An entertaining romance; the voice and writing will definitely keep the pages turning.
In this novel, a woman attempts to maintain a relationship and her career when her new boss turns out to be a former lover.
Jane Mercer has it all. Having worked her way up from receptionist, Jane is vice president at Warren Mitchell advertising agency, a company on the verge of an IPO, which could prove very lucrative for her. On the personal side, she has found the love of her life, Derek Lowell, a professional violinist. Derek’s main flaw seems to be his inability to handle Jane’s previous affair with rich, handsome, and married Craig Keller, owner of Keller Whitman Group, a competitor in the ad industry. Though the affair happened long before the couple got together, the thought of Jane sleeping with a married man is problematic for Derek. A chance meeting with Craig and the very public spectacle of the entrepreneur’s impending divorce have Derek on edge. Meanwhile, Jane starts questioning if she still has feelings for Craig, despite the humiliation of knowing she was just one of hundreds he seduced. As Craig begins to toy with Jane, alluding to the potential of a relationship redo, the very real issue of his company absorbing hers plays out, making him her new boss. Jane finds herself in the precarious position of trying to keep her job and resist his seductive charms. Royce has crafted a relatable story of a past relationship coming back to haunt and possibly threaten the new one, a conundrum many readers will no doubt have found themselves in a time or two. Though Jane does lie to preserve her relationship, one might excuse her decision, given her past is being unfairly held against her. Still, it’s not the main character’s deceit that raises flags, but the author’s characterization of Craig as a gorgeous, “dastardly” womanizer when he’s actually a narcissistic predator, preying on Jane’s inability to resist his toxic charms. Character depiction aside, Royce does a great job of developing the plot, culminating in a satisfying conclusion
An entertaining romance; the voice and writing will definitely keep the pages turning.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-951130-40-4
Page Count: 274
Publisher: Dagmar Miura
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.
Childhood friends, almost-sweethearts, a misunderstanding, and a funeral.
Blair Lang and Declan Renshaw were best friends who went on one date before a disagreement and an accident sent them in different directions after high school. Now Blair is back from college to be with her great-aunt Lottie, who’s dying, and to support her single mother in small-town Seabrook, California. Finding a job at a coffee shop puts her in the path of her former boyfriend, since he turns out to be its owner. Can the two get past their mistakes? The novel uses the popular second-chance romance trope, but Pham fails to energize it through interesting characters. Blair’s grief over her great-aunt’s death and her plan to help her mother are overshadowed by internal monologues about her feelings, the way her friends aren’t paying attention to her, and the novel she plans to write. Declan’s distinguishing characteristic, besides being a former high school quarterback, is his skill at building birdhouses. Unsurprisingly, the couple doesn’t have much chemistry; when they embrace, their “bodies meld like…memory foam.” The wooden characters, unusual word choices (“conglomerate of pedestrians,” “litany of plants”), and odd turns of phrase (“tension melting from his eyebrows like butter melting in a warm pan”) are almost enough to obscure the lack of plot development. What passes for stakes is easily defused when Blair comes into an inheritance that saves her from working as a consultant at Ernst & Young in New York—so she can write a romance novel.
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781668095188
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
Two hot people confronting their trauma, making passionate love, and solving violent crimes! ’Nuff said.
A heartbroken man lusts after his therapist while seeking revenge on a drug kingpin and his enforcer.
Mitch Haskell’s wife, Angela, died two years ago of an apparent suicide, but Mitch has always believed the scene was staged. Certainly, she would never have willingly left their young son, Andrew, behind. Consumed with a thirst for vengeance, Mitch—a former Marine and undercover agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration and currently a police detective—is struggling with alcohol dependency and uncontrolled rage. Andrew is living with his in-laws, who are making not-so-subtle suggestions that they might apply for permanent guardianship if Mitch can’t get it together. So his boss and best friend, John Bowie, mandates that he go into therapy, which puts him in the path of sexy Dr. Dylan Reede. Within a few days, Mitch makes a connection between two new murders and the death of his former partner; finds a big clue that points to the truth about Angela’s death; goes undercover as a homeless man; takes on a vicious drug cartel; and obnoxiously bullies Dylan with a charm offensive that leads them inevitably to bed. While Mitch seems to lean into the stereotype of the ex-soldier/cop with deeply buried trauma who believes that the ends justify the means—at least in law enforcement—Dylan offers the strength and sweetness to help him start breaking down his walls, allowing herself to be vulnerable in turn. Is passionate sex enough to ground a relationship and a family for the long term? For these characters, and the breakneck speed of this thriller, it’s as good a foundation as any.
Two hot people confronting their trauma, making passionate love, and solving violent crimes! ’Nuff said.Pub Date: March 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781538743027
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
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