What this quick read lacks in depth it makes up for in entertainment, with a subtle message to appease more mature readers.
Debut author Gaertner boldly enters the mind of a boy-obsessed teenager in this fun YA romance.
In the summer between her junior and senior years of high school, Krista begins her first job at a flower shop while yearning for a summer romance. She has her eye on Jeff Wellington, a handsome golfer and sailor with a bad reputation; it’s the eternal allure of the bad boy to the good girl. As their relationship develops, Krista alternately worries about his controlling behavior and rumors about the dangerous risks he takes, although she justifies or overlooks his actions. At the same time, she tries to ignore her attraction to handsome, older Mario, son of the flower shop’s owner. Despite his sophistication, kindness and obvious interest in her, Krista suspects he’s hiding a secret. The advice of talented but bizarre floral designer Cheyenne adds to Krista’s confusion, while her parents’ distant behavior hints at problems at home. Rife with teenage angst, this quick read accurately portrays a teenager who analyzes everything but glosses over what’s revealing or unpleasant. Although relatively levelheaded, Krista allows her fantasies to overshadow reality; if she wishes hard enough, maybe it will be true. The few adult characters are one-dimensional stereotypes—just the way teenagers prefer. Real-life adults will appreciate the fact that this novel contains only a few innocent kisses and not even the suggestion of drugs or alcohol; it’s also completely free of vampires, werewolves and any paranormal elements—a rarity among today’s YA offerings. Readers who enjoy joining a friend in examining every nuance of a conversation or interaction will adore Gaertner’s novel; others, however, may find it wearing. Either way, the whiplash-inducing surprise ending suggests a sequel may be on the horizon.
What this quick read lacks in depth it makes up for in entertainment, with a subtle message to appease more mature readers.Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2013
ISBN: 978-1475966466
Page Count: 154
Publisher: iUniverse
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2014
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
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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