A smart, slightly meta romance that plays out like the best movies.
Two former high school sweethearts with completely different views on love reconnect at their 15-year reunion.
Molly Marks and Seth Rubenstein were very much in love as teenagers, even though they had vastly different personalities. Molly was cynical and jaded from her parents’ terrible divorce, while Seth was cheerful and believed in soul mates. But, somehow, they worked…until Molly unceremoniously dumped him at the end of high school. The two haven’t talked since, but they end up seated next to each other at their 15th high school reunion, where they discover they’re still attracted to each other—even if Seth is now a divorce lawyer, a job that horrifies Molly. They get drunk on too many cocktails and hook up, but Molly knows it doesn’t mean anything—she may write Hollywood rom-coms for a living, but she knows happily-ever-afters exist only in the movies. Seth, however, thinks Molly’s choice of job means there must be a hidden romantic in there somewhere, and he swears she’ll fall in love with him eventually. He’s so certain, they make a bet: They must predict the romantic fate of five different couples from their school…including each other. As the years pass, Molly and Seth keep reconnecting, much like When Harry Met Sally but with way more angst (and sex). Doyle, who also writes historical romance under the name Scarlett Peckham, creates a strong, winning chemistry between Molly and Seth. Many of their connections happen at different points during the pandemic, which brings in a bit of realism that never feels too heavy. It’s refreshing that Seth is a male romance lead with wide-eyed optimism and a deep desire to start a family, while Molly is the skeptical one who runs from commitment. Even though their would-be romance is thwarted at every turn by other partners, distance, and their own hang-ups, Doyle keeps the story interesting enough—with plenty of zingy dialogue and interesting side characters—that it’s always a joy to read.
A smart, slightly meta romance that plays out like the best movies.Pub Date: June 4, 2024
ISBN: 9781250328090
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.
Two people with bad luck in relationships find each other through a popular Reddit thread.
Emma Grant and her best friend, Maddy, are travel nurses, working at hospitals for three-month stints while they see the country. Just a few weeks before they’re set to move to Hawaii, Emma reads a popular “Am I the Asshole” Reddit thread from a Minnesota man who thinks he’s cursed—women he dates find their soulmates after breaking up with him, and the latest one found true love with his best friend! Emma has had a similar experience, which inspires her to DM the man and commiserate. She’s delighted by her witty, lively interactions with software engineer Justin Dahl, and is intrigued when he suggests that if they date each other, maybe they’ll each find their soulmate afterward. Emma upends the Hawaii plan and convinces Maddy to move to Minneapolis for the summer so she can meet Justin in person. The overly complex setup brings Emma and Justin together and the two hit it off, with Justin immediately falling head over heels for Emma. Jimenez then pivots to creating romantic roadblocks and melodramatic subplots centering on each character’s family of origin. Justin’s mother is about to serve six years in prison for embezzlement, which means Justin must move back home to care for his three much younger siblings. Emma was traumatized by her own mother for much of her childhood, left to fend for herself and eventually abandoned in the foster system. When her mother shows up in Minnesota, Emma must face her traumatic childhood and admit that she has prioritized her mother’s well-being over her own. There is little time devoted to Emma’s painful efforts to heal herself enough to accept Justin’s love, which leaves the novel feeling unsatisfying.
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781538704431
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A surprisingly sensual sports romance.
A collegiate diver and swimmer secretly pursue kink together, and risk falling in love along the way.
Scarlett Vandermeer is struggling. Despite a successful recovery from the injury that almost ended her Stanford diving career, she hasn’t been able to get her head together, and it’s affecting her performance. Plus, she’s trying to stay focused on getting into medical school. A relationship would be out of the question. By comparison, Lukas Blomqvist is a swimming idol, a record-breaker who wins medals as easily as breathing, and Scarlett has long been convinced he would never look in her direction—until one fateful night when a mutual friend lets slip that they have something unexpected in common: Scarlett likes to be submissive in the bedroom, while Lukas prefers to take a dominant approach. Now, they both know a big secret about each other, and it’s something neither of them can stop thinking about. It’s Lukas who suggests they have a fling—purely physical, just to take the edge off, so Scarlett can get out of her own head and stop overthinking her dives. Initially, their arrangement is easy to stick to, but the more time they spend together, the more Scarlett starts to realize that what she feels for Lukas is more than physical attraction. Complicating the situation is the fact that Scarlett’s friend Penelope Ross used to go out with Lukas, and the longer Scarlett keeps mum about her true feelings for him, the more difficult it is to keep the situation hidden from another person she really cares about. While Scarlett and Lukas’ relationship does begin as a physical one, their deeper psychological connection takes a little too long to emerge amid all the other storylines, resulting in a somewhat rushed resolution. However, Hazelwood’s latest is proof of the depth and maturity that has emerged in her writing over the years, and it highlights her embrace of sexier, more emotional elements than were present in her original STEMinist rom-coms.
A surprisingly sensual sports romance.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593641057
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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