An appealing historical romance with enchanting touches.
A Gilded Age grifter makes good, eventually.
Josie Smith does what she needs to get by, after having been abandoned as an infant and raised at the Boston Children’s Asylum. She takes care of herself and her best friend and looks for every opportunity to sing, in the hopes that her extraordinary talent might make her famous someday. And indeed, singing on the street does bring attention her way, but it’s from one of Boston’s many con men: Leo Hardy. His father died after having been unfairly accused by the wealthy Pendelton family of having kidnapped their baby, and now he’ll do anything to keep his mother and sisters off the streets. When the desperate Leo hears Josie sing, he’s immediately drawn to her voice, and then, when he realizes she has an uncanny resemblance to the lost Pendelton child, he puts together a swindle that could make them both rich. Leo convinces Josie to let him be her manager, then insists on taking her to New York City to audition for her big break; unbeknownst to her, he’s also plotting to get her near the Pendeltons, in the hopes they’ll believe she’s their daughter and he can collect the reward for finding her. Neither of them counts on what will happen when their purposely platonic relationship starts to heat up in the middle of Central Park, or what else will happen after the Pendeltons finally learn about Josie. Shupe’s newest Gilded Age romance builds on the framework of the movie Anastasia, which is a good match for the extreme inequality of the era. This inspiration explains the fantastical nature of the story; though Shupe includes the historical details that always set her romances apart, and it’s not her first time adapting a fairy tale, it becomes hard to suspend disbelief at certain points. Her writing is as saucy and spicy as ever, however, and combined with some thoughtful consideration of class and wealth in the era, Shupe’s fans will find much to enjoy.
An appealing historical romance with enchanting touches.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9780063310315
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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