A twisty time-bending saga with an appealing lead and secondary characters.
The fates of a “virgin-geek” relationship advice columnist and the sexy ghost in her new apartment become intertwined in Ready’s contemporary paranormal romance novel.
Jillian Nejat, 27, moves into the NYC studio apartment that she has rented sight unseen. The place has mirrors everywhere, leading her to muse, “If I’d known my new apartment was a sex maniac’s love den, I would never have invited my parents along.” Jillian has “a terminal inability to speak to men,” which starts to change when a handsome ghost named Daniel, with whom she becomes comfortable talking to, appears in the apartment. Jillian visits a psychic, who senses Daniel’s energy (only Jillian can see him) and suggests that unfinished business is preventing his spirit from moving on. Daniel proceeds to assist Jillian, who rather ironically writes an advice column on love, dating, sex, and marriage for The Daily Exposé, in fielding romance queries and improving her columns. Then he disappears just as a decent dating prospect arises. Jillian is heartbroken, since she and Daniel were mutually attracted and had even progressed to paranormal-type sex. Weeks later, Jillian is overjoyed to see Daniel, alive and corporeal, at the Met. She rushes into his arms, but he doesn’t know her. She becomes convinced that time bending is at play and that she must save Daniel from dying to prevent him from becoming a ghost in the future. Daniel, who runs a Geneva-based watch company with his sister, is wary at first but eventually won over by Jillian’s persistence and charm. By novel’s end, the couple experience life-threatening dangers as well as—finally, and joyfully—true physical communion. A “second epilogue” offers further details about how Daniel got connected to Jillian.
Ready brings her trademark blend of lively tone, amusing details, heart-tugging romance, and adept plotting to this paranormal tale. Jillian transcends the clichéd, Cinderella-type innocent by also being funny (“If they’re living, if they’re breathing, it’s game over”) and an insightful SF fan (her Starfleet necklace turns out to be a significant accessory). Her fellow-geek best friend Serena, a particle physicist based (conveniently) in Geneva, serves as an explainer (of sorts) for the novel’s time-jumping construction. There’s an artful and enjoyable presentation of Jillian’s array of colleagues at The Daily Exposé, including a satisfying romance subplot and touching support for Jillian from the motley and usually warring crew by novel’s end. Daniel also hides depths beneath his obvious gifts of attractiveness and wealth. The narrative’s time-leaping logic is a bit challenging to follow, with a second epilogue further confusing and complicating matters. Still, Ready’s skill in maintaining the reader’s engagement with her plot and characters ultimately supersedes such concerns. “Daniel died, reached the Planck energy and then traveled through time and space to reach you,” Serena notes at one point in the narrative. “Why? How? We don’t know. But if logic only takes you so far, then what your heart is telling you must take you the rest of the way.”
A twisty time-bending saga with an appealing lead and secondary characters.Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781954007611
Page Count: 490
Publisher: W.W. Crown
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
SEEN & HEARD
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
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