A light, lovely read that leans heavily on genre truisms.
Stefi’s summer in Barcelona involves romance, surprises, blackmail—and an entanglement with Spanish royalty.
Her time abroad in Spain is a chance for 17-year-old Stefi, who has an American dad and a Catalán mom, to start over. Leaving the U.S. on the heels of a bitter breakup, the aspiring pastry chef follows her passion for baking to a course at a culinary institute. She meets handsome Xavi at La Buena, his mother’s food stall in the city’s famous La Boqueria market. Xavi is the secret heir to the Spanish throne, a bona fide prince. As blond Stefi and blue-eyed “hot Viking warrior” Xavi get to know each other, his secret identity hangs between them. Readers will delight in the many romance tropes Freitas includes: tragic misunderstandings, awkward moments that endear lovers to each other, and vile exes who threaten to break up a blossoming romance. Spain, with its rich culture and summer heat, is fully developed as a setting thanks to the inclusion of details such as its Mediterranean beaches and the running of the bulls in Pamplona. Xavi’s undercover bodyguard, Santiago, has a swoonworthy romance with Xavi’s friend Diego. Though the story starts off slowly and would benefit from faster pacing, it will satisfy romance fans.
A light, lovely read that leans heavily on genre truisms. (Romance. 13-18)Pub Date: July 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780062662149
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A worthy second-chance romance.
In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.
After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.
A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947138
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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