Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Sweet sapphic romances progress in parallel a century apart in this slow-burn epic from Daughtry (All This Time). Shunned by her parents after using an inheritance to purchase a ramshackle Victorian house rather than funding college, 19-year-old Libby Monroe moves into the property, which has long fascinated her. Also drawn to the residence is student Tish O'Connell, whose frugality and fix-it skills make the house into a home. As sparks fly between the two teens, Libby learns more about the house's former occupant, Elizabeth Post, through a diary she left behind. A privileged 19-year-old in 1925, Elizabeth falls in love with her similarly aged maid Patricia, a recent arrival from Ireland. Though readers learn early on that Elizabeth dies elderly, alone, and sad, the mystery surrounding Patricia's fate ramps up the suspense as the present-day timeline similarly teeters on the edge of heartbreak. While some subplots aren't satisfactorily resolved, vivacious banter and delightful found family narratives contribute to a fully realized cast. The characters in the 1925 timeline are predominantly white and closeted; the present, by contrast, features intersectionally diverse, openly queer protagonists. Ages 12--up. Agent: Liz Parker, Verve Talent & Literary. (May)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Two pairs of girls living a century apart have an otherworldly connection. Elizabeth and Patricia met in 1925, when Patricia came to work as a kitchen girl in 19-year-old Elizabeth's family home on Mulberry Lane. The young women dove headfirst into a blissful romance, despite their class difference and the widespread prejudice against Irish people like Patricia. In 2025, 19-year-old Libby, who's cued white, feels destined to fix up the dilapidated Victorian house on Mulberry Lane, so she buys it with an inheritance from her grandmother. Her reckless purchase--she's solidly middle class, and the money was intended for college--enrages her parents, and her controlling father kicks her out. In a set design class, Libby meets Irish American Tish, who's good with construction and unhappily living in an overcrowded apartment. Tish first noticed the Mulberry Lane house when a green glass stone embedded in the sidewalk sent a shock up her leg; she quickly agrees to help restore it and eventually moves in with Libby. The girls grow closer as they work on the house, and the journals that Elizabeth, who reads white, left behind help Libby unravel the mysteries binding all four girls together. Daughtry introduces multiple timelines, perspectives, and characters from the outset, but the initial investment for readers in keeping these elements straight is well worth it for the enjoyable saga that follows. The author deeply conveys the intensity of the romances in both timelines. A page-turning story about the power of love.(Romance. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
