A festive addition to the Holiday romance genre with a subtle poignancy that sets it apart.
In Hale’s novel, a young woman rediscovers love and her Christmas spirit when she returns to her hometown after her fiance’s death.
Alicia Silver is spending her first Christmas alone after the sudden death of her fiance Bo in a car crash nine months earlier. Desperate to escape her memories in Savannah (“if she let herself think about spending Christmas on her own, she might fall apart”), her interest is piqued by a television program about a magical bridge located in her childhood hometown of Noel, Tennessee, that allegedly grants miracles to anyone who wishes. She wonders if visiting Noel again might do her some good and plans to spend Christmas in the small town. Her impromptu trip starts off on the wrong foot, though, when the last open restaurant closes right when she puts her hand on the doorknob. The owner of the diner is Leo Whitaker, an attractive man around her age who invites Alicia in to warm up. They part ways without speaking much, but Alicia finds she can’t stop thinking about how calming his presence is. When she eventually makes her way to the bridge to make her wish, she runs into him once more. Leo is there looking for his own miracle––his father has gone missing in the woods, and there’s a snowstorm on the way. The two end up bonding over their shared experiences with grief, and when Alicia’s flight gets canceled due to weather, they’re given the time to get even closer. Hale tells a heart-wrenching story of loss and grief in all of its stages. Alicia’s relationship with her deceased fiance is an important facet of her character that isn’t brushed aside for the new romance. Leo is a romantic lead who remains patient and understanding, even with his own difficulties surrounding his father’s disappearance. (The throughline of the mystery of Leo’s missing father remains a compelling element.) While some supporting characters aren’t given much to do, those who play important roles are well fleshed-out and add to the charm of small-town Noel.
A festive addition to the Holiday romance genre with a subtle poignancy that sets it apart.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Sept. 16, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A surprisingly sensual sports romance.
A collegiate diver and swimmer secretly pursue kink together, and risk falling in love along the way.
Scarlett Vandermeer is struggling. Despite a successful recovery from the injury that almost ended her Stanford diving career, she hasn’t been able to get her head together, and it’s affecting her performance. Plus, she’s trying to stay focused on getting into medical school. A relationship would be out of the question. By comparison, Lukas Blomqvist is a swimming idol, a record-breaker who wins medals as easily as breathing, and Scarlett has long been convinced he would never look in her direction—until one fateful night when a mutual friend lets slip that they have something unexpected in common: Scarlett likes to be submissive in the bedroom, while Lukas prefers to take a dominant approach. Now, they both know a big secret about each other, and it’s something neither of them can stop thinking about. It’s Lukas who suggests they have a fling—purely physical, just to take the edge off, so Scarlett can get out of her own head and stop overthinking her dives. Initially, their arrangement is easy to stick to, but the more time they spend together, the more Scarlett starts to realize that what she feels for Lukas is more than physical attraction. Complicating the situation is the fact that Scarlett’s friend Penelope Ross used to go out with Lukas, and the longer Scarlett keeps mum about her true feelings for him, the more difficult it is to keep the situation hidden from another person she really cares about. While Scarlett and Lukas’ relationship does begin as a physical one, their deeper psychological connection takes a little too long to emerge amid all the other storylines, resulting in a somewhat rushed resolution. However, Hazelwood’s latest is proof of the depth and maturity that has emerged in her writing over the years, and it highlights her embrace of sexier, more emotional elements than were present in her original STEMinist rom-coms.
A surprisingly sensual sports romance.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593641057
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
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
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