A heartwarming, refreshingly nuanced take on the old fantasy standard of the road not taken.
A Christmas romance all about life’s lost chances.
In her latest novel, Baird introduces readers to ninth grade English teacher Paige Pierce, who’s caught up in organizational efforts to launch her “Paws and Read” literacy program. Paige is happy and upbeat, professionally dedicated, and seldom given to maudlin sentimentality when it comes to her single status. “I would be involved with someone, if the right person had come along,” she thinks. “But no one’s ever seemed just right and, after a few short months, each union’s fizzled.” When she’s being honest with herself, Paige is willing to admit this isn’t precisely true. One union seemed exactly right: her relationship with Dean Burton, two years her senior, who moved away from town and left her floundering. Nowadays, she tells herself that she prefers the single life. “Who needs kids and sleepless nights? A messy house…laundry? Not me, thankfully.” But when a celestial event known as “the Christmas Comet” seems to sweep her into an alternate reality in which she’s married to Dean and the mother of two little children, all those certainties start to wobble. “You’re living on the cusp of two realities,” she’s told by the novel’s requisite Mystery Character (here called “Mary Christmas”). “You’re trying to discern whether you’ve made the very best choices.” As a magic advent calendar seems to count down the days she can remain in Reality 2, Paige must decide what those very best choices are. Can she stay in this new world where she has the life she denied she ever wanted? Does she want to stay?
Baird takes the familiar old formula of It’s a Wonderful Life and plays with it in inventive ways. She avoids the overly simplistic gambit of portraying the life of Reality 1 as dreary or horrible in some way (although readers might not quite believe Paige’s own protestations about how great, great, great it is to be single). She likewise doesn’t insult her readers by giving Reality 2’s Paige a picture-perfect existence free of mess or headaches. Baird also offers a sensitive portrayal of Paige’s gradual fading of wariness about Reality 2. “After the initial bout of disorientation, I’ve found my way in the woods,” she thinks once her comfort grows. “And it’s not dark and scary here. It’s a happy and protected place.” Her husband, children, and dog make Reality 2 simply more fulfilling than her life in Reality 1, which adds dramatic intensity to her sense that whatever advent-calendar magic is giving her this wonderful life is inexorably running out. Once Paige shares her knowledge of these dual realities with Reality 2’s Dean, Baird broadens narrative opportunities to explore what really constitutes a happily-ever-after romance ending. And along the way, she deftly weaves in all the expected rewards of the genre; readers get to savor the sheer comfort of Paige’s love for Dean. “I relax against him and sigh, enjoying this special moment,” she thinks in one of many such moments. “I love sitting beside him and feeling his body warmth seep into mine.” Readers will universally know which Reality they’re rooting for.
A heartwarming, refreshingly nuanced take on the old fantasy standard of the road not taken.Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781942058496
Page Count: 356
Publisher: Winter Wedding Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Bailey hits it out of the park with her latest spicy romance.
Two ambitious athletes plus one fake-dating arrangement—what could go wrong?
Though it’s only his first season for the Boston Bearcats hockey team, Robbie Corrigan has a well-established reputation as a playboy. He’s got major skills on the ice, and he’s also much more likely to love ’em and leave ’em than he is to build any long, meaningful relationships. Naturally, he’s just met the one woman who seems completely resistant to his charm: Skylar Page, a Boston University softball pitcher. When they meet over a friendly Saturday morning baseball game, Robbie instantly makes a poor impression by bragging to his teammates about his latest conquest within Skylar’s hearing. He thinks she’s gorgeous, though, and when he sets his sights on her, he’s surprised that she doesn’t seem to know it. Despite her initial distaste for Robbie, Skylar grudgingly confesses that she could use his help. If they pretend to date, maybe her current crush—her brother’s best friend—will finally sit up and take notice of her in a romantic way. The timing is less than ideal, since Robbie will have to team up with Skylar in the Page family’s latest wilderness competition, but it turns out that Robbie’s willingness to play fake boyfriend stems from some very real feelings. He wants to prove to her that he’s a changed man, and redeeming himself in her eyes starts with making sure she knows that she can really trust him. The latest addition to Bailey’s Big Shots series is a sexy, feel-good romance brimming over with the author’s trademark humor and dirty talk. While Skylar and Robbie’s dynamic doesn’t quite reach the level of enemies-to-lovers—he’s so head-over-heels for her that there’s no room for any real mean-spiritedness—their playful snark doubles as a welcome dash of foreplay in the lead-up to some seriously steamy scenes. Robbie’s efforts to show Skylar that he’s turned over a new leaf also result in some of the book’s best moments, emphasizing his commitment to becoming the type of man he knows she deserves.
Bailey hits it out of the park with her latest spicy romance.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780063380837
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
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
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