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
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
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...
Hoover’s (November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.
At first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers; Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. Lily swears she’ll never end up in another abusive home, but when Ryle starts to show all the same warning signs that her mother ignored, Lily learns just how hard it is to say goodbye. When Ryle is not in the throes of a jealous rage, his redeeming qualities return, and Lily can justify his behavior: “I think we needed what happened on the stairwell to happen so that I would know his past and we’d be able to work on it together,” she tells herself. Lily marries Ryle hoping the good will outweigh the bad, and the mother-daughter dynamics evolve beautifully as Lily reflects on her childhood with fresh eyes. Diary entries fancifully addressed to TV host Ellen DeGeneres serve as flashbacks to Lily’s teenage years, when she met her first love, Atlas Corrigan, a homeless boy she found squatting in a neighbor’s house. When Atlas turns up in Boston, now a successful chef, he begs Lily to leave Ryle. Despite the better option right in front of her, an unexpected complication forces Lily to cut ties with Atlas, confront Ryle, and try to end the cycle of abuse before it’s too late. The relationships are portrayed with compassion and honesty, and the author’s note at the end that explains Hoover’s personal connection to the subject matter is a must-read.
Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of the survivors.Pub Date: Aug. 2, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-1036-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2016
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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