A sexy, splashy love story with sweet depths.
In Dodd’s romance novel, a commitment-wary mermaid performer and a real estate developer with a rakish reputation meet in Vegas and then fake a relationship to aid their careers.
After hauling a bulky suitcase off the carousel at the Las Vegas airport, 32-year-old redhead Coral Triton barrels into 39-year-old “blond Adonis” businessman Jameson “Jamie” Standard, who’s heading toward his limo driver. The couple banter, and as she walks off, a huge bottle of personal lubricant falls out of her suitcase; Coral, who regularly dons a mermaid costume, notes that it’s “crucial for that tight tail squeeze.” This flirtatious meet-cute is conveyed in alternating “Coral” and “Jamie” point-of-view chapters, as is the rest of the novel. The couple are both staying at the L’Atelier hotel; they meet again there and have a one-night stand that Coral labels “amazing” in a note she leaves behind. However, the narrative has already tipped readers off that Coral and Jamie are destined for further encounters: She’s been hired by the L’Atelier’s manager to perform in and help craft an aquarium show, and he’s a Boston-based real estate developer visiting his sister Jocelyn, who’s coincidentally Coral’s new boss. He’s there to wait out the reaction to a recently published “Modern Day Rakes” article in Boston Commons magazine, which features him and could jeopardize his deal with an upright Boston Brahmin client. While in costume, Coral interacts with bedazzled observer Jamie, and the resulting social media buzz gives Jocelyn the idea that they should pretend to have a relationship to publicize the hotel and improve Jamie’s image.
Dodd showcases plenty of hot lovemaking sequences in this second novel in a series about bachelors from a Boston-based real estate development firm. Jamie’s impressive pleasure-her-first gymnastics are particularly celebrated, with Coral marveling at one point at how he’s “the man who’d pulled some sort of ninja sex move to land on his knees while staying between mine.” The novel also effectively highlights the role that social media plays in modern life. Coral naturally leverages it to promote her made-for-Instagram career, and the slightly older, less social media–inclined Jamie is initially rather bemused to find himself tagged as “#brunchdaddy” and “#PrinceEricOnTheProwl.” He stars in his own YouTube video near the end of the novel in what turns out to be his best move of all. Dodd gives this novel’s attractive couple plenty of appealing emotional dimension. Jamie realizes that the “moment [he’d] started wondering how to be a better man, [he] met a woman who wasn’t the least bit interested in changing [his] ways.” Coral’s skittishness regarding relationships is effectively detailed and dramatized as being the result of a difficult childhood; the novel even includes a memorable detour to visit Coral’s mother, a boyfriend-obsessed woman who can’t seem to resist disparaging her daughter. Although the novel has many surface charms—including riffs on professional mermaid travails, such as dealing with weird fans called “merverts”—romance fans will relish the substantive adult relationship that forms between the two undeniably appealing main characters.
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9798986288086
Page Count: 390
Publisher: Sugar Beaver Books, LLC
Review Posted Online: Dec. 18, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A steamy, romantic summer read with a charming setting.
A florist attempts to avoid her best friend’s brother—and their powerful chemistry—on Prince Edward Island.
When Lucy Ashby visits her best friend Bridget’s family home on Prince Edward Island for the first time, Bridget gives her three rules: Eat your weight in oysters….Leave the city behind. And, most importantly, Don’t fall in love with my brother. Unfortunately for Lucy, she sleeps with Felix basically the second her plane lands, unaware that he’s Bridget’s brother until it’s too late. Lucy has never felt understood or accepted by her immediate family, and Bridget is one of the very few people she allows into her inner circle, so Lucy’s desperate to abide by these rules. And so she and Felix try to avoid each other on every one of Lucy’s visits to PEI over the years. And, of course, they fail spectacularly, always returning to each other when they’re in between relationships. But it’s never been anything serious…Lucy makes sure of that, backing off whenever her emotions feel too strong. In her “real life” back in Toronto, it’s easier for Lucy to avoid thinking of Felix as she runs a busy floral shop, working herself into the ground. But when Bridget asks Lucy to come to PEI for an emergency girls’ trip less than two weeks before Bridget is supposed to get married, Lucy drops everything to be there for her best friend. She doesn’t expect to find Felix there, along with feelings that are stronger and more difficult than ever to ignore. Even more than jeopardizing her relationship with Bridget, Lucy is afraid that giving in to her feelings could ruin the life she’s worked so hard to build. Fortune, the author of hits like Every Summer After (2022), gives readers another refreshingly summery story full of angst, romance, and sex scenes aplenty. The PEI setting is a beautiful backdrop for Lucy and Felix’s secret hookups and Lucy’s journey of self-discovery as she learns how to stand on her own two feet as a business owner, friend, and daughter. In addition to frequent (and welcome) Anne of Green Gables references, there are oysters galore and many sandy, windy scenes that transport readers straight to the island.
A steamy, romantic summer read with a charming setting.Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9780593638880
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
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