A quick, fun enemies-to-lovers tale that’s equal parts hilarious and sexy.
An ambitious country transplant gets saddled with an infuriating plus-one in this romance.
Hadley Donavan moved to Harbor City with big dreams—namely, taking nonprofit organizations to the next level as a charitable giving consultant. Sadly, things aren’t going to plan. She’s broke, shares a tiny apartment with a roommate, and is fired from her job thanks to an unexpected kiss at a work event with Will Holt, an old-money CEO and the “evil” twin brother of Hadley’s best friend, Web. Now Hadley’s heading home to Nebraska for her sister’s wedding and a week of festivities with her tightknit, blended family, with Web as her platonic date. But thanks to a last-minute bout of food poisoning, it’s Will—who’s fighting his lust for Hadley while questioning her intentions with his open-hearted brother—who shows up at the airport to escort her to the wedding. As they fake a relationship for her relatives, the city boy’s and country girl’s clashing personalities soon result in an unforgettable sexual encounter. While Will wins over her protective but loving relatives through quirky game nights and a surprise dance at a retirement home, Hadley must reconcile her growing feelings for him with the secret she’s keeping from her family: that her supposedly glamorous urban life is actually full of uncertainty. Though Will uses the term “gold digger” one too many times in describing Hadley’s possible motivations, Flynn’s writing is sharp and sweet, with two finely drawn main characters with relatable obstacles and hang-ups. Hadley wants to find success in Harbor City while making a difference, and Will—an orphan with a privileged but lonely upbringing—is fiercely protective of his twin brother. Hadley’s extended family is a pure joy to read about, especially her nurturing rancher stepfather, Gabe Martinez, and PawPaw, her spunky grandfather who proudly juggles three girlfriends. PawPaw quickly figures out Hadley and Will’s relationship lie and their growing affection for each other. Intimate scenes strike the perfect balance of sensual and emotional.
A quick, fun enemies-to-lovers tale that’s equal parts hilarious and sexy.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-64063-912-6
Page Count: 330
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
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