A character-driven historical romance that slowly builds to a rewarding ending.
The Hidden Royals series concludes with the romance of Danielle Allard d’Orleans, a French princess exiled as a baby and raised unaware in Kent, England.
When Capt. Luke Bannock, a smuggler, unexpectedly became a national war hero, he made a plan for what he’d ask of the Prince Regent as his reward: betrothal to the Princess d’Orleans. His surrogate father was taken prisoner by a French captain who also wanted the hidden princess in order to claim the lands included in her dowry; Luke doesn’t actually care to marry, but he wants to use the princess as a bargaining chip. When he meets Dani, though, she is passionate about her village and has no clue about her heritage—not at all what he expected. Luke must change his plans, quickly. Luckily, the prince gave him an estate, and it’s just what Dani needs to revitalize her town and provide jobs to the locals. Luke knows he has to tell her the truth of who she is and what he wants from her, but as they start to fall for each other, he also wants to protect her. Although hesitant about the engagement at first, Dani becomes fond of Luke, but she can tell he’s holding back, and she won’t abide secrets. The majority of the book is tightly focused on the first few days after Luke and Dani meet, leading up to their quick wedding, with a lot of introspection for them both. The story’s reliance on their lack of communication feels tired, but Dani’s indignation and willfulness when the truth comes out is gratifying. Distinct characterization and the intriguing setup propel the plot, and the final act turns into exciting action as the couple embarks on a daring rescue. Luke’s groveling and deep admiration and love for Dani by the end is delectable.
A character-driven historical romance that slowly builds to a rewarding ending.Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9780063280175
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
Light on plot and heavy on bolstering traditional gender norms as the ultimate goal for both men and women.
A Seattle woman meets a Chicago businessman as she flies home from a visit to a friend, and her small act of kindness blossoms into more.
Maisy Gallagher is barely making ends meet. With her father’s unexpected death a few years earlier, she dropped out of nursing school to help out in the family’s jewelry store, working with her uncle. Her older brother, Sean, also moved back home so he and Maisy could help their mother and their 10-year-old brother, Patrick. When Maisy offers a ride to a rude businessman who sat next to her on the plane, she’s just operating on the kindness her grandmother instilled in her. That businessman, Chase Furst, turns out to be an incredibly wealthy banker; he’s flown into Seattle to make funeral arrangements for his mother, to whom he hasn’t spoken in years. Sparks fly in this gentle and predictable romance that leans heavily on long-distance and class-divide tropes. As with many of the author’s books, Christianity and the characters’ reliance on God’s will—as they wait and see what happens next—play a large part, as do traditional gender roles where women cook, clean, and only work in paying jobs until they have children at home to take care of. The author does offer a lighter touch when it comes to the painful ways alcoholism can destroy family relationships, with an understanding of the regret that can weigh on every family member.
Light on plot and heavy on bolstering traditional gender norms as the ultimate goal for both men and women.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
ISBN: 9798217091676
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
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
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