Sympathetic characters demonstrate emotional growth and spread holiday cheer in this cozy romance.
An English art student returns home for the holidays, hoping to rediscover her passion, in a stand-alone second series entry.
Red-haired Ivy Pearson imagined something more glamorous than returning to quirky Fox Bay, her Cornish seaside hometown, so soon after leaving for Cornwall Art College. But after a difficult first few months—and in need of a job and somewhere to focus and redo her end-of-term project—Ivy is back in the place where she was known as an awkward loner. Her best friend, Raye, by contrast, has a new girlfriend and is enjoying studying textiles in Glasgow. Ivy plans to hide away, working at the Wildest Dreams Bookshop. But she’s surprised by the swarms of tourists in town, including a cheerful, talkative American boy named Trip Wakefield, who’s renting rooms above the bookshop with his sister, Brooke. When Brooke asks Ivy to be their personal tour guide, it becomes the spark she needs to regain confidence in her art and herself. The well-paced narrative features likable characters (who are mostly cued white). Ivy has strengths and quirks that many readers will identify with, and her growth will likely inspire others to reconnect with their own interests in meaningful ways. Trip is well-rounded, and his portrayal highlights the importance of not judging a book by its cover. This grumpy/sunshine Christmas romance is both engaging and uplifting.
Sympathetic characters demonstrate emotional growth and spread holiday cheer in this cozy romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9780063479029
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Avon A/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A worthy second-chance romance.
In this follow-up to 2021’s Better Than the Movies, a 20-year-old college freshman gets a second chance at his dreams.
After the death of his father and his mother’s subsequent physical and emotional disappearance, Wes Bennett left behind all of his plans and the girl he made them with to go home and take care of Sarah, his younger sister. But now, Sarah has graduated, his mom is back on her feet, and by some miracle, Wes has an offer to pitch for UCLA’s baseball team. Liz Buxbaum, the girl he’s always loved, works for the university’s athletic department, taking photos and video of the team for social media, which means that maybe he can have a second chance at love, too. But since Wes left, Liz has made every effort to protect herself from ever feeling that broken again; there’s no room for love, because she doesn’t believe in it anymore. Or she doesn’t want to. This second-chance sports romance includes fake dates, quippy and quirky best friends, real heartache, and the sweet ache of first love. The clever dialogue keeps readers from drowning in the main characters’ emotional push-and-pull. Reading the first novel isn’t necessary for appreciating this one, although knowing the full history between Wes and Liz will only add to the ache and longing readers feel from and for them. Main characters are cued white.
A worthy second-chance romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9781665947138
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2024
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