Strong internal conflict makes for an angsty, emotional romance.
A one-night stand leads to a long-term relationship for a schoolteacher and a hotel owner.
When middle school English teacher Ava Rodriguez finds out that her divorce has been finalized, she’s at a Jersey Shore hotel for an educational conference. Determined to leave her old self behind and embrace “new Ava,” she goes to the bar for a drink and meets the hotel’s handsome owner, Roman Vázquez. Roman’s memories of growing up poor are what propel him to strive for more: In addition to expanding his hotel chain, he owns a rum distillery and is writing a memoir. Flirtatious banter between Ava and Roman leads to a sexy, passionate night together. Ava is determined to keep the interlude just that, but the next time she faces an emotional setback, she contacts Roman and they embark on a discrete, no-strings affair. Since her family was judgmental rather than supportive during her divorce, she’s determined to keep her love life private—even from Jasmine Lin Rodriguez and Michelle Amato, her cousins and closest friends. Then, to her horror, she discovers that Roman is going to be the best man at Jasmine’s upcoming wedding—where she’s going to be the maid of honor. Roman is thrilled to learn about their connection and is determined to take advantage of it, even volunteering to travel to Puerto Rico with Ava to do advance work at the wedding venue. Despite the glamorous settings, the novel is driven by internal turmoil. Ava is wounded not just from the divorce but from some traumatic experiences that have made her feel that she’s never good enough for her family. Roman learns that the quick thinking and problem-solving that make him a successful CEO make Ava feel undermined and overwhelmed. The reveal of their secret relationship is juicy and dramatic, but readers might find it difficult to believe that Ava’s family can heal decades-old hurts so easily.
Strong internal conflict makes for an angsty, emotional romance.Pub Date: May 27, 2025
ISBN: 9780062960009
Page Count: 512
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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
Light on plot and heavy on bolstering traditional gender norms as the ultimate goal for both men and women.
A Seattle woman meets a Chicago businessman as she flies home from a visit to a friend, and her small act of kindness blossoms into more.
Maisy Gallagher is barely making ends meet. With her father’s unexpected death a few years earlier, she dropped out of nursing school to help out in the family’s jewelry store, working with her uncle. Her older brother, Sean, also moved back home so he and Maisy could help their mother and their 10-year-old brother, Patrick. When Maisy offers a ride to a rude businessman who sat next to her on the plane, she’s just operating on the kindness her grandmother instilled in her. That businessman, Chase Furst, turns out to be an incredibly wealthy banker; he’s flown into Seattle to make funeral arrangements for his mother, to whom he hasn’t spoken in years. Sparks fly in this gentle and predictable romance that leans heavily on long-distance and class-divide tropes. As with many of the author’s books, Christianity and the characters’ reliance on God’s will—as they wait and see what happens next—play a large part, as do traditional gender roles where women cook, clean, and only work in paying jobs until they have children at home to take care of. The author does offer a lighter touch when it comes to the painful ways alcoholism can destroy family relationships, with an understanding of the regret that can weigh on every family member.
Light on plot and heavy on bolstering traditional gender norms as the ultimate goal for both men and women.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
ISBN: 9798217091676
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
