Readers will root for Fran to turn her life around in this cozy, accessible novel.
A novelist eschews romance while on a quest for self-discovery in Christie’s series entry.
Several years ago, after dozens of rejections, Fran Carter found an agent and a publisher who loved her manuscript, and Love in the Moonlight became a surprise romance bestseller. Now, after two follow-up novels, which didn’t sell as well as the first, the middle-aged author suffers from writer’s block. It’s difficult for her to tap into the thrill of romance ever since she discovered that her former partner was unfaithful—and he didn’t even stick around to discuss their relationship. A disconsolate Fran leaves her San Francisco home and takes to the road to find some artistic inspiration—looking for “work time, productive writing time, the kind of time that would make my agent and publisher happy and keep my mind off my personal disaster.” She finds an eccentric bed-and-breakfast, the Whale Inn, where she spends a week befriending the owner, connecting with townspeople at local events, and working on her next novel. During the week, she discovers a whole new Fran—one who’s more independent and confident. As she takes more control over her life, she finds the courage to embrace change and conjure a no-nonsense protagonist for her new book: the character is open to romantic love, but also happy and successful on her own. For Fran herself, though, there’s only chaste soul-searching. Overall, Fran’s journey of discovery results in a comforting narrative, featuring a main character whom readers are sure to find relatable. There’s nothing flashy about the prose, but it’s solid and evocative throughout, which makes for a satisfying read. Although the pace is sometimes slow and there’s a relative lack of drama, Fran’s authentic self-realizations manage to propel the story forward. There are scenes that feel clichéd (one section, in which Fran gets a makeover with a new haircut, a more flattering wardrobe, and stylish makeup feels especially familiar), but they could easily be interpreted as knowing winks for genre fans.
Readers will root for Fran to turn her life around in this cozy, accessible novel.Pub Date: May 24, 2024
ISBN: 9798350942248
Page Count: 302
Publisher: BookBaby
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
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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