A brief, action-oriented medieval story whose rapid pace ultimately works against it.
Tomlin presents a second installment in a historical fiction series, following The Douglas Bastard (2022), set during the Second War of Scottish Independence.
In 1346, after the devastating defeat suffered by the Scots in the Battle of Neville’s Cross, Sir Archibald Douglas—the unrecognized son of the famous James “the Black” Douglas—returns home. His mentor and surrogate father, Sir William of Liddesdale, is a prisoner alongside the Scottish King David, and there’s little to stand between Scotland and English occupation. Sir Archibald, called “Archie” by his friends, is only a landless knight, but he starts quietly courting allies to launch guerilla attacks on the English. As they gain momentum, another foe brings both sides to their knees: a plague that would come to be known as the Black Death. When the epidemic subsides, war starts simmering again, but with a changed playing field, and Archie must choose between friends and foes within his own ranks. This novel excels in its historical details, which are clearly the result of meticulous research and beautifully evoke medieval Scotland with intimate descriptions of land, food, and clothing. The frequent battle scenes are well-paced and suitably brutal: “Blood geysered, spraying onto one of the horses. It jibbed and snorted.” The first-person narration gives the story a feeling of immediacy that’s sometimes lacking in historical fiction. But although individual scenes shine, the story as a whole struggles to take shape, and it covers about eight years at a clip with frequently abrupt time jumps. Archie is a likable protagonist—loyal and canny, battle-hardened but with deep affection for his allies and homeland. However, readers may find his growth difficult to gauge over the course of the novel. Sir Archibald was a real historical figure, and his story is remarkable enough to carry a series; yet when he must make a difficult choice about his loyalties in the final chapters, it doesn’t feel as agonizing or weighty as it should. Instead, the moment feels rushed and his journey feels truncated.
A brief, action-oriented medieval story whose rapid pace ultimately works against it.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2022
ISBN: 9798358031777
Page Count: 206
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Dec. 21, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
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
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
