A fun, snowbound romp featuring lots of steamy moments.
In Cole’s latest romance, a harried accountant finds herself snowed in with three sexy men.
It’s tax season, and certified public accountant Allison is incredibly stressed out. She hears that there may be a late-season snowstorm, but since Asheville, North Carolina, doesn’t usually get inclement weather in springtime, she ignores the warnings. She accepts a blind date with the handsome bestselling author Hunter Paxton, a friend of a friend. Although she’s still hurting from a recent breakup with a man she thought was “the One,” she sees Hunter as a kindred spirit. She offers him a ride to the cabin in the mountains where he’s staying, which leads to a romp between the sheets. The next morning, Hunter, who’d been struggling with writer’s block, finds new inspiration for his next project, but Allison finds that the promised snowstorm has come to pass, and there’s no safe way for her to get to work. As days go by, Hunter writes and Allison finds herself with little to do without internet access—until Hunter notes that Allison is free to sleep with his two attractive best friends—editor Justin and manager Chase—who are bunking at the cabin to ensure that Hunter finishes his book. At first scandalized, Allison soon eagerly forms sexual connections with all three men—sometimes two at the same time. However, what will happen when the snow melts is anyone’s guess. It’s clear that the subgenre of “reverse harem” romance, which features a single woman and multiple, nonjealous men, is author Cole’s specialty. In this book, she wisely adds a snowbound setting to the proceedings, which allows for sizzling encounters in front of fireplaces and outside in the North Carolina woods. Readers will also find that Allison is a smart and relatable protagonist who’s eager to explore new sides of herself as she has trysts with three men, and the book (and its characters) encourages her erotic adventures without judging them. There’s no talk of past sexual histories or contraception, though, which would have grounded the romance a bit more in reality without detracting from its sensuality.
A fun, snowbound romp featuring lots of steamy moments.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 205
Publisher: Juicy Gems Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2021
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
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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