A breezy romantic romp with plenty of heat.
An aspiring writer and a shop owner figure out how to fall in love in Hall’s romance series installment.
Mistletoe, Idaho, seems like the perfect small town in which to fall in love; things have worked out for siblings Merry, Nick, and Holly Winters, who are all happy in their respective relationships (as seen in other books in Hall’s series). But for Delilah Gill, Holly’s best friend, the burg feels more like a series of dead ends. No publisher wants her romantic fantasy book series, her parents nag her about getting a real job, and she’s sexually unsatisfied. Meanwhile, Anthony Russo is dealing with his mother’s death and has sworn himself to celibacy until he can find true love and build a life with someone. He and Delilah saw potential in each other the year before at a bachelor party and shared a promising kiss before insecurities and misunderstandings drove them apart. Anthony thought Delilah seemed hung up on his best friend Pike Sutton, and Delilah thinks Anthony doesn’t want her because she’s a plus-size woman, but they’re both wrong. After a night out (and puking incident), the two get closer, initiating a sexual and emotional connection that supersedes decorum and friendship, leading to some friction between them. As the holiday season progresses, however, and new obstacles arise, the intensity of their passion can’t be denied. Both Delilah and Anthony have believable emotional baggage that hinders their ability to effectively communicate. The timeframe means that the pace at which they go from acquaintances to lovers is quick, but their chemistry, rendered with brazen flourishes, makes their compatibility clear. Hall’s dialogue excels at conveying Delilah and Anthony’s wit, though it can sometimes veer into excessively quippy territory with Anthony dispensing lines like “does this earn me a check mark in the romantic column or the crazy-and-insecure column?” The small-town cozy atmosphere and the sprawl of secondary and tertiary characters set up plenty of future relationship opportunities, and readers will be eager to see how Delilah and Anthony grow beyond their initial coupling.
A breezy romantic romp with plenty of heat.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781039478190
Page Count: 280
Publisher: Podium Publishing
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Bailey hits it out of the park with her latest spicy romance.
Two ambitious athletes plus one fake-dating arrangement—what could go wrong?
Though it’s only his first season for the Boston Bearcats hockey team, Robbie Corrigan has a well-established reputation as a playboy. He’s got major skills on the ice, and he’s also much more likely to love ’em and leave ’em than he is to build any long, meaningful relationships. Naturally, he’s just met the one woman who seems completely resistant to his charm: Skylar Page, a Boston University softball pitcher. When they meet over a friendly Saturday morning baseball game, Robbie instantly makes a poor impression by bragging to his teammates about his latest conquest within Skylar’s hearing. He thinks she’s gorgeous, though, and when he sets his sights on her, he’s surprised that she doesn’t seem to know it. Despite her initial distaste for Robbie, Skylar grudgingly confesses that she could use his help. If they pretend to date, maybe her current crush—her brother’s best friend—will finally sit up and take notice of her in a romantic way. The timing is less than ideal, since Robbie will have to team up with Skylar in the Page family’s latest wilderness competition, but it turns out that Robbie’s willingness to play fake boyfriend stems from some very real feelings. He wants to prove to her that he’s a changed man, and redeeming himself in her eyes starts with making sure she knows that she can really trust him. The latest addition to Bailey’s Big Shots series is a sexy, feel-good romance brimming over with the author’s trademark humor and dirty talk. While Skylar and Robbie’s dynamic doesn’t quite reach the level of enemies-to-lovers—he’s so head-over-heels for her that there’s no room for any real mean-spiritedness—their playful snark doubles as a welcome dash of foreplay in the lead-up to some seriously steamy scenes. Robbie’s efforts to show Skylar that he’s turned over a new leaf also result in some of the book’s best moments, emphasizing his commitment to becoming the type of man he knows she deserves.
Bailey hits it out of the park with her latest spicy romance.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780063380837
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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