A weak romance but an interesting family drama.
After a heartbreak, a woman visits family in Indiana to reevaluate her life and maybe even find new love.
Wren’s fiance has fallen in love with someone else and breaks up with her mere months before the wedding. Their English village, once quaint and comfortable, is now much too small for the both of them. On her mother’s suggestion, Wren decides to fly out and spend the summer with her father, stepmother, and newly married half sister on their Indiana farm. Things are slightly tense, as Wren has never been completely at ease with her father since he left her and her mother for this new family when she was young, but maybe time together will begin to strengthen a weak connection. She also keeps running into Anders, the younger son of the farm next door, who’s visiting from Indianapolis and still reeling from losing his wife four years earlier. The two are drawn to each other despite both of their hesitations, but a secret Anders is keeping threatens their newfound affection. Toon has constructed a very cozy, lived-in world of Indiana farms that's comforting both for Wren and the reader. The tangled web of relations in Wren’s family and her journey to begin to heal some of the wounds of her childhood are the strongest parts of the novel, messy but real. Wren and Anders’ relationship is a bit rushed; it feels more superficial when juxtaposed against Wren’s complicated, realistic family relationships. Some plot threads go nowhere, and others appear out of thin air. Anders’ big secret doesn’t come into the story until two-thirds of the way through, complicating things but without much time for characters to explore or truly reflect on it.
A weak romance but an interesting family drama.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9780593544334
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Feb. 7, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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BOOK REVIEW
This captivating, deeply emotional, and incredibly sexy romance is a balm for the soul.
A blossoming romance infringes on a successful businesswoman's professional aspirations, making her reevaluate her priorities.
At an exclusive party, talent manager Hendrix Barry has an instant connection with billionaire tech mogul Maverick Bell. When he learns that she’s navigating her mother’s Alzheimer's diagnosis, he relates to what she’s going through, having had similar experiences with his grandfather. Maverick makes Hendrix feel seen and understood like no one else, but he’s the recent ex-boyfriend of a woman Hendrix is going into business with as she works toward her goal of executive producing a television show. She tries to set boundaries that would keep him as a friend despite their obvious mutual attraction, but when he expresses interest in her venture capital fund focusing on Black women–led businesses, it leads to spending more time together, and the lines of friendship, business, and pleasure become tangled and blurred. Ryan excels at crafting thoughtful, mature characters who have to manage complicated situations with care and grace. Maverick’s dogged pursuit of Hendrix and the delicious ways he woos her using his wealth and persistence frame him as a determined, headstrong hero. Paired with a weaker heroine, he could have been overbearing, but Hendrix is his perfect match, equally as strong-willed and tenacious. They bring out each other’s softer, more vulnerable sides as well, and both have compassionate hearts. The spicy romance is the core of this satisfying story, but the novel doesn’t shy away from—and is made richer for the inclusion of—hardships like caring for an aging parent and confronting racism in the world of business. The tale also highlights the importance of community and the value of supportive, platonic love through the wonderful cast of side characters.
This captivating, deeply emotional, and incredibly sexy romance is a balm for the soul.Pub Date: May 13, 2025
ISBN: 9781538706855
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: yesterday
Uneven but fitfully amusing.
Betrayed by her husband, a severely depressed young woman gets drawn into the over-the-top festivities at a lavish wedding.
Phoebe Stone, who teaches English literature at a St. Louis college, is plotting her own demise. Her husband, Matt, has left her for another woman, and Phoebe is taking it hard. Indeed, she's determined just where and how she will end it all: at an oceanfront hotel in Newport, where she will lie on a king-sized canopy bed and take a bottle of her cat’s painkillers. At the hotel, Phoebe meets bride-to-be Lila, a headstrong rich girl presiding over her own extravagant six-day wedding celebration. Lila thought she had booked every room in the hotel, and learning of Phoebe's suicidal intentions, she forbids this stray guest from disrupting the nuptials: “No. You definitely can’t kill yourself. This is my wedding week.” After the punchy opening, a grim flashback to the meltdown of Phoebe's marriage temporarily darkens the mood, but things pick up when spoiled Lila interrupts Phoebe's preparations and sweeps her up in the wedding juggernaut. The slide from earnest drama to broad farce is somewhat jarring, but from this point on, Espach crafts an enjoyable—if overstuffed—comedy of manners. When the original maid of honor drops out, Phoebe is persuaded, against her better judgment, to take her place. There’s some fun to be had here: The wedding party—including groom-to-be Gary, a widower, and his 11-year-old daughter—takes surfing lessons; the women in the group have a session with a Sex Woman. But it all goes on too long, and the humor can seem forced, reaching a low point when someone has sex with the vintage wedding car (you don’t want to know the details). Later, when two characters have a meet-cute in a hot tub, readers will guess exactly how the marriage plot resolves.
Uneven but fitfully amusing.Pub Date: July 30, 2024
ISBN: 9781250899576
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2024
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BOOK REVIEW
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