A lively and electrifying love story.
Competing storm chasers find themselves traveling together in Frances’ debut novel.
Sloane Michaels spends most of her time photographing six-figure Texas weddings, but her real passion is chasing tornadoes across open country. For six weeks each year, she trades champagne towers for lightning storms, always looking for the perfect shot. Surrounded by skepticism and condescension in a male-dominated field, Sloane is resolved to prove herself. This year, she’s been invited to participate in a prestigious cover-shot competition held by Nature Shots, a magazine that’s never featured a female photographer on the cover. Complicating matters further is “Wild Wes” Talbot, a reckless and frustratingly talented storm chaser who, besides being her competition in the contest, has been a persistent thorn in Sloane’s side for the last decade. With the financial backing of his grandfather’s trust fund, Wes can afford to chase storms throughout the summer, while Sloane must return to her practical responsibilities. Having essentially raised her brothers while managing an emotionally immature mother, she has little energy for taking on anyone else’s burdens. But when Wes’ foolhardy behavior leads to a car wreck, Sloane—wanting to beat him fair and square—reluctantly offers to share her vehicle for the remainder of storm season. As they travel around the rural West, the two find themselves navigating more than the unpredictable weather. The novel’s storm-chasing backdrop makes for an exhilarating setting, blending frequent danger with vividly described landscapes: “Another cloud explodes into pale lavender splinters and thunder rolls lazily across the open fields.…the brilliant oranges and reds and pinks peeking out from the horizon while the storm grumbles in the distance.” Sloane and Wes’ dynamic is equally compelling, as their shared familial struggles add emotional depth and conflict, making their connection feel earned amid the chaos.
A lively and electrifying love story.Pub Date: June 23, 2026
ISBN: 9780593956434
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
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
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
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