An enjoyable romance from a Regency fan favorite.
A con artist meets his match with a gambler in disguise.
Honoria Hartley never wants to marry or have children, and she’s found a clever way to avoid it. Her grandmother betrothed her long ago to Viscount Vandemere, and since no one has ever met the man, she’s spent years “clinging to the betrothal contract like a shield,” sending herself letters in which "Vandemere" always has an excuse for why he can’t yet marry her. As she’s exempted herself from the marriage mart, she’s freed up considerable time to do things like disguise herself as Signor Cesario, giving herself the freedom to live as a man and especially to gamble. She’s wearing her Cesario drag the first time she meets ruthless gambler Oscar Flint, and after she wins a large pot he was counting on, he becomes the first person to realize she’s wearing a disguise; only a well-timed kiss allows her to slip away. One year later, he gets his revenge. Honoria is comfortably at home in her normal attire when Oscar reappears, and this time he’s the one in disguise—as her fiance. Flint moves into the Vandemere home and openly courts Honoria, and as their attraction is obvious, both are secretly happy to goad the other. But there’s a good reason Flint escaped to the country to act as Vandemere, and it may put all of them in danger. In the second book in her Liar’s Club series, Lorret turns her attention to the middle Hartley sister. As usual, her writing sparkles, and it’s a delight that Honoria and Oscar can admit their attraction early on, providing for many witty exchanges (and a few spicy ones as well). The plot, however, droops a bit under unnecessary complexity—it’s tempting to think of that as a nod to Shakespeare, given the Hartley family’s theatrical leanings, but it doesn’t quite hold together. Still, the emotional depths of both Honoria and Oscar, the quasi-enemies-to-lovers chemistry between the two, and the charms of the Hartley family provide more than enough reasons for readers to roll the dice on this one.
An enjoyable romance from a Regency fan favorite.Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9780063352476
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
SEEN & HEARD
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