A blend of romance and the personal journey misses its mark.
A musician and a single mother battle their inner demons.
Oliver Smith and his twin, Alex, were world-famous pop stars until six months ago, when Alex was killed in a car accident. Oliver self-medicates with alcohol and can't find solace in music because it reminds him of his brother. Nevertheless, he agrees to a solo performance after being pressured by his selfish girlfriend to resume his career. He flees the concert venue in a panic and ends up at a dive bar where single mother Emery Taylor works as a server. Emery is estranged from her conservative, religious parents and is struggling to make ends meet, having dropped out of culinary school after her daughter, Reese, was born five years ago. Emery is star-struck when she recognizes Oliver but is quickly disappointed by his rudeness and hard drinking. Oliver’s scuffle with the crowd in the bar is posted to social media, and the paparazzi arrive. Unable to leave her idol in such a condition, Emery decides to take him home since her daughter is safe overnight with a neighbor. Deeply intoxicated, Oliver vomits all over her car, pees in her houseplant, and passes out. When Oliver learns the incident caused Emery to lose her job, he’s ashamed and decides to hire her as his personal chef. After this rough beginning, the book meanders through Emery’s life as a single mother and the return of her domineering, unsupportive family. The romance is a barely-there afterthought, as the novel focuses instead on Oliver and Emery forgiving themselves for past mistakes and trying to heal. Although Cherry might have been aiming for an angst-y, emotional romance, weak characterization and plotting don't provide enough fuel to keep readers invested.
A blend of romance and the personal journey misses its mark.Pub Date: July 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5420-1836-4
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: March 30, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
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
Two hot people confronting their trauma, making passionate love, and solving violent crimes! ’Nuff said.
A heartbroken man lusts after his therapist while seeking revenge on a drug kingpin and his enforcer.
Mitch Haskell’s wife, Angela, died two years ago of an apparent suicide, but Mitch has always believed the scene was staged. Certainly, she would never have willingly left their young son, Andrew, behind. Consumed with a thirst for vengeance, Mitch—a former Marine and undercover agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration and currently a police detective—is struggling with alcohol dependency and uncontrolled rage. Andrew is living with his in-laws, who are making not-so-subtle suggestions that they might apply for permanent guardianship if Mitch can’t get it together. So his boss and best friend, John Bowie, mandates that he go into therapy, which puts him in the path of sexy Dr. Dylan Reede. Within a few days, Mitch makes a connection between two new murders and the death of his former partner; finds a big clue that points to the truth about Angela’s death; goes undercover as a homeless man; takes on a vicious drug cartel; and obnoxiously bullies Dylan with a charm offensive that leads them inevitably to bed. While Mitch seems to lean into the stereotype of the ex-soldier/cop with deeply buried trauma who believes that the ends justify the means—at least in law enforcement—Dylan offers the strength and sweetness to help him start breaking down his walls, allowing herself to be vulnerable in turn. Is passionate sex enough to ground a relationship and a family for the long term? For these characters, and the breakneck speed of this thriller, it’s as good a foundation as any.
Two hot people confronting their trauma, making passionate love, and solving violent crimes! ’Nuff said.Pub Date: March 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781538743027
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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