A wacky yet touching tale about love, truth, and acceptance.
A down-and-out writer lands a gig ghostwriting a celebrity’s memoir—only to discover he’s writing for an actual ghost.
Adam Gallagher’s career is, for lack of a better word, dying. A decade after publishing Salt Lake City Sodomite, the bestselling recount of his Mormon upbringing and public excommunication, Adam hasn’t written anything nearly as successful. Paul, his agent, has barely spoken to him in ages when he invites him out to a swanky steak dinner to tell him that Roland Rogers has personally requested him to write his coming-out story. Roland is a household name, a modern-day Cary Grant who stars as Crag Dynamite in a popular action movie franchise. After decades in the limelight as a charming bachelor, Roland is ready to speak his truth: He’s gay. Who better to write his story than his favorite author, who publicly came out all those years ago? After getting all the details from Paul, Adam sets out to spend a month at Roland’s Malibu mansion and transcribe the superstar’s story, as requested, by hand. But when Adam arrives at the celebrity’s doorstep, there’s just one tiny little hiccup: Roland is dead. After having suffered an accident on a solo backcountry skiing trip, Roland’s body remains buried under mountains of snow, but his spirit haunts his California mansion through various electrical appliances. With Adam’s help, he plans to use his book to come out before news spreads of his death. After the initial shock of meeting a ghost, Adam is prepared to fulfill Roland’s dying wish—his own career depends on it. As weeks pass, Adam and Roland develop a connection neither has felt, alive or dead, but Adam can’t help but wonder…Why now? Allen’s supernatural tale is eccentric, funny, and pleasantly peculiar. Adam and Roland are unconventional protagonists: two middle-aged men, one wildly famous and the other comically downtrodden, both searching for a sense of self. Allen offers readers an unlikely romance, sprinkled with lust, regret, humor, and even paranormal activity, and somehow it absolutely works.
A wacky yet touching tale about love, truth, and acceptance.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9781638931539
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Zando
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
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
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