A soul-searching, second-chance romance for readers who love a strong female lead.
A personal chef crosses paths with a past lover after her life takes an unexpected turn in Bouchard’s romance novel.
Devon Paige has made a grave misstep: She was caught mid-kiss with Bentley Preston, husband of her employer Julianna. Devon has worked hard to build up her clientele as a personal chef in Boston, but Julianna Preston is quick to get the word out, and soon Devon is fired from all her contracts but one. At loose ends, she accepts a job offer as dining services director at the Rockwood boarding school in New Hampshire, desperate to get away from all the attention. When Devon arrives in New Hampshire, there is a surprise waiting for her: a blast from the past in the form of history and government teacher (and soccer coach) Kyle Holling. Back in 2007, Devon spent one romantic night with Kyle, then never saw him again. Kyle is now divorced and available, and their attraction has not gone away. Bouchard’s romance trundles along at a good speed. In the course of the story, the author touches on questions of whether there is ever room for second chances in romance and what to do when life throws you a curveball. Devon is entirely relatable in the position in which she has found herself, if not necessarily for how she got there. While her chemistry with a paramedic called Heath seems anything but natural—it’s a placeholder romance from the start—her big-sisterly relationship with basketball player David Anders, who remains her only client after her initial indiscretion, is a welcome side plot that shows the caring nature of her character. The glimpse into the world of boarding-school gossip is also fun (Devon observes, “Apparently, I had fled one scandal-ridden situation for another one”), avoiding predictable tropes about going from the big city to a small town. Bouchard does not settle for a one-dimensional story, and the romance fares better because of it.
A soul-searching, second-chance romance for readers who love a strong female lead.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2025
ISBN: 9781685135522
Page Count: 258
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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