Wordplay and romance collide in this charming debut.
Two co-workers with seemingly nothing in common find themselves bonding over Wordle.
Emily Evans has never known what she wants to do with her life. She’d like to find her dream job, something that will pay the bills and allow her to follow her greatest passion—but she doesn’t seem to know what that passion is. In the meantime, she’s making ends meet by working as a receptionist at an auto repair shop, considering a move to the big city while stuck in her small town on Prince Edward Island. The only bright spot in her day is playing the New York Times’ Wordle, on which she currently holds a streak of more than 300 days. Hoping to make it a full year without a single miss, she reaches a point of desperation one day when she finds herself stuck on the answer with only a single guess left. Asking her stoic, introverted coworker John Smith for help is a last resort, and she’s surprised to discover that someone she thought she didn’t have anything in common with is also a regular Wordle player. As Emily bonds with John over their shared hobby, she gradually gets to know the man she previously wrote off as standoffish and apathetic, while he starts to rethink his preconceived notions about her in return. James’ debut is a sweet small-town romance that revolves around Emily’s journey of self-discovery and personal improvement. Given that the book is told solely from Emily’s first-person perspective, it’s she who gains the most depth, with John an intermittent and inscrutable presence at first, before slowly becoming more dimensional over time. Strong supporting characters, including some elderly neighbors Emily befriends and cares for, add tenderness to the narrative. At the core of the book, however, lies Emily’s efforts to better understand herself and what she truly wants.
Wordplay and romance collide in this charming debut.Pub Date: Dec. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9780063399013
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2024
An extremely fun, fast-paced, and unusual addition to the marriage-in-trouble romance canon.
A marriage on the rocks gets a second chance—with a science-fiction twist.
Dr. Emery Martín is happily married to her husband Luca…mostly. She’s been madly in love with him since the moment they met, but in the three years they’ve been wed, she hasn’t been able to focus much on him. To the world—including Luca—Emery’s job involves developing medical-grade lasers. In reality, she works at a supersecret San Diego lab that’s engineering a compound to bring mammals back from the dead. Although Emery doesn’t want to admit it, she can tell that Luca feels pushed aside, but she believes so deeply in her work that she has a hard time leaving the lab. When Emery is late for dinner—yet again—on their anniversary, she rushes home only to see Luca get hit by a car. She has the secret compound in her car, and she knows she could get in major trouble if she uses it—but what’s she supposed to do, not save her husband’s life? The compound has only been tested on animals so far, and there’s no guarantee it will even work for humans. It does, though, and Luca comes back to life—with one small caveat. He can’t remember most things, including his marriage to Emery. After almost losing Luca, Emery is now grateful for what she has, and she’s determined to show him that she can be a better, more attentive partner. While Luca may not remember her, their magnetic chemistry is still there. This may be the do-over they needed to save their marriage—that is, if Emery can keep the life-reviving measures she took hidden from everyone around them, including nosy neighbors and her own company. Lauren—the pen name of the duo behind rom-coms like The Paradise Problem (2024)—has created a unique hook that feels genuinely refreshing. Emery and Luca’s unconventional second chance is emotionally compelling, and the slight thriller edge as Emery tries to cover up her actions keeps the pages turning.
An extremely fun, fast-paced, and unusual addition to the marriage-in-trouble romance canon.Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781668017753
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.
A happily engaged woman is pulled back to her hometown—and her first love—when tragedy strikes.
Billie Wright is living her dream, running a thriving fertility clinic in New York City and engaged to a wonderful trauma surgeon named Dean. Her happily-ever-after meant giving up her life in Wisconsin, where she left behind many friends as well as her high school sweetheart, Mick. Although they’d been deeply in love, when Billie’s ambition pulled her away from home and toward the city, Mick couldn’t handle either the distance or her busy schedule. Billie has finally moved on from that heartbreak—but then she receives a phone call from Mick, the first communication between them in years. Her best friend, Erin, died in a car accident, leaving behind an 11-year-old daughter, Phoebe. Now Billie must return home to help sort Erin’s affairs and provide some kind of comfort to Phoebe while grieving the loss of her best friend. Of course, being back home also means being in close contact with Mick. Their feelings for each other may not have ever gone away, and their proximity leads to big decisions for Billie. Can she ever reconcile her current life in Manhattan with her past in Wisconsin? And which one will be her future? Giffin knows how to do drama, and she ratchets up the stakes with every page as she continues to reveal new obstacles for Billie. The ending wraps up quite neatly, but the nostalgia-filled ride is full of twists and turns that will keep readers flipping the pages.
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780593600320
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
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