A strong debut romance for fans of true happy endings.
In Deane’s debut novel, a woman finds love, laughter, and purpose in a new teaching job.
When Abigail Gardner goes for an interview at the exclusive Philadelphia prep school Excelsior Primm, she is seeking a second chance to become an art teacher. An embarrassing incident prompted her to leave her previous school, and she is grateful for any opportunity—even if it unexpectedly lands her in a classroom of sixth graders, teaching literature. Desperate for a new start, and with the weight of her father’s reputation as a literature professor and her grief over his death upon her shoulders, Abigail rolls with it, soon becoming entangled in revamping the drama club, which has her students performing an alternative version of Romeo and Juliet. Deane has crafted a quintessential 20-something character searching for her place in the world, occasionally falling back on cliches such as “Abigail wondered how she got here, where she was going, and what she would think one day when she looked back.” Still, Abigail is rendered so endearingly—Deane conveys her thoughts and feelings with great dimension—that readers will happily forgive the occasional shopworn turn of phrase. Her habit of acting as different characters when socializing with her friends is particularly amusing. On a social outing, Abigail runs into Nate, a handsome stranger who turns out to be a fellow teacher at her school. Their romance is slow-burning, in direct contrast to her friendship with Quinn, who is in love with Abigail and whose family treats her as one of their own. Deane takes a well-worn trope in women’s fiction and puts a fun spin on it, weaving in subplots involving Abigail’s students, friendships, and co-workers. The end result is an expansive tale that will have readers rooting for happily-ever-afters for a number of characters in addition to the hero.
A strong debut romance for fans of true happy endings.Pub Date: April 9, 2024
ISBN: 978-1684632404
Page Count: 304
Publisher: SparkPress
Review Posted Online: Feb. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
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
A book that will wolfishly appeal to the most heated fans of omegaverse erotica.
Tess Covington is a talented, successful contractor who just learned that she’s a late-in-life omega wolf shifter. Her new boss, surly innkeeper Hunter Barrett, is an alpha who’s opposed to the remodeling she’s there to do.
Tess hasn’t made it public that she’s being considered for her own HGTV makeover show, but she runs her career like a well-oiled machine. She posts a lot of her remodels on social media, granting her a certain level of celebrity, and leans on her brothers to help run the business she took over after a stroke made it impossible for her father to keep working. Hunter’s last serious relationship with an omega 10 years ago left him deeply wounded, ending when his parents were killed in a car accident and he moved back home to take care of their lodge—hence his resistance to change. With few exceptions, Tess keeps her newly diagnosed omega status to herself. Unfortunately, as an alpha, Hunter sniffs her out and seems to be the only person capable of helping her with her sudden heats, so there’s a lot of very smutty caretaking. The specificity of omegaverse hierarchy might be new to some readers, but Ferguson’s worldbuilding is quick, easy, and deeply horny. General romance readers might enjoy the grumpy-meets-sunshine and stranded-in-a-snowstorm tropes, although for a book about shifters, the characters spend surprisingly little time in wolf form. There’s not much danger of character development or surprising plot elements here, but for fans excited to read about animalistic mating, that might be enough.
A book that will wolfishly appeal to the most heated fans of omegaverse erotica.Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780593953693
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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