Parallel characters and melodramatic tales that prove somber but absorbing.
Two love stories set in different eras collide in this debut novel.
In 1997, American college freshman Karen Mary Williams won’t let anything sidetrack her goal of becoming a doctor. She can have an active social life and still study faithfully. But when Karen gets pregnant, her nerdish “study buddy” and maybe boyfriend, Peter Schmidt, offers to marry her. As the years pass, she concentrates on her new family even if it puts the brakes on her professional drive. Although she loves Peter, Karen may succumb to her sexual desire when reuniting with the rich pre-med student she dated back in college. In a concurrent plot, a woman awakens in an alley in 16th-century Antwerp. As she can’t remember who she is or how she got there, she goes by Mariken, a name courtesy of a kindhearted seamstress she befriends. But Mariken is definitely a physician, a skill she uses to help others. She falls in love with a humble blacksmith and rejects the advances of an arrogant banker. But living in an era when people are executed for heresy, Mariken is one of many women wrongfully accused of and tried for witchcraft. Wiens simplifies his dual plot narrative by focusing on one story at a time before tying them together in the present day. The swiftly paced novel fluidly moves through years with the married couple as well as Mariken’s fraught, centuries-old medical procedures. The tale also features real-life historical figures and events. The book is often grim, with the imprisoned women’s horrid treatment and a minor present-day serial-killer subplot that pays off by the end. The love stories, meanwhile, are enthralling and realistic; for example, Karen and Peter’s mutual fondness doesn’t mean they don’t bicker. While the plot-linking final act satisfies, the author drops enough hints throughout Mariken’s tale that many readers will have already made the connections.
Parallel characters and melodramatic tales that prove somber but absorbing.Pub Date: Sept. 20, 2021
ISBN: 9798987879603
Page Count: 330
Publisher: H.P. Waterhouse Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2021
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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