A sweet romance and a love letter to theater kids.
Two former high school theater rivals team up when their beloved drama teacher goes missing—only to find themselves traveling to alternate realities.
Marlowe Jenkins and Priscilla Covington-French were in their Iowa high school’s theater program together, but they were far from friends. Both girls wanted to be stars, and they competed for the attention of their theater director, Dallas Winthrop. Priscilla went off to become a successful television actress, while Marlowe wound up working with Dallas at the women’s former school. Although 16 years have passed, Marlowe and Priscilla’s rivalry has only grown stronger—even as they nurse a mutual attraction based on a couple of kisses back in the day. When Priscilla visits the school to celebrate Dallas’ final production before retirement, the director is nowhere to be found. Priscilla and Marlowe get the idea to check out Dallas’ mysterious Memory Machine, a seven-foot-tall coffinlike box he assembled that no student was allowed to touch. Is it possible that Dallas actually figured out how to travel to another universe? Priscilla and Marlowe soon find themselves using the Memory Machine to travel to alternate realities, where they meet other versions of themselves. As they search for the Dallas they know and love across universes, Marlowe and Priscilla start to accept the feelings they’ve always hidden. Will they be able to be honest with each other—and themselves—when they get back to their own reality? Morrissey creates a story that celebrates the world of theater and what it can mean for kids who don’t fit in elsewhere. Priscilla and Marlowe both have depth as characters who’ve hit their 30s and realize that their dreams may have changed. The alternate realities can get confusing if you think about them too much, so it’s best to focus on Marlowe and Priscilla—their fun and snappy banter keeps the plot moving.
A sweet romance and a love letter to theater kids.Pub Date: tomorrow
ISBN: 9798217188017
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A cleverly titled, cozy SF romance that marks Thorne as a writer to watch.
After purchasing a dilapidated, century-old starship called the Destitute, Torian Razner discovers that the moss covering it is, in fact, a deeply sarcastic sentient computer with abandonment issues.
Torian’s sister, Celise, is dying. Determined to save her life by getting her to a distant planet with air she can breathe, Torian ignores her former captain Amelia Perrosk’s warning that it’s an impossible task (along with any romantic feelings she might have for Amelia). Using the only ionite bars she has to her name, Torian purchases an ancient, moss-covered alien starship that appears to be on its last legs, so to speak. She hardly expected the moss to be a sentient computer or for it to hold a century-old grudge against its former alien captain. Moss quickly proves itself to be acerbic, intelligent, and rightly angry after being having been left behind for 100 years by its former captain. The two form a reluctant and surprising alliance, Torian proving to Moss that not all captains are “dog-turd fungus,” and they both gradually evolve into the best versions of themselves, human or otherwise. It’s obvious from the early pages that Thorne has crafted a story tailored to fans of Becky Chambers’ Monk & Robot series and Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries. Falling somewhere between the two, this is a delightful mashup of romance, found family, and a touch of violence as Moss grapples with its feelings about its former captain and the unexpected kindness that Torian shows. Sweet without being overly saccharine, it’s a book for readers who want the adventure that comes with the vastness of outer space without its harsher realities.
A cleverly titled, cozy SF romance that marks Thorne as a writer to watch.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781250414144
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bramble Books
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
A fresh and fun take on both the romantasy and sports-romance genres.
A disgraced athlete gets the chance to rebuild her career—but it’ll mean working with the man who ruined it in the first place.
This romance is set in a modern fantasy United Kingdom amid the world of carriwitchet—a bloody rugbylike sport played on winged creatures. Taissa Cho was a force to be reckoned with until her rival, Kion Locke, exposed her illegal Luck glyph in the middle of a game and she was expelled from the league. Two years later, Kion’s team is in desperate need of revival, and while Taissa might be the last person he wants help from, he knows her return to the sport could finally earn them a win. Taissa doesn’t want to miss the opportunity to come back to carriwitchet, but Kion’s terms aren’t so simple. The positive publicity he needs involves a fake relationship between them, because a headline touting former rivals turned lovers and teammates would certainly fill the stadium seats. On top of that, a mysterious illness has been infecting the league’s animals, endangering players and calling the sport’s future into question. The contemporary setting is a smart move, creating a familiar environment against which Kim can sprinkle in some magical worldbuilding—it’s an easy immersion. This is a true enemies-to-lovers romance: Taissa has every reason to dislike Kion, but she refuses to let him stand in the way of her passion for carriwitchet. She doesn’t see his offer as an olive branch; it’s a step toward finally getting revenge on the man who ousted her from the sport. With its playful mashup of romance, fantasy, and mystery, the book rarely has a dull moment. As secondary characters and additional teams are introduced, it’s clear that there’s plenty of potential for Kim to explore more romances on the carriwitchet pitch.
A fresh and fun take on both the romantasy and sports-romance genres.Pub Date: June 30, 2026
ISBN: 9780593983362
Page Count: 544
Publisher: Del Rey
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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