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DAUGHTER OF A PROMISE

A sagacious and graceful modern-day retelling of a biblical love story.

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The story of David and Bathsheba is reprised in Blasberg’s novel charting the love affair between a young Cuban woman from Miami and her powerful corporate boss.

Betsabé Ruiz is a high achiever from Little Havana, Miami—she wins a scholarship to a private college in New York, then is picked for job training at a high-powered investment bank in the city. After a shaky start, she comes into her strengths and becomes the protege, then lover, of the widowed Robert David (known simply as “David”), a charismatic financial legend. She becomes pregnant; “Bets” is the first-person narrator, relating her experiences to the child in her womb. Those who know the David and Bathsheba story, in which the biblical couple’s first child dies as a punishment for their sin but the second, Solomon, becomes one of the great kings of Israel, will easily connect the dots. This is a wonderfully wise book. Blasberg is an accomplished writer, and in Betsabé Ruiz she has created an insightful and strong young woman. The author has a gift for imagery and metaphor, as seen when Bets reflects on David’s solicitousness, “as if he might be offering his hand to a novice gymnast crossing the balance beam,” a perfect evocation of the high-stress career that she is embarking on, not to mention a seduction that readers know is in the cards. David is the mentor, many years her senior, but, in the end, it is clearly Bets who is the real teacher; the book is, among other things, a testament to women’s deeper insights, like those of Bets’ wise grandmother, Yaya (“If Yaya was alive, she’d say doctors have no idea, that babies come when they are good and ready”). Of course, Bets and David are hardly the only characters—side plots abound with young people on the make in the Big Apple, caroming like bumper cars.

A sagacious and graceful modern-day retelling of a biblical love story.

Pub Date: April 2, 2024

ISBN: 9781647426088

Page Count: 344

Publisher: She Writes Press

Review Posted Online: Dec. 19, 2023

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  • New York Times Bestseller

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IT STARTS WITH US

Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.

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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

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JUST FOR THE SUMMER

A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.

Two people with bad luck in relationships find each other through a popular Reddit thread.

Emma Grant and her best friend, Maddy, are travel nurses, working at hospitals for three-month stints while they see the country. Just a few weeks before they’re set to move to Hawaii, Emma reads a popular “Am I the Asshole” Reddit thread from a Minnesota man who thinks he’s cursed—women he dates find their soulmates after breaking up with him, and the latest one found true love with his best friend! Emma has had a similar experience, which inspires her to DM the man and commiserate. She’s delighted by her witty, lively interactions with software engineer Justin Dahl, and is intrigued when he suggests that if they date each other, maybe they’ll each find their soulmate afterward. Emma upends the Hawaii plan and convinces Maddy to move to Minneapolis for the summer so she can meet Justin in person. The overly complex setup brings Emma and Justin together and the two hit it off, with Justin immediately falling head over heels for Emma. Jimenez then pivots to creating romantic roadblocks and melodramatic subplots centering on each character’s family of origin. Justin’s mother is about to serve six years in prison for embezzlement, which means Justin must move back home to care for his three much younger siblings. Emma was traumatized by her own mother for much of her childhood, left to fend for herself and eventually abandoned in the foster system. When her mother shows up in Minnesota, Emma must face her traumatic childhood and admit that she has prioritized her mother’s well-being over her own. There is little time devoted to Emma’s painful efforts to heal herself enough to accept Justin’s love, which leaves the novel feeling unsatisfying.

A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.

Pub Date: April 2, 2024

ISBN: 9781538704431

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Forever

Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024

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