An entertaining tale exploring love, consent, and the differences between found and biological families.
In Spears’ Starlight and Cinnamon (2025), corporate spy Daphne Redgrave encountered romance, but in this series entry, her sister takes the spotlight.
Matalina "Mattie" Redgrave, an introverted freelance writer, is forced to quarantine for 14 days in an Aotearoa New Zealand hotel during the height of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. However, Mattie, calling herself “M,” has fun corresponding via letters with another hotel guest who signs his missives “R.” Soon R is revealed to be the film star Raphael “Raph” Callan. Desperately evading an ex-girlfriend and a repulsive book (That Scarlet, Beating Heart) slated for film adaptation, Raph’s frayed nerves are soothed by M’s correspondence. The budding relationship develops rapidly, encouraged on Mattie’s side by Daphne and friend Rin Butcher, and on Raph’s by his “best mate” Luke Maston. After the quarantine ends and Mattie and Raph test negative for Covid, they can finally meet in person. But crises loom: Mattie is guilted into attending her brother’s wedding as a bridesmaid, paired to a groomsman who bullied her in school, while Raph’s former lover Edie Everette thinks that lies will win him back. Can the mischief-making team of Daphne, Rin, and Mattie again pave the way for love? Spears deftly uses letters, emails, and texts, ranging in tone from witty to wise, to illuminate various facets of the characters. In a group chat, Rin teases, “Mattie’s so thirsty she’s ready to fall in bed SORRY I meant in love after four letters…” But later, Rin and Daphne fiercely contradict Mattie’s self-deprecating texts. Letter-writing levels the playing field between Mattie and Raph, enabling them to find similarities, such as insecurity about their own bodies. Spears promises in an author’s note that "there will be kissing," and she delivers, but the usual graphic sex for the genre is humorously subverted when Mattie, garbed in "Victorian widow" clothes, has so many layers on that Raph can’t even feel her skin at first. The intriguing New Zealand setting, though, is neutralized by its timeframe, as Covid-related lockdowns are strongly enforced in the country.
An entertaining tale exploring love, consent, and the differences between found and biological families.Pub Date: Dec. 9, 2025
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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