A charming, candid rom-com.
A small-town chef tries to balance caring for her three nieces with a promising romance.
After her brother and sister-in-law die in a car accident, Bryce Weatherford inherits custody of her wild, unpredictable, lovable nieces: Addie, age 5; Cecily, 8; and June, 12. Though she's not exactly prepared to be a parental figure, she's determined to make the best of it—and figure out a way to make ends meet financially for her new wards. A disastrous trip to the grocery store results in her crossing paths with Marine veteran Ryker Matthews, and amid strewn containers of baby food, she might actually be developing a crush at first sight. But Bryce isn't the only one who has a lot on her plate, both in the professional and emotional sense. Ryker, whose left leg was amputated below the knee after his last tour in Afghanistan, is still dealing with PTSD and isn't sure he wants to subject Bryce to his struggles. Nevertheless, they continue to run into each other all over town, and with each new encounter, both sides of this couple start to have an increasingly hard time remembering why they wanted to avoid dating each other to begin with. Pair that with several meddling members of Ryker's family—many of whom readers may recognize from previous books—and the way small-town gossip can spread like wildfire, and you've got a recipe for hilarity and heartwarming moments. While Newton's latest romance isn't lacking in funny scenarios, it's not afraid to delve into some poignant and personal subjects. Grief and learning to move on after loss are significant themes, but these heavier elements are balanced by a heartfelt portrayal of a family unit that only becomes stronger after time and trials. A late-stage miscommunication feels unnecessary to the plot, but the final resolution is satisfying enough to leave a smile on any reader's face.
A charming, candid rom-com.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2023
ISBN: 9781538703724
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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