A page-turning second-chance romance that brings the heat on and off the court.
A single mother joins an impromptu pickleball vacation to Costa Rica, only to discover that her ex-boyfriend is on the very same trip.
Lulu Gardner is a rule follower. As a high school business teacher and single mom to toddler Zoe, the 33-year-old has little time for risk-taking. There was a time when Lulu would sneak out late with her high school boyfriend, Tyler Demming, to play tennis after dark on Washington’s Bainbridge Island. But that was then, before her parents died and she abandoned her dreams of going pro. It’s been years since she last heard from Tyler, since he didn’t show up to her parents’ funeral and later became a pro pickleball star. And while she attributes some of her current prudence to that heartbreak, she doesn’t know if she can ever reclaim her past adventurousness. That is, until an inappropriate speech-to-text incident lands Lulu in hot water at school and she’s suspended. With her job in limbo, Lulu decides to join her godparents on their weeklong Costa Rican pickleball vacation, with Zoe in tow. There, Lulu is presented with the offer of a lifetime: Join a trial pickleball adventure tour through the Costa Rican wilderness for free! Hoping to regain her old spark, Lulu says yes—what could be more fun than pickleball with a sprinkling of zip lining and bat caves? Then a surprise celebrity guest is announced: Tyler Demming. Suddenly, Lulu is thrust into the great unknown with a group of pickleballers and her ex-boyfriend, who’s just as damn charming as she remembers. Can Lulu forgive Tyler for the past and conquer her fears, or will she forever be too afraid to take chances? Long’s second pickleball romance is a score, full of heart, excitement, spice, and shenanigans. Lulu and Tyler aren’t afraid to be vulnerable and their chemistry is undeniable, with just the right amount of a sizzling slow burn. Fans of Pickleballers (2024) will enjoy the perfect mix of sports and romance that proves to be Long’s specialty.
A page-turning second-chance romance that brings the heat on and off the court.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9780593642252
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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