A fine romantic mystery, set in a lively Midwest art world.
An art curator and a famous sculptor are thrown together by an art-world scandal in Lynden's contemporary romance.
As the story opens, Claire Beaumont, a curator from Milwaukee’s Lafferty Museum, has reached the Lake Michigan home of well-known artist Sinjin Reid, “the wunderkind known for welding and tangling magnificent metals into works of art.” Claire has driven all the way to the artist's home to collect a piece called Coal or Steam. Since the piece “would have folks in the art world talking for the next decade” and bring much-needed publicity to her upcoming Victorious Vectors exhibit, Claire is alarmed to learn, upon arrival, that Sinjin isn't aware that his ex-wife, Meg, donated the piece to the Lafferty. It turns out that Sinjin has hidden the piece to keep it out of the clutches of both his ex-wife and the Lafferty’s slimy director, Larry Chambers, who unashamedly urges Claire to do whatever she needs to do to find the piece’s location: “It’s a logical conclusion that with the way you look, he’d be interested in you. Use your strengths, Ms. Beaumont.” The more they compare notes, the more Claire and Sinjin feel two things: united in their fight against Larry, and mutually attracted to each other. Lynden crafts their unexpected romance in a classic fashion, but long before readers are rooting for Claire and Sinjin to be together, they'll be rooting for them separately. Sinjin is cautious but drawn to the newcomer (“Those purple eyes. The color of royalty and new beginnings,” he notes while looking at a drawing of Claire), and she initially bridles at his undeniable attention (“Quit gawking at me,” she says at one point. “You're doing that artsy thing. Always processing a subject”). The author manages to orchestrate their relationship and the rest of the plot with a good deal of pleasing complexity. It all culminates in a surprise twist and eminently satisfying ending.
A fine romantic mystery, set in a lively Midwest art world.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 9780997340013
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Sept. 28, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A surprisingly sensual sports romance.
A collegiate diver and swimmer secretly pursue kink together, and risk falling in love along the way.
Scarlett Vandermeer is struggling. Despite a successful recovery from the injury that almost ended her Stanford diving career, she hasn’t been able to get her head together, and it’s affecting her performance. Plus, she’s trying to stay focused on getting into medical school. A relationship would be out of the question. By comparison, Lukas Blomqvist is a swimming idol, a record-breaker who wins medals as easily as breathing, and Scarlett has long been convinced he would never look in her direction—until one fateful night when a mutual friend lets slip that they have something unexpected in common: Scarlett likes to be submissive in the bedroom, while Lukas prefers to take a dominant approach. Now, they both know a big secret about each other, and it’s something neither of them can stop thinking about. It’s Lukas who suggests they have a fling—purely physical, just to take the edge off, so Scarlett can get out of her own head and stop overthinking her dives. Initially, their arrangement is easy to stick to, but the more time they spend together, the more Scarlett starts to realize that what she feels for Lukas is more than physical attraction. Complicating the situation is the fact that Scarlett’s friend Penelope Ross used to go out with Lukas, and the longer Scarlett keeps mum about her true feelings for him, the more difficult it is to keep the situation hidden from another person she really cares about. While Scarlett and Lukas’ relationship does begin as a physical one, their deeper psychological connection takes a little too long to emerge amid all the other storylines, resulting in a somewhat rushed resolution. However, Hazelwood’s latest is proof of the depth and maturity that has emerged in her writing over the years, and it highlights her embrace of sexier, more emotional elements than were present in her original STEMinist rom-coms.
A surprisingly sensual sports romance.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593641057
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.
Two people with bad luck in relationships find each other through a popular Reddit thread.
Emma Grant and her best friend, Maddy, are travel nurses, working at hospitals for three-month stints while they see the country. Just a few weeks before they’re set to move to Hawaii, Emma reads a popular “Am I the Asshole” Reddit thread from a Minnesota man who thinks he’s cursed—women he dates find their soulmates after breaking up with him, and the latest one found true love with his best friend! Emma has had a similar experience, which inspires her to DM the man and commiserate. She’s delighted by her witty, lively interactions with software engineer Justin Dahl, and is intrigued when he suggests that if they date each other, maybe they’ll each find their soulmate afterward. Emma upends the Hawaii plan and convinces Maddy to move to Minneapolis for the summer so she can meet Justin in person. The overly complex setup brings Emma and Justin together and the two hit it off, with Justin immediately falling head over heels for Emma. Jimenez then pivots to creating romantic roadblocks and melodramatic subplots centering on each character’s family of origin. Justin’s mother is about to serve six years in prison for embezzlement, which means Justin must move back home to care for his three much younger siblings. Emma was traumatized by her own mother for much of her childhood, left to fend for herself and eventually abandoned in the foster system. When her mother shows up in Minnesota, Emma must face her traumatic childhood and admit that she has prioritized her mother’s well-being over her own. There is little time devoted to Emma’s painful efforts to heal herself enough to accept Justin’s love, which leaves the novel feeling unsatisfying.
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781538704431
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 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.
