This book can be read on autopilot, as it was likely written, but it does get you there.
When her job drives her bonkers, an overworked 30-something briefly considers the convent.
You didn’t use Zoose? That's the advertising slogan of a successful travel app called Zoose, where Sasha is director of special promotions. But as the title of Kinsella’s latest rom-com suggests, Sasha’s burgeoning inbox, her massive responsibilities, and her evil overlords—Joanne, the “empowerment and well-being officer,” and Asher, the nepotistically chosen department head—have all passed the outer limits of tolerability some time ago. She's so far down she can't even respond to the overtures of the handsome counter man at the takeout place where she buys the exact same dinner every night. She flips out and races to the convent across the street from her flat to sign up, and when they reject her application, runs out of the building and into a literal brick wall. When she wakes up, her mother has arranged for her to take a health and wellness break at a seaside hotel the family used to visit annually in Sasha’s childhood. On the train there, she meets her hot, nasty Mr. Darcy, also a corporate burnout, also a longtime visitor to the area, and an enemies-to-lovers plot clicks into play. It's hard to know the absolute maximum number of rundown hotel jokes and disgusting kale smoothie jokes that would be funny, but this number is definitely exceeded in the pages that follow. When the enemies finally turn into lovers, the obstacle produced to throw them off course one last time is annoyingly familiar and silly. It's not even worth having an obstacle if it's not going to be a little better than this. We had the bang, don't need the whimper.
This book can be read on autopilot, as it was likely written, but it does get you there.Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9780593730393
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Dial Press
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
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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