Madeline Hunter offers another kind of celebrity hero with The Wicked Duke (Jove paperback, $7.99). In sharing it, Kade reminds us that we are all broken in our own way, and that wounds, public and private, take time, patience and love to heal. Chase’s past, benign in comparison to Amanda’s, nonetheless holds powerful sway over his present. Kade beautifully pivots the story away from Amanda’s past and focuses instead on the courage and strength she’s found in her new life. Chase’s apology turns into a lovely unexpected romance. The plan goes awry when Amanda has a flashback and flees. Meanwhile, Chase’s career is on the downswing, so much so that he’s talked into a misguided publicity stunt - surprising Amanda (who’d mentioned her fascination with him at a post-escape interview) at her workplace. Readers first see her curled up on the floor of her bedroom closet, working up the courage to go to her job at a supermarket. Four years later, Amanda is returned to her childhood home, suffering from PTSD. Amanda Grace was abducted at the age of 15, chained in a dingy basement for 738 days - her only companion a poster of teen heartthrob Chase Henry (think Leonardo DiCaprio circa “Titanic”). In 738 Days (Forge, $27.99), Stacey Kade turns a tale of trauma into a tale of love.
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