Finn’s gloomy lyrics and all the “Oh, god, Hazel” moments in the world can’t help float this lead zeppelin.
A just-30 video game junkie and marketing guru gets her world totally rocked when she starts an affair with her American idol.
Kargman's (Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut, 2011, etc.) latest confection is so frothy that even fans may have a hard time swallowing its Diablo Cody–esque hipster jive. In essence, if you liked Nick Hornby’s Juliet, Naked but wish it had more of the emotional intensity of Sex and the City, this is the book for you. Our heroine, such as she is, is one Hazel Lavery, a fast-talking, video game–addicted NYC hipster with a killer job working for Badass Games, a Brooklyn-based shop whose latest bestseller, Pimps N’ Ho’s Volume V, is about to hit the store shelves. She even has the romance side covered, with a so-cozy-it-hurts relationship with gorgeous chef Wylie, complete with multiple nicknames (a little Doodleby McClintock, ladies?). But it turns out the path of love turns a wee bit crooked when Hazel is chosen to fly to L.A. to set up the big opening bash for Pimps N’ Ho’s, and she’s seated next to her all-time-favorite-OMG-crush, rock god Finn Schiller, during the disarmingly bumpy flight. “I was lilting over each booming crest as if I might capsize, but the elation of my ride with Finn got me past the fact that I was emotionally cheating on Wylie by suppressing every desire to dive across the armrest and rape Finn like those shameless Midwestern teens shrieking for the Jonas Brothers to deflower them,” Hazel admits. Surprising no one, Hazel and Finn connect on a, like, deeply emotional level, you know? And the whole quivering scene unfolds with tedious predictability.
Finn’s gloomy lyrics and all the “Oh, god, Hazel” moments in the world can’t help float this lead zeppelin.Pub Date: May 22, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-200720-9
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2012
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.
A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.
Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...
True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.
On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.
Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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BOOK REVIEW
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