A winning romance that deftly balances heft and humor.
Sparks fly when a struggling screenwriter gets the chance of a lifetime to write a rom-com with her hero.
Once upon a time, Emma Wheeler dreamed of being a screenwriter. She put her dream on hold, however, to care for her father, who’s been living with both partial paralysis and Ménière’s disease since an accident 10 years ago. Emma lives for her family now—caring for her father around the clock and doing whatever she can to make sure her younger sister, Sylvie, has the chance to go to college and pursue her passions. But then her manager offers her the miraculous opportunity to help her hero, Charlie Yates, rewrite his first-ever romantic comedy. Charlie typically writes big, blockbuster action films—romantic comedies aren’t his forte, and his first attempt is terrible. But romance is very much in Emma’s wheelhouse, and she knows exactly what Charlie needs to make his screenplay sing. The only problem? He very much does not want her help. He also doesn’t like rom-coms and may not even believe in love. But Emma’s living in Charlie’s fancy L.A. house for six weeks, there to help him rebuild his very flawed movie, and she’s ready to work. Before the screenplay can get better, she has to teach Charlie a few things about romantic comedies (and life in general). This means going line dancing and maybe even kissing…for research purposes. Center, the prolific author of many romances (Hello Stranger, 2023, etc.), clearly understands what it takes to create a winning romantic comedy and puts Charlie and Emma through many of the most delightful rom-com tropes (enemies to lovers, forced proximity). But the book, like all of Center’s work, doesn’t completely eschew darkness—both Emma and Charlie are dealing with trauma and grief. Emma’s feelings of guilt and responsibility toward her family make her journey toward a happily-ever-after with Charlie feel all the more satisfying—as Emma’s dad wisely says, “Happiness is always better with a little bit of sadness.”
A winning romance that deftly balances heft and humor.Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9781250283801
Page Count: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
An extremely fun, fast-paced, and unusual addition to the marriage-in-trouble romance canon.
A marriage on the rocks gets a second chance—with a science-fiction twist.
Dr. Emery Martín is happily married to her husband Luca…mostly. She’s been madly in love with him since the moment they met, but in the three years they’ve been wed, she hasn’t been able to focus much on him. To the world—including Luca—Emery’s job involves developing medical-grade lasers. In reality, she works at a supersecret San Diego lab that’s engineering a compound to bring mammals back from the dead. Although Emery doesn’t want to admit it, she can tell that Luca feels pushed aside, but she believes so deeply in her work that she has a hard time leaving the lab. When Emery is late for dinner—yet again—on their anniversary, she rushes home only to see Luca get hit by a car. She has the secret compound in her car, and she knows she could get in major trouble if she uses it—but what’s she supposed to do, not save her husband’s life? The compound has only been tested on animals so far, and there’s no guarantee it will even work for humans. It does, though, and Luca comes back to life—with one small caveat. He can’t remember most things, including his marriage to Emery. After almost losing Luca, Emery is now grateful for what she has, and she’s determined to show him that she can be a better, more attentive partner. While Luca may not remember her, their magnetic chemistry is still there. This may be the do-over they needed to save their marriage—that is, if Emery can keep the life-reviving measures she took hidden from everyone around them, including nosy neighbors and her own company. Lauren—the pen name of the duo behind rom-coms like The Paradise Problem (2024)—has created a unique hook that feels genuinely refreshing. Emery and Luca’s unconventional second chance is emotionally compelling, and the slight thriller edge as Emery tries to cover up her actions keeps the pages turning.
An extremely fun, fast-paced, and unusual addition to the marriage-in-trouble romance canon.Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781668017753
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
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
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