A mystery-romance that’s at its best when exploring its characters’ present-day emotional struggles.
In Exley’s novel, four estranged friends convene at the site of a deadly accident to reckon with secrets, blame, and heartache.
Maddie Harrison returns to her small college hometown of Maplewood on the night of a blood moon (“Trees and hills in the distance were dark silhouettes against the crimson sky”). Five years before, to the day, she and her friends were in a car crash that killed one of them, and it happened during a similar lunar event. This framing device sets things up before flashing back for the bulk of the story and exploring Maddie’s relationships with those friends in the months after the accident. Primarily, it focuses on the ambiguous but comfortable dynamic she strikes up with Myle Callahand, whom most of the town blames for the tragedy. As a coming-of-age story, Exley’s novel tackles some relevant topics in a compelling way, including small-town shame culture, how a community chooses its villain when a tragedy occurs, financial struggles intersecting with grief, and the act of leaving one’s childhood to decide what is right for oneself. The present-day sections are the most skillfully written; they have a distinct eeriness to them as Maddie and the rest of the group gather, unplanned, at Dead Man’s Ravine. The events of the past, on the other hand, are tinged with less-believable dialogue and plot developments, such as Myles’ father showing up at Maddie’s house to tell her that he thinks his son is in love with her. Overall, the tone of the story feels more like high school than college; it seems like the only reason Maddie and company are portrayed as college grads is to lend more credibility to her oddly situated rebellion against her parents and the community.
A mystery-romance that’s at its best when exploring its characters’ present-day emotional struggles.Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2024
ISBN: 9781954448155
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
An extremely fun, fast-paced, and unusual addition to the marriage-in-trouble romance canon.
A marriage on the rocks gets a second chance—with a science-fiction twist.
Dr. Emery Martín is happily married to her husband Luca…mostly. She’s been madly in love with him since the moment they met, but in the three years they’ve been wed, she hasn’t been able to focus much on him. To the world—including Luca—Emery’s job involves developing medical-grade lasers. In reality, she works at a supersecret San Diego lab that’s engineering a compound to bring mammals back from the dead. Although Emery doesn’t want to admit it, she can tell that Luca feels pushed aside, but she believes so deeply in her work that she has a hard time leaving the lab. When Emery is late for dinner—yet again—on their anniversary, she rushes home only to see Luca get hit by a car. She has the secret compound in her car, and she knows she could get in major trouble if she uses it—but what’s she supposed to do, not save her husband’s life? The compound has only been tested on animals so far, and there’s no guarantee it will even work for humans. It does, though, and Luca comes back to life—with one small caveat. He can’t remember most things, including his marriage to Emery. After almost losing Luca, Emery is now grateful for what she has, and she’s determined to show him that she can be a better, more attentive partner. While Luca may not remember her, their magnetic chemistry is still there. This may be the do-over they needed to save their marriage—that is, if Emery can keep the life-reviving measures she took hidden from everyone around them, including nosy neighbors and her own company. Lauren—the pen name of the duo behind rom-coms like The Paradise Problem (2024)—has created a unique hook that feels genuinely refreshing. Emery and Luca’s unconventional second chance is emotionally compelling, and the slight thriller edge as Emery tries to cover up her actions keeps the pages turning.
An extremely fun, fast-paced, and unusual addition to the marriage-in-trouble romance canon.Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781668017753
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.
A happily engaged woman is pulled back to her hometown—and her first love—when tragedy strikes.
Billie Wright is living her dream, running a thriving fertility clinic in New York City and engaged to a wonderful trauma surgeon named Dean. Her happily-ever-after meant giving up her life in Wisconsin, where she left behind many friends as well as her high school sweetheart, Mick. Although they’d been deeply in love, when Billie’s ambition pulled her away from home and toward the city, Mick couldn’t handle either the distance or her busy schedule. Billie has finally moved on from that heartbreak—but then she receives a phone call from Mick, the first communication between them in years. Her best friend, Erin, died in a car accident, leaving behind an 11-year-old daughter, Phoebe. Now Billie must return home to help sort Erin’s affairs and provide some kind of comfort to Phoebe while grieving the loss of her best friend. Of course, being back home also means being in close contact with Mick. Their feelings for each other may not have ever gone away, and their proximity leads to big decisions for Billie. Can she ever reconcile her current life in Manhattan with her past in Wisconsin? And which one will be her future? Giffin knows how to do drama, and she ratchets up the stakes with every page as she continues to reveal new obstacles for Billie. The ending wraps up quite neatly, but the nostalgia-filled ride is full of twists and turns that will keep readers flipping the pages.
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780593600320
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
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