Two of a Kind

July 29, 2013
McDonough (A Wedding in Great Neck) crafts a complex romantic tale of two families, skillfully developing multidimensional characters. Widow Christina Connelly desperately needs interior design work to pay for the mortgage on her Brooklyn home and her 14-year-old daughter’s expensive ballet classes. Arrogant widower Dr. Andy Stern, Manhattan’s top ob-gyn, struggles with his 16-year-old son’s moodiness, which is caused by two years of grief and mystical thinking that his mom will come back. Andy hires Christina to redecorate his apartment; she dislikes him at first, but as they get to know each other, Christina comes to admire Andy, and he finds her captivating. McDonough draws strong pictures of N.Y.C., from the glitz to the drug scene, and includes interesting supporting characters, including Andy’s Jewish mother and the gay couple renting the top floor of Christina’s house. Multiple points of view show the complications of dating for parents, the compromise of interfaith romance, and the unforeseen consequences when lives get out of balance. Readers will delight in this layered tale of friendship and love.

September 15, 2013
Christina Connelly knows her life isn't perfect, but it's finally started to feel normal. A decade has passed since her husband died unexpectedly, and she's thrown herself into raising her teenage daughter, Jordan, and developing a successful design business out of her Brooklyn home. She hasn't felt the need to bring a serious romantic partner into her fragile world until she finds herself attracted to a new client, the arrogant yet undeniably appealing Dr. Andy Stern. With teenage children and deceased spouses in common, Christina and Andy manage to blend business with pleasure until things get rocky. Faced with an all-or-nothing decision, Christina and Andy have to determine whether they're willing to risk everything again. Two of a Kind is a modern love story, and McDonough skillfully alternates narrators, with chapters voiced by Christina, Andy, and their teenage children. Combining the disparate problems of teenagers and widowers isn't an easy task, but McDonough's lively, witty prose carries the heavy subject matter easily. Well-paced and emotionally tender without being sappy, this refreshingly nontraditional love story will appeal to fans of Jennifer Close and Elin Hilderbrand.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)