A sweet and passionate love story, once it gets going.
A historical romance in which fate brings two childhood friends back together.
In 1807, 8-year-old Ophelia Darby falls into a river and is washed downstream. She’s saved by Niall, a young boy who jumps in after her and carries her to shore. Unsure of where they are, the children hide out in a small hunting cottage and become best friends before being rescued days later. Ophelia’s the daughter of an earl, and Niall’s a commoner, so they’re quickly separated, but they promise to always remember each other. Fifteen years later, Ophelia finds out that the woman who raised her isn’t her birth mother, and her family is in massive debt. She travels to a dangerous part of London on a search for her biological mother, where a mysterious man named Devlin Byrne offers his protection; the self-made, wealthy gentleman, whose middle name is Niall, recognizes his childhood friend immediately but is hesitant to reveal the truth. He asks friends to accompany her on her quest and even sends her some bank notes to cover her debts. Devlin longs for her to sing to him again, dance with him, and maybe even love him, but society would never allow a noblewoman to marry him. Then again, Ophelia never did do as she was told. In this third book in a series, Reid offers a fast-paced historical romance in which the characters are clearly passionate about not only each other, but also about their own life goals. The initial time skip—from when Devlin first sees Ophelia to months after he meets her again as an adult—gets the romance plotline off to an awkward start, and readers who are unfamiliar with the previous books in the series may find it frustrating that past events, such as a scandal involving Ophelia’s friend Maryann, are merely glossed over. However, newcomers who are willing to stick with the novel will find a fine romance that makes it easy to overlook any shortcomings.
A sweet and passionate love story, once it gets going.Pub Date: Dec. 28, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64063-768-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK TO SCREEN
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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