintance of Dalton Jameson, an “uneducated and humbly born” horse breeder who nevertheless impresses her with his “sincerity” and “gallantry.” Dalton is also an enthusiastic advocate of independence, and so despite their obvious admiration for each other, a remarkably implausible romantic coupling ensues, though Jeannette (A Devil of a Time, 2014, etc.) skillfully renders the possibility believable. But Charles Villard, a sophisticated descendant of British nobility, has eager designs on Alexandra as well and loathes the closeness that forms between her and Dalton so much that he’s willing to ruin his reputation: “ ‘Listen, you side-slip of a whoremonger. I’ve never liked you, and I especially dislike having you near things that belong to me. I’ll say this but once,’ he hissed. ‘Leave what’s mine alone, or you’ll have hell to pay.’ ” Jeannette not only manages to make the affections between Alexandra and Dalton credible—that in itself is no mean authorial feat—but also develops both characters with great depth and sensitivity. While an ocean of difference divides their lives, they do share something important: painful personal histories of adversity. Dalton was compelled to leave England after a romance went wrong, and Alexandra was forced into a marriage of convenience after her father left the family in financial ruin. The plot itself is fairly formulaic—an uncommon love swims against the currents of convention. But the backdrop of the Revolutionary War adds a fresh twist; the author’s portrayal of the political contentions that cleave Philadelphia is historically rigorous and dramatically gripping. Unfortunately, the tale as a whole unfolds at a glacial pace—it’s simply not necessary that this novel is nearly 500 pages. In addition, readers will confidently guess Jack Flash’s identity from the work’s very beginning. Still, while Jeannette’s prose doesn’t reach any poetical heights, she does achieve a linguistic authenticity for the period that helpfully contributes to a full immersion in the engaging story.
A familiar plot refreshingly enhanced by its setting during the Revolutionary War, which is depicted realistically and with great intelligence.Pub Date: July 24, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-08-277653-3
Page Count: 561
Publisher: Time Tunnel Media
Review Posted Online: Sept. 10, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.
Life lessons.
Angie Malone, the youngest of a big, warm Italian-American family, returns to her Pacific Northwest hometown to wrestle with various midlife disappointments: her divorce, Papa’s death, a downturn in business at the family restaurant, and, above all, her childlessness. After several miscarriages, she, a successful ad exec, and husband Conlan, a reporter, befriended a pregnant young girl and planned to adopt her baby—and then the birth mother changed her mind. Angie and Conlan drifted apart and soon found they just didn’t love each other anymore. Metaphorically speaking, “her need for a child had been a high tide, an overwhelming force that drowned them. A year ago, she could have kicked to the surface but not now.” Sadder but wiser, Angie goes to work in the struggling family restaurant, bickering with Mama over updating the menu and replacing the ancient waitress. Soon, Angie befriends another young girl, Lauren Ribido, who’s eager to learn and desperately needs a job. Lauren’s family lives on the wrong side of the tracks, and her mother is a promiscuous alcoholic, but Angie knows nothing of this sad story and welcomes Lauren into the DeSaria family circle. The girl listens in, wide-eyed, as the sisters argue and make wisecracks and—gee-whiz—are actually nice to each other. Nothing at all like her relationship with her sluttish mother, who throws Lauren out when boyfriend David, en route to Stanford, gets her pregnant. Will Lauren, who’s just been accepted to USC, let Angie adopt her baby? Well, a bit of a twist at the end keeps things from becoming too predictable.
Heartfelt, yes, but pretty routine.Pub Date: July 1, 2004
ISBN: 0-345-46750-7
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2004
Less bleak than the subject matter might warrant—Hannah’s default outlook is sunny—but still, a wrenching depiction of war’s...
The traumatic homecoming of a wounded warrior.
The daughter of alcoholics who left her orphaned at 17, Jolene “Jo” Zarkades found her first stable family in the military: She’s served over two decades, first in the army, later with the National Guard. A helicopter pilot stationed near Seattle, Jo copes as competently at home, raising two daughters, Betsy and Lulu, while trying to dismiss her husband Michael’s increasing emotional distance. Jo’s mettle is sorely tested when Michael informs her flatly that he no longer loves her. Four-year-old Lulu clamors for attention while preteen Betsy, mean-girl-in-training, dismisses as dweeby her former best friend, Seth, son of Jo’s confidante and fellow pilot, Tami. Amid these challenges comes the ultimate one: Jo and Tami are deployed to Iraq. Michael, with the help of his mother, has to take over the household duties, and he rapidly learns that parenting is much harder than his wife made it look. As Michael prepares to defend a PTSD-afflicted veteran charged with Murder I for killing his wife during a dissociative blackout, he begins to understand what Jolene is facing and to revisit his true feelings for her. When her helicopter is shot down under insurgent fire, Jo rescues Tami from the wreck, but a young crewman is killed. Tami remains in a coma and Jo, whose leg has been amputated, returns home to a difficult rehabilitation on several fronts. Her nightmares in which she relives the crash and other horrors she witnessed, and her pain, have turned Jo into a person her daughters now fear (which in the case of bratty Betsy may not be such a bad thing). Jo can't forgive Michael for his rash words. Worse, she is beginning to remind Michael more and more of his homicide client. Characterization can be cursory: Michael’s earlier callousness, left largely unexplained, undercuts the pathos of his later change of heart.
Less bleak than the subject matter might warrant—Hannah’s default outlook is sunny—but still, a wrenching depiction of war’s aftermath.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-312-57720-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2012
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