An engaging tale that shows how thin the line between love and hate really is.
Sworn enemies down on their luck realize they might not be so different in this romantic comedy.
In this genre, tropes reign supreme. The tension of the love story is not if the two leads will get together, but how. Sarah Webb and Brian Hawkins have been nemeses for years, since Sarah became best friends with Jess, Brian’s sister, in college. Now in their mid- and late-20s, both Sarah and Brian find themselves on the receiving end of proposals, she from her surgeon boyfriend, Tyler Ackerman, and he from his girlfriend, Hannah Abbott-Thorne (who appears in one of Dembowski’s previous books). Both reject the proposals and end up holed up in Jess’ guest bedroom while they sort out their next moves. Like many supposed enemies, they bicker, especially when it comes to who will get the bedroom—all the while tamping down their mutual attraction: “His eyes widened as he took her in…urging his nether regions to calm the fuck down”; “Not that Brian himself had ever given her an orgasm, but the dream version of him certainly had.” Then a work gala for the nonprofit that Sarah works for requires a date to avoid humiliation by Tyler, who’s bringing a model. Sarah’s choice of Brian as her escort proves fortuitous; they make a great impression and leave Tyler seething with jealousy. They also kiss, but Sarah, believing her friendship with Jess is at stake, puts a pin in it. Thus begins the book’s middle section of mounting tension and red herrings as other potential partners and distractions skillfully enter the picture. Additional threads keep the protagonists busy, such as Brian’s desire to return to New York City and Sarah’s still having to work with Tyler. Each of the leads has some humanizing quirks—Brian loves the Star Wars saga and Sarah adores Zumba classes—but neither character feels particularly unique. Still, for fans of more adult romances, Dembowski ensures the intimate scenes hit their marks. The author believably conveys two people who ultimately care deeply about each other.
An engaging tale that shows how thin the line between love and hate really is.Pub Date: July 18, 2023
ISBN: 9781958231197
Page Count: 310
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 27, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
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