An exciting start to a new Regency romance series which promises to highlight new voices from the era.
A widow’s one-night stand goes from total bliss to total shock.
Leela, better known to society as Lady Delilah Chambers, dowager countess of the Earl of Devon, has settled into her new life as a widow, taking the opportunity to travel abroad and write popular book series about her adventures. After years when she was loved by her husband but loathed by society and her stepson (now Lord Devon) because of her mother’s Arab heritage, she’s grateful to be out of the glare of the ton and not beholden to any man’s wishes. She’s not looking for excitement but finds it anyway in the person of Elliot Townsend, Duke of Huntington, when a rainy night traps them together in the Black Swan Inn. Their sexual chemistry is fierce, and Leela and Hunt agree to one passionate night before heading their separate ways. As a result, both are aghast when they find the next day that their separate ways have led them back to each other—because Hunt is all but engaged to Leela’s stepdaughter, Tori. They try to avoid each other on the Devon estate, knowing that Hunt and Tori’s engagement is the best and most rational choice for everyone given their respective places in society. But their attraction is too strong to resist, especially once it becomes clear that Hunt and Tori aren’t well suited. Leela and Hunt’s amorous scenes are page-turners, but it’s Quincy’s extraordinary ability to convey complex emotions that sets the book apart. Quincy’s own background as a first-generation Arab American also allows her to bring indispensable detail to the story, which is enriched by details of Leela’s journey to learn about, and come to appreciate, her “Levantine” heritage—a welcome addition to the overwhelmingly White ranks of Regency romance.
An exciting start to a new Regency romance series which promises to highlight new voices from the era.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-298679-5
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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