A lusty tale of romantic suspense full of illicit temptations and second (and third) chances.
An arrogant playboy and a prim, young schoolteacher face off in this explicit new-adult romance.
Novelist Smoak (James the Christmas Grouch, 2018, etc.) introduces readers to Daphne Hughes as she prepares to leave town for her friend Alina’s bachelorette party. Twenty-three-year-old Daphne compulsively cleans her apartment and reviews checklists before she departs for her trip. When her girlfriends arrive at her home in a limo, excited to head to the airport, they all continually refer to Daphne as “Momma bear,” another indication that she is the prude of the group. Once the women arrive at the Blue Parrot Resort in Costa Rica, they run into a group of men they knew in college. The guys are there to celebrate the impending marriage of their friend James. When Daphne meets the groom’s brother, Rob, she recognizes him as the mysterious hottie she used to admire around campus. And Rob recognizes Daphne as the angelic beauty he always marveled at from afar. As the two are finally introduced, it becomes immediately apparent that they are polar opposites, but neither can deny an attraction to the other. Thus a series of push-and-pull scenes begins: Rob attempts to lure Daphne into bed, and she struggles to resist him on the grounds that she is uninterested in a casual affair. Slowly, Rob realizes that he actually wants something more than a fling, too. Unfortunately, Daphne has already lost faith in their potential as a couple. Can Rob convince her to give him a shot before the weekend is over? Although Daphne seems neurotic, the chemistry between her and Rob is sufficiently well-rendered that readers will long to see the couple connect. The novel is a stand-alone but includes many characters from Smoak’s Hunted series. The prose speeds along, maintaining momentum through the many emotional upheavals. With an emphasis on bawdy sexual content, alcohol, and drug use, this romance is not meant for straight-laced readers.
A lusty tale of romantic suspense full of illicit temptations and second (and third) chances.Pub Date: July 21, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5351-6603-4
Page Count: 332
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Oct. 15, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.
Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.
Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.
With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.Pub Date: April 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...
An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.
From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.
Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.Pub Date: May 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
