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
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.
An earnest grad student and a faculty member with a bit of a jerkish reputation concoct a fake dating scheme in this nerdy, STEM-filled contemporary romance.
Olive Smith and professor Adam Carlsen first met in the bathroom of Adam's lab. Olive wore expired contact lenses, reducing her eyes to temporary tears, while Adam just needed to dispose of a solution. It's a memory that only one of them has held onto. Now, nearly three years later, Olive is fully committed to her research in pancreatic cancer at Stanford University's biology department. As a faculty member, Adam's reputation precedes him, since he's made many students cry or drop their programs entirely with his bluntness. When Olive needs her best friend, Anh, to think she's dating someone so Anh will feel more comfortable getting involved with Olive's barely-an-ex, Jeremy, she impulsively kisses Adam, who happens to be standing there when Anh walks by. But rumors start to spread, and the one-time kiss morphs into a fake relationship, especially as Adam sees there's a benefit for him. The university is withholding funds for Adam's research out of fear that he'll leave for a better position elsewhere. If he puts down more roots by getting involved with someone, his research funds could be released at the next budgeting meeting in about a month's time. After setting a few ground rules, Adam and Olive agree that come the end of September, they'll part ways, having gotten what they need from their arrangement. Hazelwood has a keen understanding of romance tropes and puts them to good use—in addition to fake dating, Olive and Adam are an opposites-attract pairing with their sunny and grumpy personalities—but there are a couple of weaknesses in this debut novel. Hazelwood manages to sidestep a lot of the complicated power dynamics of a student-faculty romance by putting Olive and Adam in different departments, but the impetus for their fake relationship has much higher stakes for Adam. Olive does reap the benefits of dating a faculty member, but in the end, she's still the one seemingly punished or taunted by her colleagues; readers may have been hoping for a more subversive twist. For a first novel, there's plenty of shine here, with clear signs that Hazelwood feels completely comfortable with happily-ever-afters.
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-33682-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A unique and complex commentary about being perceived.
An author and a literary critic engage in a war of words in Robinson’s adult debut.
Parker Navarro loathes Selina Chan. His feelings might seem harsh, but Selina is just as tough—and her words are shared with millions of readers. Parker’s nemesis is a literary critic at City Magazine known for her severe yet honest reviews, which can make or break a book before publication. When she blasted Parker’s first novel four years ago, the “Selina Chan effect” caused an avalanche of bad press, souring his debut and costing his publisher millions. And now, on the appearance of his sophomore novel, High and Dry, Selina has done it again: another absolute pan. So when Parker spies Selina at an industry party, he eagerly takes the opportunity to address her ruthless criticism, leading to a heated confrontation. But when videos of their fight go viral, anti-Selina Chan forces rally around Parker—skyrocketing his new book into the public eye. The media can’t get enough of the Parker vs. Selina drama as the two spar on social media, live panels, even in published short stories. But unbeknownst to the public, Selina and Parker have begun a separate, more meaningful dialogue in private. As their feud slowly turns from furious to flirty, they realize that the most significant words they can say are reserved for each other. Robinson, who previously published YA novels under the name Riley Redgate, has written a smart, thought-provoking adult debut that’s perfect for bibliophiles. She toys with a slow-burn romance, but the love story ultimately takes a back seat to a conversation about craft, ambition, and what it means to truly love and stand by what you create. The story is centered around themes of honesty and vulnerability, and when the characters shed their defenses and finally become open to understanding each other, their union is all the more gratifying to witness.
A unique and complex commentary about being perceived.Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9781250431295
Page Count: 400
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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