An uneven but ultimately enjoyable romance between a woman and a god.
In Whittier’s novel, a divorced woman seeking a fresh start moves into the same building as a god.
Being the sole occupant of a building under construction wasn’t exactly what Clarey McGill had in mind, but anything is better than living under the same roof as her ex-husband and his new girlfriend. And once she gets her consulting business going, retrieves her dog from her ex, and finally gets her furniture delivered, things will be perfect; the Seattle suburb of Kirkland is beautiful, and there’s a great little shop called Goldfarb’s down the street. It’s at this shop that she sees an impossibly beautiful, blond-haired man (“the moment her eyes land on his flawlessly sculpted face, he looks up and locks eyes on her”). His name is Zack, and after Clarey embarrasses herself in front of him seeking diarrhea medication, she hopes never to see him again. But then he shows up at her building, claiming he now lives there. The two keep running into each other and slowly form a relationship, and Zack finally admits the truth: He’s an immortal god, and his presence here on earth is complicated. Narrated by both Clarey and Zack, the story follows the pair as they grow closer and try to deal with their individual problems. Clarey’s issues are relatable—she’s always been a pushover, and she’s uncomfortable in her curvy body. Meanwhile, Zack struggles with the uncertainty of his future and the punishment that has confined him to earth. The story works best when exploring its more fantastical elements; the handful of steamy moments can feel somewhat out of place. Some readers may find the latter half of the narrative mildly cringe-inducing, but the charming relationship between Clarey and Zack makes for an engaging and fun read.
An uneven but ultimately enjoyable romance between a woman and a god.Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2025
ISBN: 9798998880025
Page Count: 346
Publisher: Magical Seattle Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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
A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.
Two struggling authors spend the summer writing and falling in love in a quaint beach town.
January Andrews has just arrived in the small town of North Bear Shores with some serious baggage. Her father has been dead for a year, but she still hasn’t come to terms with what she found out at his funeral—he had been cheating on her mother for years. January plans to spend the summer cleaning out and selling the house her father and “That Woman” lived in together. But she’s also a down-on-her-luck author facing writer’s block, and she no longer believes in the happily-ever-after she’s made the benchmark of her work. Her steadily dwindling bank account, though, is a daily reminder that she must sell her next book, and fast. Serendipitously, she discovers that her new next-door neighbor is Augustus Everett, the darling of the literary fiction set and her former college rival/crush. Gus also happens to be struggling with his next book (and some serious trauma that unfolds throughout the novel). Though the two get off to a rocky start, they soon make a bet: Gus will try to write a romance novel, and January will attempt “bleak literary fiction.” They spend the summer teaching each other the art of their own genres—January takes Gus on a romantic outing to the local carnival; Gus takes January to the burned-down remains of a former cult—and they both process their own grief, loss, and trauma through this experiment. There are more than enough steamy scenes to sustain the slow-burn romance, and smart commentary on the placement and purpose of “women’s fiction” joins with crucial conversations about mental health to add multiple intriguing layers to the plot.
A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0673-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Jove/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK TO SCREEN
PERSPECTIVES
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