A compelling tale of two ultimately resilient people learning to let go of fear in favor of love.
A true-crime obsessive tries to let down her guard with the grumpy next-door neighbor who secretly has his own emotional demons to face.
Bubbly, lively Andi Lockley has always harbored a deep love for horror and true crime, and as a podcaster and writer, she can dive into these subjects head-on as a means of confronting her own anxieties about the world—as well as the very real trauma from her past that occasionally rears its ugly head. But she often wonders whether her obsession with scary subjects has left her too afraid to be truly vulnerable with anyone, especially when it comes to potential romance. A chance meeting with her gruff neighbor, however, leaves the door open for the possibility of something that could free her from the fear that's been holding her back. Former firefighter Hill Dawson has been struggling to find a new purpose in life after an accident in the field caused him to lose part of his leg. It doesn't help that his former fiancee cheated on him with his best friend right when he needed her most, and when he meets Andi, the girl next door, he's head over heels from the beginning. There are a lot of factors conspiring against them, though—their age difference, for one, which is less than 10 years but which Hill thinks is too large, not to mention their shared reluctance to get involved too seriously. While they decide to take things one day at a time, it turns out that there are deeper emotions at play, and both Andi and Hill will need to come to grips with the fact that a fun, friendly arrangement that may have started out as casual might be more serious than they had planned for. Loren has an enduring ability to navigate heavier subjects within an engrossing love story, and although a subplot involving an internet stalker climaxes in a manner that feels somewhat out of step with the rest of the book, the themes of PTSD and anxiety, as well as the hero's disability, are handled with thoughtfulness and care.
A compelling tale of two ultimately resilient people learning to let go of fear in favor of love.Pub Date: July 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4926-9325-3
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
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
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.
Two people with bad luck in relationships find each other through a popular Reddit thread.
Emma Grant and her best friend, Maddy, are travel nurses, working at hospitals for three-month stints while they see the country. Just a few weeks before they’re set to move to Hawaii, Emma reads a popular “Am I the Asshole” Reddit thread from a Minnesota man who thinks he’s cursed—women he dates find their soulmates after breaking up with him, and the latest one found true love with his best friend! Emma has had a similar experience, which inspires her to DM the man and commiserate. She’s delighted by her witty, lively interactions with software engineer Justin Dahl, and is intrigued when he suggests that if they date each other, maybe they’ll each find their soulmate afterward. Emma upends the Hawaii plan and convinces Maddy to move to Minneapolis for the summer so she can meet Justin in person. The overly complex setup brings Emma and Justin together and the two hit it off, with Justin immediately falling head over heels for Emma. Jimenez then pivots to creating romantic roadblocks and melodramatic subplots centering on each character’s family of origin. Justin’s mother is about to serve six years in prison for embezzlement, which means Justin must move back home to care for his three much younger siblings. Emma was traumatized by her own mother for much of her childhood, left to fend for herself and eventually abandoned in the foster system. When her mother shows up in Minnesota, Emma must face her traumatic childhood and admit that she has prioritized her mother’s well-being over her own. There is little time devoted to Emma’s painful efforts to heal herself enough to accept Justin’s love, which leaves the novel feeling unsatisfying.
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781538704431
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
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