Put this one out to pasture. (Inspirational romance. 16-adult)
Her heart problem is the least of the issues standing between Kenzie and love.
Kenzie Caine grew up as the pampered, privileged daughter of a well-known breeder of Tennessee walking horses. When she discovered her father and his trainer were abusing their horses to enhance their performance, Kenzie turned her back on her family—making her feel doubly guilty over the suicide of her younger sister due to bullying. Now, in the summer after her sophomore year of college, she’s working on a horse farm, rehabilitating rescue horses. Despite her heart condition, the result of a childhood bout with Kawasaki disease, she is fit and physically capable. Enter Austin Boyd, kicking off a series of clichéd moments and statements like “Fire from Kenzie was better than ice.” Kenzie struggles to let Austin in, afraid to risk her heart. She has a plan for her life—to become an equine veterinarian, not to fall in love. Yet her feelings for Austin keep growing stronger. Will learning the secrets Austin has been hiding make Kenzie put her walls back up? The trite romantic trappings aren’t helped by stilted prose that contains reams of exposition. Neither Austin nor Kenzie is a distinct character, due in large part to the frequent and clumsy point-of-view shifts. All characters appear to be white and living lives of privilege.
Put this one out to pasture. (Inspirational romance. 16-adult)Pub Date: Dec. 18, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5247-1948-7
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Sept. 1, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2018
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship.
A battered girl and an injured rugby star spark up an ill-advised romance at an Irish secondary school.
Beautiful, waiflike, 15-year-old Shannon has lived her entire life in Ballylaggin. Alternately bullied at school and beaten by her ne’er-do-well father, she’s hopeful for a fresh start at Tommen, a private school. Seventeen-year-old Johnny, who has a hair-trigger temper and a severe groin injury, is used to Dublin’s elite-level rugby but, since his family’s move to County Cork, is now stuck captaining Tommen’s middling team. When Johnny angrily kicks a ball and knocks Shannon unconscious (“a soft female groan came from her lips”), a tentative relationship is born. As the two grow closer, Johnny’s past and Shannon’s present become serious obstacles to their budding love, threatening Shannon’s safety. Shannon’s portrayal feels infantilized (“I looked down at the tiny little female under my arm”), while Johnny comes across as borderline obsessive (“I knew I shouldn’t be touching her, but how the hell could I not?”). Uneven pacing and choppy sentences lead to a sudden climax and an unsatisfyingly abrupt ending. Repetitive descriptions, abundant and misogynistic dialogue (Johnny, to his best friend: “who’s the bitch with a vagina now?”), and graphic violence also weigh down this lengthy tome (considerably trimmed down from its original, self-published length). The cast of lively, well-developed supporting characters, especially Johnny’s best friend and Shannon’s protective older brother, is a bright spot. Major characters read white.
A troubling depiction of an unhealthy relationship. (author’s note, pronunciations, glossary, song moments, playlists) (Romance. 16-18)Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9781728299945
Page Count: 626
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
An unflinching portrayal of the devastating effects of domestic violence.
After a horrific domestic violence incident, Zoey Ward and her family finally find their footing in Las Vegas only to have their lives overturned by a house fire.
Learning that her father has been recently released from prison, Zoey suspects he had something to do with the blaze. After their lives go up in flames, literally, Zoey along with her mom and her younger siblings, Kate and Cole, flee Las Vegas with the help of her older brother, Will, and his best friend, Tristan. They take refuge in California, where Tristan and his sister welcome them into a world where things seem hopeful and more stable than anything they have ever known. Yet the fear of being hunted down by her father consumes Zoey. The story is narrated from Zoey’s and Tristan’s first-person perspectives, and Gray (Run Away With Me, 2017, etc.) has masterfully captured the uncertainty and terror that come from domestic violence. Tristan and Zoey share a budding romance in which Zoey slowly but surely learns to love and be loved in a nondestructive, healthy way despite her fears and reservations. With everything she has been through, Zoey is the underdog readers will find themselves rooting for. Gray spares no detail in this intense tale. All characters are assumed to be white; Tristan is dyslexic, and there are several queer characters.
An unflinching portrayal of the devastating effects of domestic violence. (Fiction. 16-adult)Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4281-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2019
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