Like an amusement-park ride through a new Olympus.
Eros meets Psyche in the second book of Robert’s Dark Olympus series.
Psyche Dimitriou, one of four daughters of Demeter, has a problem. Just as she's helping an injured Eros Ambrosia at an Olympus party, a paparazzo takes a candid of them in an apparent romantic clinch and the photo goes viral. The problem is that Eros’ mom, Aphrodite, hates Demeter and orders her son, whom she uses as a fixer in her political power games, to punish Psyche as a lesson to her mom. Though used to doing his mother’s bidding, as she's groomed him from childhood to kill, Eros can’t execute this latest order. Instead, he offers Psyche, a smart, plus-sized social media influencer, a different bargain—a PR marriage of convenience that might protect her from his mother’s wrath. Despite the tense start to their relationship, the two find their arrangement quickly morphing into an erotic and emotional connection. The couple copes with their new feelings while dealing with powerful family members, all under intense social media scrutiny, giving the book the atmosphere of a Kardashian-style reality show version of Greek myth. Robert creates an Olympus for our time in a manner somewhat reminiscent of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark-Hunters series. She keeps the core of the original Eros and Psyche story even as she humanizes her protagonists, though not always successfully: There’s the somewhat tired trope of the hero as victim of his traumatic upbringing, a bad boy cured by the love of a good woman. The ass-kicking heroine is also a familiar type, but Psyche is better sketched, a fat-positive yet secretly vulnerable and media-savvy young woman. The pair’s chemistry, in and out of the bedroom, gives them added dimension. Both the protagonists’ mothers harken back to the terrifying matriarchs of myth and could have used more updating to counter old stereotypes of mothers gone feral. On the other hand, the inclusion of a couple of Black characters in the roles of famous mythological figures, which seems like an attempt at diversity, feels like hollow colorblind casting.
Like an amusement-park ride through a new Olympus.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72823-176-1
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2021
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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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