Magic Hour

By Kristin Hannah
Lexile = ?

Kristin Hannah has really evolved as a writer. Her early books are definitely "women's fiction" or, let's be honest ... romance. (I know romance can be for men, as well....) I would argue that her breakthrough book is The Nightingale, published in 2015. This World War II novel was more widely read and won many awards. I loved it. So, I purchased some more recent Hannah novels for the RHS library. I have already reviewed The Great Alone HERE. The Magic Hour was published in 2006, so it falls more in the "almost romance" category. Here's the plot: two sisters in small-town Washington state, Julia, a child psychiatrist, and the town's police chief, Ellie, try to help an abandoned six-year-old child. It was a bit confusing at the first as Julia's back story is explained.

It's all tied up neatly at the end, however. But getting there made for some compelling reading. I keep Magic Hour in the Realism section of the library, but it is a bit too neat to be REAL realism. However, I read fiction in order to suspend reality, right? Kirkus reviews noted, "Wacky plot keeps the pages turning and enduring schmaltzy romantic sequences." So you know what you are getting into.