Opposites attract in this engaging but uneven romance.
In this novel, a marriage that begins as a business transaction—a ploy to benefit each party’s professional endeavors—turns into something much more complex and a whole lot kinkier.
Miles Ravage has a terrible reputation in business, thanks to his dishonest father. As Miles loses clients, suffering the consequences of his father’s repeated swindling, his family hatches a plan. If handsome, rakish Miles marries a true do-gooder, such as beloved high-profile philanthropist Stella Deveraux, the move could revitalize his image among his wealthy clientele. Stella is seeking to launch her new fashion business, but she lacks the personal capital to do so. Miles and his father offer Stella $1 million in seed money to enter a sham marriage for a period of one year. Initially offended, she eventually caves to financial temptation. After a quickie marriage at the local courthouse, Stella begins to accept that she feels a strong attraction to her new husband, despite his perpetually standoffish manner and the many secrets he’s clearly keeping from her (“How is it that he always looks so put together?”). The physical attraction is mutual, and the couple quickly find themselves in sexual situations they can’t seem to resist, full of unexpected spice and shared fetishes. As they get to know each other physically, Stella wonders whether Miles will ever let her in emotionally. Told in the first person throughout, Richardson’s romance shifts between Miles’ and Stella’s perspectives as they attempt to navigate their unusual relationship. Unfortunately, after they surrender to physical attraction, the story becomes clogged with sex scenes that stall the plot’s advancement. While some readers will view the graphic sex as highly erotic, others may find the adventurousness and frequency a bit over the top. The novel does touch on some weightier issues, including self-acceptance, grief, and second chances. But these intriguing elements are often eclipsed by the tale’s excessive sexual content. Still, the fast-paced dialogue is entertaining. And despite the flimsy backstory holding together this marriage of convenience, readers seeking a dark, steamy romance will likely be satisfied by Miles’ brooding nature and physical prowess.
Opposites attract in this engaging but uneven romance.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2023
ISBN: 9781739436322
Page Count: 438
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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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