A formulaic but engaging story about how one family handles summer love.
A single mother and her adult children reconnect with each other and explore complicated romantic situations during one eventful summer on Nantucket.
Lisa Hawley has been living on Nantucket year-round for decades, since long before her husband left her for another woman. She raised her children on her own, opened a successful women’s clothing shop, kept a warm home, and swore off dating. Now that her kids are grown and flown, she finally has time to focus on the physical deterioration her house has suffered over the years. When the local restoration expert, Mack Whitney, walks into her home to inspect it, sparks fly. There’s only one problem: He’s 10 years younger than Lisa. Even so, Mack convinces her to go to dinner with him, and their chemistry can’t be denied. It can, however, be interrupted: first by the arrival of Lisa’s daughter, Juliet, who’s come home to nurse a broken heart, and then by Lisa’s son, Theo, who’s returned home to recuperate after a surfing accident in California. As Lisa's children consider their mother’s budding relationship, they too discover love interests on the island. First Juliet is enticed by a newcomer and then Theo learns his high school crush is back home. Crazier still, the young woman is Mack’s daughter. Can Lisa’s relationship with Mack move forward without destroying her son’s chance at happiness? As the chapters alternate among Lisa's, Juliet's, and Theo’s perspectives, the author deftly builds each of the characters’ complex personalities by showing them through the eyes of others. A central concern of the story is the preservation of Nantucket as a sanctuary for both people and wildlife, and it's full of information about the island's weather, topography, and landmarks. Although the romantic relationships develop at a fast, and perhaps unrealistic, clip, the sentiments described are so sweet that readers might forgive the characters their hasty emotions. Told in straightforward prose, the story is both wholesome and hopelessly romantic.
A formulaic but engaging story about how one family handles summer love.Pub Date: May 26, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5247-9875-8
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
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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