A bright, lighthearted romantic comedy ready for filming.
After witnessing a devastating vehicular homicide in London, Lissa Westcott temporarily swaps jobs with a nurse in the Scottish Highlands, where fresh air and charming locals begin to heal her PTSD.
A nurse practitioner liaison for the National Health Service, Lissa is well versed in the complexities of home visits to people unwilling or unable to participate in the conventional care of hospitals and personal physicians. From impoverished diabetics hiding chocolate bars in their sofa cushions to wealthy drug addicts with gaping, self-inflicted wounds, she’s learned to harden her heart, keep her head down, and just get the job done. Up in Kirrinfief, Cormac MacPherson may have the same job title, but his caseload takes him past a blissful field of bluebells with lovely Loch Ness in the distance. Of course everyone in town knows his business, and it feels like one big family, but he is eager to see what life in London is like for three months. Colgan deftly switches between Lissa’s and Cormac’s experiences, and while Cormac endures hot weather and expensive bars, not to mention the attentions of Kim-Ange, Lissa’s dramatic best friend, Lissa meets a collection of characters from Colgan’s previous novels (including Nina and Lennox from The Bookshop on the Corner), in which other lovely lasses beset by the troubles of the modern world find peace and love in a magical Brigadoon. Predictably yet charmingly, Lissa and Cormac begin to form an intimate bond across the 500 miles separating them, and of course this bond is destined: The heart of the boy Lissa witnessed dying is transplanted into Islay, one of Cormac’s young patients. By the time Lissa returns to London to testify at the inquest, love has blossomed.
A bright, lighthearted romantic comedy ready for filming.Pub Date: June 9, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-291124-7
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
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
PERSPECTIVES
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.
A happily engaged woman is pulled back to her hometown—and her first love—when tragedy strikes.
Billie Wright is living her dream, running a thriving fertility clinic in New York City and engaged to a wonderful trauma surgeon named Dean. Her happily-ever-after meant giving up her life in Wisconsin, where she left behind many friends as well as her high school sweetheart, Mick. Although they’d been deeply in love, when Billie’s ambition pulled her away from home and toward the city, Mick couldn’t handle either the distance or her busy schedule. Billie has finally moved on from that heartbreak—but then she receives a phone call from Mick, the first communication between them in years. Her best friend, Erin, died in a car accident, leaving behind an 11-year-old daughter, Phoebe. Now Billie must return home to help sort Erin’s affairs and provide some kind of comfort to Phoebe while grieving the loss of her best friend. Of course, being back home also means being in close contact with Mick. Their feelings for each other may not have ever gone away, and their proximity leads to big decisions for Billie. Can she ever reconcile her current life in Manhattan with her past in Wisconsin? And which one will be her future? Giffin knows how to do drama, and she ratchets up the stakes with every page as she continues to reveal new obstacles for Billie. The ending wraps up quite neatly, but the nostalgia-filled ride is full of twists and turns that will keep readers flipping the pages.
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780593600320
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
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