A delightful fantasy for awkward, intrepid women.
An American woman who's not to everyone's taste finds love with an upstanding British viscount.
Leonora Garrison has come to London with her friendly brother and crass, social-climbing mother to find investors for their manufacturing business, which has been foundering since the death of her beloved father. Her curiosity extends not only to the workings of mechanical items—including the newfangled "writing machine" she's trying to get off the ground—but also to matters more personal, so she sneaks out of her hotel for a visit to the Elysium, a club where it's rumored women can have their fantasies fulfilled. When John Castleton, Viscount Wyeth, stops by the same night, the club's owner, his half-brother Aiden Trewlove, asks a favor: Since they're short staffed, would Rook, as he's known, mind educating a spinster who desires her first kiss? Rook has spent his life suppressing his passion, not wanting to be associated with the reckless way his father produced unwanted children (including Aiden) with a string of mistresses. But he agrees to help, and when he meets Leonora in a dark room, their kiss leads to unexpectedly seismic feelings for both of them. After they meet again, at a dinner party for nobles who might invest in Leonora's company, they tumble into a series of further sensual encounters—Heath can spend pages deliciously describing the way they each long for another kiss—but when they're caught in a compromising position, they have to decide whether a compelled marriage is what they want. This final book in Heath's Chessman series, like the others, features a brainy woman who wouldn't make a traditional bride for a nobleman, and it's a pleasure to watch Rook appreciate the very qualities in Leonora that many men find odd. Heath fans will enjoy spending time with the Chessmen and the Trewlove family, catching glimpses of previous couples, but Leonora's mother could have served her purpose in the story without being so stridently awful.
A delightful fantasy for awkward, intrepid women.Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780063114715
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
Deeply moving and emotional.
A hockey player falls in love with his tutor.
Matt “Freddy” Fredderic is the life of the party at Waterfell University. He’s a starter on the hockey team and can have any girl on campus—but he’s also in danger of failing out if he can’t improve his grades in math and biology. His ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia make him eligible for university tutoring services, and Ro Shariff is his newly assigned tutor. Ro had a crush on Freddy freshman year but convinced herself that she’s over it now, in her senior year. She’s been in an on-again, off-again relationship with a guy named Tyler for the past two years, but he’s manipulative, borderline abusive, and probably cheating on her. Ro is desperate for love and affection and still suffers from bouts of intense homesickness. She and Freddy develop a tentative friendship even though they couldn’t be more different on the surface—he’s a popular, gregarious athlete to her quiet, introverted academic. Ro sees beyond Freddy’s persona as a dumb jock, while he recognizes that she feels lonely and like an outsider. When Freddy swoops in to rescue Ro after an ugly disagreement with Tyler, the two admit that their feelings for each other are more romantic than friendly. Corinne’s second novel is an emotional powerhouse. Ro and Freddy share everything with each other: fears of not being good enough for their friends, details of their harmful previous romantic relationships, and the deep feelings of grief related to illness and loss of parents. They have to learn to trust themselves and each other in the midst of the pressures that come with transitioning from college to adulthood. Their evolution from friends to lovers is a classic slow burn, and it makes for an angsty and deeply affecting read.
Deeply moving and emotional.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781668068489
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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