An overstuffed plot tempers this passionate romance.
Romeo and Juliet gets a fresh retelling through two rival San Antonio families and their dueling mariachi bands.
Mariana Capuleta is ready to put her career into high gear. She’s busy enough as an emergency room nurse, but she wants to transition to a physician's assistant program. She also plays in an all-female mariachi band with her sisters to raise money for her family’s community center. When the center is damaged and a balloon payment comes due, the Capuletas need a lot of cash, and fast. Mariana believes their solution lies in winning the local battle of the bands, which is offering a $50,000 prize. Also competing in the battle is Los Reyes, the reigning champion, which happens to be led by the Capuletas’ archrivals, the Montero family. The Capuletas and Monteros had a disastrous falling-out over the gentrification of the neighborhood—a rather big obstacle to overcome that doesn’t feel completely resolved by the end. Mariana is shocked to learn that the Monteros’ mariachi band is led by Angelo, the mysterious man she shared a sizzling New Year’s Eve kiss with earlier that year. As in many Oliveras romances, the cast consists of large and lively families, but this time they have more Shakespearean flair. Those familiar with the Bard will pick up on the little plot-related easter eggs Oliveras drops in, perhaps as harbingers of future books. There’s a lot going on with both the main characters, however, including their romance and the issues that plague their respective families. The narrative is stretched thin, and readers may find themselves wanting to simply spend more time with Mariana and Angelo without all the background noise.
An overstuffed plot tempers this passionate romance.Pub Date: June 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-3123-3
Page Count: 332
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2022
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
Slow and plodding.
A young woman with a magical ability to harness light discovers she is royalty.
Talasyn is a foot soldier for her homeland of Sardovia, which has been under attack for the past decade by the powerful and evil Night Empire, a conflict known as the Hurricane Wars. Talasyn is an orphan with no knowledge of her family, but she assumes they might be the source of her rare, magical Lightweaving talent. During a battle with the forces of the Night Empire, Talasyn spars with Prince Alaric, a fierce warrior who is the son and heir to the Night Emperor. Talasyn is sent on a covert mission into Nenavar, a nearby matriarchy that has remained neutral during the Hurricane Wars, to try to access a Light Sever which could hone and refine her magic. Instead, she discovers she is the heir to their royal throne; she and her mother, now presumed dead, disappeared under mysterious circumstances when she was a year old. Alaric follows her into Nenavar, and they discover his magical ability to cast darkness and shadows produces shocking results when mixed with her Lightweaving. A few weeks later, the Night Empire defeats Sardovia and ends the Hurricane Wars, and the novel transitions to a tedious, slow-moving story of court intrigue and diplomacy. A group of Sardovian soldiers and refugees seek asylum in Nenavar, but Talasyn’s grandmother agrees to protect them only if Talasyn agrees to join the royal court and marry Alaric. The politics surrounding the impending wedding is the primary plot for the rest of the novel, and it’s a slog. The glacially slow pacing only serves to highlight the confusing world building and underdeveloped characters. It’s unclear why Alaric and Talasyn are attracted to each other, and their tentative romance is just as stuck in a rut as the plot.
Slow and plodding.Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2023
ISBN: 9780063277274
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
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