A page-turning combo of sexy and sweet summer fun.
Opposites attract when two travelers with differing personalities share a cabin for the summer.
Dylan isn’t usually a rule breaker: She’s punctual, meticulous, and would never live with a guy she barely knows…until now. After her boyfriend dumped her before their college graduation, making her question her perfectly planned future, Dylan decides it’s time to start taking chances. She’s agreed to delay her accounting job until winter and go along with her friend Ava Monroe’s twin brother, Max, on a six-week-long prepaid trip to an eco-lodge in Wales since his plus-one cancelled. Max is a carefree, flirtatious travel influencer with poor organizational skills—the total opposite of Dylan. After a major health scare a few years ago gave Max a second chance at life, he’s become a free spirit, though his demons threaten to surface whenever life gets too serious or future-oriented. When Dylan insists they lay a few ground rules for living together—which includes no hooking up—Max can’t help but humor his fascinating new roommate. As they get to know one another, Dylan realizes that Max has a sneaky way of getting her to come out of her shell—and it doesn’t hurt that he’s downright handsome. Max even begins to enjoy the mundanities of rooming with Dylan, and soon enough, it becomes too hard not to break their roommate rule. Stone’s latest is a romantic, funny, and emotional story that follows two people as they navigate fear of the future and learn how to let go of the past. Though Dylan and Max have their differences, it never feels like they’re trying to prove or force their feelings, and their inevitable attraction feels genuine and right. Set alongside the lush Welsh coast, this is a charming beach read for fans of Emily Henry and Sophie Cousens.
A page-turning combo of sexy and sweet summer fun.Pub Date: today
ISBN: 9780063434844
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harper Perennial/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
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 charming love story that absolutely radiates warmth.
A single mom winds up fake dating an incredibly wealthy man in her hometown.
Dolly Brick is back in her hometown of Whitfield, Rhode Island, for the summer to help her dad and disabled brother manage their house and family business. As a 39-year-old single mother with multiple jobs—which now include working at the Brick Fish House—Dolly is always busy. When her mom left their family years ago, Dolly took over caring for her siblings and father and never really stopped. When she runs into Stewart Whitfield after making a shrimp delivery to his family’s mansion, she doesn’t think they could be more different. She’s had to figure out how to do everything by herself, and he can’t even change a tire. That’s why Stewart’s proposal that she pretend to be his girlfriend feels so unbelievable—but it comes with a hefty check that she desperately needs for home repairs. So she becomes the fake girlfriend of Stewart Whitfield (as in, the Whitfields her town is named after; his real fiancée just dumped him and it’s a bad time for him to be single) and experiences what it’s like to walk into fancy buildings through the front door instead of the service entrance. More than the boats and helicopter and expensive dinners, though, Dolly is impressed by what a kind man Stewart is—and how it feels to let someone else take care of her for a change. Soon, their relationship starts to feel more real than fake. Monaghan creates an impossibly winning story with a charming, lovable heroine. Dolly is capable, hardworking, and will do anything for the people she loves. She and Stewart both possess real flaws, and while their relationship begins with one of the most beloved rom-com tropes, their challenges feel like realistic adult obstacles rather than easily solved miscommunications. It’s also refreshing that, even though Dolly must learn to allow other people to help her, she never views her caretaking responsibilities as burdens. She deeply loves her family, and that love carries through the entire story.
A charming love story that absolutely radiates warmth.Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9780593853979
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
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