A poignant, hopeful look at how the past informs the present and future.
In this second-chance romance, a woman revisits old traumas—and the one who got away.
Andrea Scott has it together—mostly. The 28-year-old New Yorker works in marketing; is close with her mother and her best friends, Emma and Charlie Loughlin; and has fabulous sex with a man named Harry Stengel. But Andi’s job is unfulfilling, and Harry happens to be her boss and also married. When Andi receives a phone call that her estranged father, Ryan, has died, she’s forced to face the past she left behind. During her junior year of high school, Andi moved in with her dad while her mother took a temporary position overseas, and the teen soon became a victim of Ryan’s alcoholism and resulting abusive behavior. Andi got through the tumultuous year thanks to loyal new pal Krystal Rivera and handsome football player Corey Johnson, whose friendship with Andi soon turned into a passionate romance. Andi and Corey were prepared to be together forever until a series of betrayals during their freshman year of college led to a heavy breakup, and they haven’t spoken since. When Andi returns to her dad’s suburban hometown of Fairford, she discovers that he’d been sober for many years prior to his death. He started a successful home design business with Corey, now a single dad who’s still carrying a torch for Andi. Can Andi reconcile her painful family history and make her way to a bright, new beginning? (Corey had “always been a balm for my soul.”) Or is the past too much to overcome? Alternating the chapters between Andi’s life-changing high school years and her current reality, Dembowski crafts a lovely, sympathetic hero, realistically flawed due in large part to the trauma she experienced as a young person. The plot is carefully woven, dropping breadcrumbs to a satisfying final reveal where no individual is at fault. Though everyone’s actions have consequences, a happily-ever-after may still be on the horizon. Andi and Corey are a believable couple whose teenage chemistry has the potential to translate into a strong adult relationship, but only if both are willing to work on it.
A poignant, hopeful look at how the past informs the present and future.Pub Date: Aug. 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-948051-97-2
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
If you like your romance the darker the better, this one is for you.
A young mother returns to the gothic manor of her childhood to dust off the family secrets and face her old flame.
Maven Blackthorn hasn’t been home since her mom died under suspicious circumstances 12 years ago, but the death of her grandmother, Lorinda, forces her return to Solstice, Vermont. Maven’s daughter, Beatrix, has never seen where her mother grew up, but she quickly learns the Blackthorns have a reputation for witchcraft, largely fueled by a centuries-long feud with the powerful Croft family, whose heir apparent, Ronan, was Maven’s forbidden teenage love and “worst nightmare.” Maven hopes to bid farewell to her grandmother and visit with her aunts without running into Ronan, but he proves hard to avoid. Maven’s hatred for Ronan runs deep and she believes the feeling is mutual. From Ronan’s perspective, it’s clear their painful unraveling was full of misunderstandings. When Lorinda’s body goes missing from the funeral home, Maven is forced to accept Ronan’s help in discovering what happened. While Maven dives into her family history and the many unfortunate events befalling Blackthorn women, Ronan is forever in her ear, seducing her back to him. The push and pull of their romance feels immature, which isn’t helped by the first-person present narration. At times, it’s easy to forget Maven and Ronan aren’t still teenagers, until the erotica is punched up a thousand percent in the final third. Controlling lines from Ronan like “Don’t test my patience, woman” might read better if his perspective were explored more, though fans of Geissinger’s dark erotica, including Brutal Vows (2025), may not be fazed. Maven’s perspective dominates, and though her investigation into family lore and increasing paranoia are the most compelling arc, the million and one ways in which she threatens Ronan with physical violence—“What I really want to do is tie you to a tree, disembowel you with my bare hands, feed your guts to the wolves, and cut off your head”—is a bit one-note. Trigger warnings abound.
If you like your romance the darker the better, this one is for you.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781250379139
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bramble Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
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