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
A deep and moving portrayal of first love.
Two college students rekindle their relationship as they unravel the truth behind their breakup.
On the outside, college senior Bennett Reiner has it all. A goalie for Waterfell University’s hockey team, he lives with a group of friends in a luxurious off-campus house. He and his best friend, Rhys Koteskiy, have fathers who are retired hockey legends. But on the inside, he’s falling apart. Struggling with OCD, a shaky friendship with Rhys, and second thoughts about pursuing a future in hockey, the only thing keeping Bennett afloat is also the one thing breaking his heart: Paloma Blake. All dyed-hair and attitude, Paloma has built a bad reputation on the hockey scene since their relationship ended freshman year—but Bennett knows the real P. Underneath her promiscuous facade lies a scared and lonely girl running from a childhood of abuse. When they were together, it seemed like their romance was perfect, until Paloma broke it off without warning. Since then, Bennett has run to Paloma’s side whenever she needed him, whether she was drunk, lonely, or hurting, and now he’s determined to win her back. For Bennett, Paloma is his antidote, the cure for his compulsions; for Paloma, Bennett is her protector, her safe space. And though Paloma yearns to be with Bennett again, she’s not sure she’s willing to open old wounds and reveal the truth about her painful past. In the third installment of the Undone series, Corinne spotlights familiar characters as they navigate trauma, heartbreak, and first love. Bennett and Paloma’s relationship is raw and vulnerable, and their journey of relinquishing control is both necessary and inevitable. Their romance evolves as they open up to one another, and in return, the reader is rewarded with a love story that’s as lyrical, evocative, and emotional as poetry.
A deep and moving portrayal of first love.Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781668219423
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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