A delightful Sapphic historical romance with a social conscience.
In a late-19th-century Britain in which queer relationships are normalized, a lord’s dutiful daughter is inexorably drawn to an outspoken American.
Two of Lord Tallon’s daughters (Marigold and Dani) are attracted to women, and two (Freya and Angelica) favor men. Lacking sons, he needs a daughter to marry a titled man and bear a grandson to be his heir. Freya receives most of the pressure—Angelica has only daughters, and children adopted by two women cannot inherit. Ivy Yada-Lovell, a Sapphic American poetess with a scandalous reputation, joins her newly minted viscount brother at a neighboring manor and immediately falls for Freya. Despite Lord Tallon’s expectations and his contempt for Ivy’s outspoken support of women’s rights, Freya tumbles headlong into her first same-sex romance. Ivy, meanwhile, finds her yearning for Freya extends to the Tallon sisters’ loving family life. Can they overcome the obstacles in their path? Despite being set in the late Victorian era, the lack of mention of the era’s technology gives the setting more of a Regency feeling. This effervescent romance features an evocatively built world, strong, sympathetic characters, and sweet moments of yearning and connection. A pervasive theme in the book centers on queer women’s lack of inheritance rights. Familiar historical romance tropes abound, and the intimate moments are chaste. Freya’s family is cued white, Ivy is of English and Japanese descent, and there’s diversity in gender identity and ethnicity among the supporting cast.
A delightful Sapphic historical romance with a social conscience. (Historical romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781250356314
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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
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