A striking sci-fi adventure.
A convincing sci-fi thriller about a pair of modern-day scientists who discover an ancient Chinese colony in the jungles of South America.
In Canter’s (The Bastard, 2012) fast-paced thriller, Mason Drake and Tree Summerwood—longtime friends, former lovers and fellow scientists—have their work cut out for them. As they study the biodiversity of the Amazon rain forest, their work is dramatically interrupted when they become the only survivors of a helicopter crash on one of the 3,000-foot tepuis that form the jungle’s remote highlands, where “only the deep trenches of the world's oceans had seen fewer humans.” It’s not long before they discover evidence of a long-lost colony founded by the 15th-century Chinese explorer Zheng-He, “the Magellan of China.” The colony has become a thriving, hidden civilization composed entirely of women, ruled over by a forbidding empress. Mason and Tree meet the exotic Hsiang K’un-Chien (“Perfume of Earth-Heaven”), who possesses a remarkable physical ability that allows her to get to know both Drake and Summerwood, which gives the book’s second half an unexpected, deftly written erotic charge. In search of their missing mission colleagues, the pair must negotiate both their feelings for each other (Mason, scarred by his recent past, is wary of Tree’s feelings for him) and the strange ways of K’un-Chien’s people. Canter expertly sharpens his narrative with humor and action; vicious piranhas, a clutch of menacing Komodo dragons, swarms of killer bees and weirdly intelligent monkeys are only some of the oddities Mason and Tree encounter as the plot builds momentum. They’re also caught in a sexual power struggle among the hidden tribe, and when they prepare themselves to escape, the book’s tempo increases even further. Canter masterfully allows the scientific exposition to flow naturally in the narrative; like books from Michael Crichton and James Rollins, the story is both informative and exciting. Fortunately, the bit of clichéd dialogue is more than countered by thought-provoking digressions into the sources of sexuality and sexual fidelity, all while suspense holds until the very last page.
A striking sci-fi adventure.Pub Date: Dec. 24, 2012
ISBN: 978-1481074315
Page Count: 380
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: March 21, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
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