FALLING AWAKE

For the fans.

Extreme dreams.

More formula fiction from the bestselling Krentz (Truth or Dare, 2004, etc), this featuring an undercover op in sexy sunglasses and a beautiful dreamer with a bad-tempered cat. When his former colleague turns up dead, Ellis Cutler just has to take off those “obsidian-tinted” shades and check out the Belvedere Center for Sleep Research—not to mention Isabel Wright, a researcher of Level 5 Lucid Dreaming. Seems like there could be a connection to Frey-Salter, the corporate front for the hush-hush government agency where he and Katherine Ralston used to work. Ellis’s intuition (never mind clues, never mind evidence) tells him that his quarry, bad guy Vincent Scargill, killed Katherine. Ellis, however, doesn’t understand why he didn’t see it coming. He’s a Level 5 Lucid Dreamer himself, and it seems that Isabel is too. In fact, she’s been hanging around inside his subconscious for quite a while, under an assumed name (Tango Dancer). Isabel, a former phone psychic, has finally, with no apparent qualifications whatsoever, obtained “a professional-level position with excellent salary and benefits” plus a lackluster alternative love interest in Ken Payne, fellow researcher. Should she risk all that for a sexy loner like Ellis? Hell, yes. This is a Jayne Ann Krentz novel. So, back to the plot: Isabel fills Cutler in on the dark doings that have shadowed Belvedere research. Is Dr. Maureen Sage really someone else who used to work at Frey-Salter, and why haven’t any of these supposedly psychic characters recognized her? Are the villains trying to get their hands on a top-secret drug that intensifies dreaming? Better pop a No-Doz, because this ho-hum thriller is padded with a lot of tedious analysis of dreams, tarted up in pseudo-shrinkese. What is the significance of the red tsunami? And how about that rollercoaster? What does it all mean?

For the fans.

Pub Date: Nov. 22, 2004

ISBN: 0-399-15222-9

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Putnam

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2004

Awards & Accolades

Likes

  • Readers Vote
  • 338


Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT


  • New York Times Bestseller


  • IndieBound Bestseller

IT ENDS WITH US

Packed with riveting drama and painful truths, this book powerfully illustrates the devastation of abuse—and the strength of...

Awards & Accolades

Likes

  • Readers Vote
  • 338


Our Verdict

  • Our Verdict
  • GET IT


  • New York Times Bestseller


  • IndieBound Bestseller

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

LOVE AND OTHER WORDS

With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.

Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.

Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.

With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.

Pub Date: April 10, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018

Close Quickview