Long’s debut rom-com is a funny, feel-good adventure you won’t want to miss.
When a recently divorced Seattle woman tries her hand at pickleball, it kicks off a summers’ worth of shenanigans, self-help, and steamy romance.
Just six months past her divorce, Meg Bloomberg decides to channel her self-pity in a different, more useful direction: playing pickleball. Actually, her friend Annie Yoon cajoled her into it, but after just a few volleys Meg can’t help but admit that playing pickleball is kind of fun. Meg joins Annie’s Lakeview pickleball league, which boasts a crew of charmingly kooky characters, including a guy known as Reflux Dave, a smack-talking bird-watcher named Jeannie, and the wise, grandfatherly Rooster. But just as Meg’s pickleball love story is beginning, her local court is threatened by environmental do-gooders—and they’re led by not just any earth-friendly consultant, but one specific environmentalist Meg hooked up with a few weeks back. Ethan Fine wants to transform the pickleball court back to its original wetlands state, but that won’t happen if the league has any say in the matter. Meg enters the beginners’ Picklesmash Tournament hoping to use the prize money to save her court, and heads to nearby Bainbridge Island, the birthplace of pickleball, to practice and clear her head of any Ethan Fine distractions. But of course, she runs into the man almost everywhere she goes on the island. She learns that not only is Ethan conspiring to destroy her court, but he’s also competing against her team in the tournament. Can Meg get her groove back and save the Lakeview league while secretly sleeping with the enemy? Long’s sporty romcom is a joyful, slapstick journey about a 30-something woman desperate to reconnect with her true self, full of insight, friendship, and hijinks. Readers will root for Meg’s victory as she volleys for Ethan’s heart, the Golden Pickledrop, and her happily-ever-after.
Long’s debut rom-com is a funny, feel-good adventure you won’t want to miss.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9780593642238
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: today
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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