Strong characters help to make up for diminishing suspense as a heroine stands up to wickedness in a logging town.
A woman with a special ability comes face to face with both potential romance and unmitigated evil in this suspenseful erotic novel.
In the latest book from Decker (945 Cedar Avenue, 2018, etc.), Etta Freeman knows who a person is at first sight. When the 25-year-old was a teen, a vehicular accident nearly killed her and left her with the ability to see others’ energies as glowing auras. She, however, deems this a curse; some auras are so vile that she can feel their energy, which practically debilitates her. In Merrit, the small American logging town where she bartends, she’s found such a man—a logger whose lack of an “energetic pulse” is a sure sign he’s pure malevolence. Etta feels a responsibility to rid the world of this fiendish man before he causes the terrible harm she’s certain he will do, and she devises a plan that sends her to Dallas Perricone, who stays at the same motel where Etta lives. Sure, he’s a drug dealer, but he’s also ruggedly sexy. Will Etta’s dealings with him put her at risk of harm not just from the man who lacks an “energetic pulse” but from Dallas? Decker’s taut novel boasts an appealing, complex protagonist. Etta had suffered leering and much worse from her mom’s depraved boyfriends, and she now takes online classes to be a child psychologist. The story she narrates simmers with tension, trailing a prologue that promises a forthcoming, terrifyingly violent scene. Once the book catches up, the latter half centers more on romance, and suspense dwindles. Nevertheless, the author delivers quite a few delectable, sexually explicit moments, as a genuine emotional connection develops. While Dallas is a memorable romantic interest, Etta’s besties steal the show—curvy Moxie rakes in money with her X-rated webcam, while Tobias runs the motel’s front desk when not sitting by the pool with his friends.
Strong characters help to make up for diminishing suspense as a heroine stands up to wickedness in a logging town.Pub Date: June 27, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-9993334-9-5
Page Count: 241
Publisher: Camden Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 14, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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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