An entertaining romance that dwells on mutual accommodation as much as mind-blowing sex.
An intense sexual relationship is tested by compatibility issues and coronavirus restrictions in Moore’s fretful romance series-starter.
While covering a technology convention, journalist Dash Hall at first thinks that the “MiO” gadget he’s fondling is a video game controller; he’s flummoxed when Penny Maxwell, MiO’s attractive CEO and lead engineer, informs him that it’s actually a sex toy designed “to create a blended orgasmic experience” for women. Dash and Penny bump into each other that night at a bar, and soon, by following Penny’s no-nonsense instructions, Dash learns the hands-on version of the blended orgasm technique and provides her with shattering climaxes. Alas, the Covid-19 pandemic lands them in home quarantine, but Dash breaks it to move from San Francisco to Penny’s Los Angeles apartment to nurse her through a bad case of the virus. More orgasms ensue and Penny invites the preternaturally sensitive and supportive Dash into her bed on a permanent basis. But strains start to emerge as Covid lockdowns disrupt the financing and supply chain that Penny needs to keep her company going. Further stressing her out is Dash’s chaotic housekeeping—a product of his ADHD—that makes a seemingly permanent mess of her kitchen and laundry. The mounting pressures lead to a blow-up and break-up that Penny and Dash regret but don’t know how to repair. This first installment of Moore’s Love in the Quarantime series paints a colorful portrait of Covid-era relationships by evoking the ambient anxiety and problems of claustrophobic work-from-home arrangements. Moore’s prose is lively and full of racy banter (“If you want clearheaded, I need more coffee, a bra, and at least ten feet of distance from your dick”), and the sex scenes are exuberant. However, the author’s determination to demonstrate proper communication sometimes results in dialogue that sounds like a sex-ed tutorial: “My G-spot is about two knuckles in….Go slow with these two fingers until you feel a spongy walnut.” Overall, Penny and Dash are flawed but endearing lovebirds whom readers will root for.
An entertaining romance that dwells on mutual accommodation as much as mind-blowing sex.Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-950345-06-9
Page Count: 414
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A powerfully strong romance for readers who like their love stories full of torment and passion.
Best friends confront feelings for each other when they take a honeymoon trip together.
Francesca Gardiner and George Saint James have always been best friends—just like Jo and Laurie from Little Women, which they both love. Frankie has a big, complicated family and George was the boy next door who’d moved in with his eccentric grandmother. Their friendship survived childhood, awkward teenage years, and living together as young adults without ever venturing into the romantic—well, except for one kiss, but they don’t talk about that. When Frankie gets engaged to an older professor named Nate, George isn’t happy and a huge fight ensues. Despite his misgivings, George shows up to be her best man, but Nate leaves Frankie right before the wedding with only a cryptic letter. Devastated, Frankie goes to a friend’s house to recuperate, but her honeymoon is already planned and paid for—so she decides to travel to Tofino, a picturesque town on the coast of Vancouver Island, with George taking Nate’s place. Frankie wants to fix her friendship with George, but now that they’re in a romantic suite in a beautiful location, things are more complicated than ever. She’d always thought a relationship would be a bad idea, but she’s slowly beginning to realize they’ll never be able to go back to being kids. Maybe the only way forward involves forging a new kind of relationship. Fortune, the author of romances like This Summer Will Be Different (2024), returns with another love story full of longing and intense angst. The many allusions to Little Women are charming, and Frankie is a delightfully headstrong, feisty character. She and George have explosive chemistry, and Fortune manages to make the “will-they-or-won’t-they” nature of their relationship feel like life-or-death stakes.
A powerfully strong romance for readers who like their love stories full of torment and passion.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9780593953242
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A cleverly titled, cozy SF romance that marks Thorne as a writer to watch.
After purchasing a dilapidated, century-old starship called the Destitute, Torian Razner discovers that the moss covering it is, in fact, a deeply sarcastic sentient computer with abandonment issues.
Torian’s sister, Celise, is dying. Determined to save her life by getting her to a distant planet with air she can breathe, Torian ignores her former captain Amelia Perrosk’s warning that it’s an impossible task (along with any romantic feelings she might have for Amelia). Using the only ionite bars she has to her name, Torian purchases an ancient, moss-covered alien starship that appears to be on its last legs, so to speak. She hardly expected the moss to be a sentient computer or for it to hold a century-old grudge against its former alien captain. Moss quickly proves itself to be acerbic, intelligent, and rightly angry after being having been left behind for 100 years by its former captain. The two form a reluctant and surprising alliance, Torian proving to Moss that not all captains are “dog-turd fungus,” and they both gradually evolve into the best versions of themselves, human or otherwise. It’s obvious from the early pages that Thorne has crafted a story tailored to fans of Becky Chambers’ Monk & Robot series and Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries. Falling somewhere between the two, this is a delightful mashup of romance, found family, and a touch of violence as Moss grapples with its feelings about its former captain and the unexpected kindness that Torian shows. Sweet without being overly saccharine, it’s a book for readers who want the adventure that comes with the vastness of outer space without its harsher realities.
A cleverly titled, cozy SF romance that marks Thorne as a writer to watch.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781250414144
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bramble Books
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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