The stars align in this charming queer rom-com.
Two wildly different women fall in love while fake dating.
Elle Jones is on her way to a blind date with Darcy Lowell, and disaster seems imminent. Not only is this the latest in a string of dating disappointments, but she’s running late and wearing a pair of sexy undies so uncomfortable she can “practically taste her spring-fresh laundry detergent.” Despite Elle’s best intentions, the evening is, in fact, horrible. Where free-spirited astrologer Elle is endearingly optimistic, straight-laced actuary Darcy is harshly realistic. Elle loves cheap boxed wine; Darcy orders a $56 glass of Chardonnay. Elle believes in soul mates and is determined to find her own; Darcy had her heart broken by her ex-fiancee and is no longer interested in falling in love. Elle writes the night off as another loss, but Darcy has different plans. Tired of having her brother, Brandon—who's the creator of a dating app that's collaborating with Elle’s astrology business, Oh My Stars—meddling in her love life, she lies and says the two hit it off. When Darcy asks her to go along with the lie, it turns out that Elle has her own reasons to take part in a fake dating scheme: Her family finds her lifestyle unstable and unsuitable, and she thinks presenting herself in a solid relationship might take some of the pressure off. The plot doesn’t deviate much from other fake-dating favorites—awkward first dates lead to passionate first kisses and time spent together reveals there is more to both women than meets the eye. But the plot’s predictability doesn’t detract from its two compelling leading ladies, and there are interesting conversations around nontraditional career paths and breaking away from familial expectations. Fans of pop culture–inspired astrology sites will love the effortless and entertaining way the author weaves zodiac memes throughout the text.
The stars align in this charming queer rom-com.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-300080-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 18, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
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
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
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