A true-blue rom-com, perfect for readers wanting a contemporary Jane Austen or Helen Fielding novel.
Rachel Weiss has a group chat: hilarity ensues.
Rachel can never let a noteworthy update escape the group chat. From hot-yoga blackouts to hot guys wearing loafers without socks, Rachel and her friends Eva, Sumira, and Amy lay it all out over text. Out of the four girls, Rachel is by far the chattiest of the chat—but why wouldn’t she be? Rachel’s mom is on a constant warpath, urging her second-eldest daughter to find a husband before she turns an elderly 30, and her most recent fling only wants a physical relationship though he’s not even that good in bed. To top it off, the billionaire tech whiz who bought the house next door to her parents for his parents, a Mr. Christopher Butkus, has a bad habit of showing up during all of Rachel’s most embarrassing moments. Yet, she can’t help but notice that her relationship clock is ticking, and friends with benefits isn’t really her style. It doesn’t help that her mother flags Christopher as the potential husband of the year, and though Rachel can’t help but find his CEO status off-putting, she constantly finds herself thinking about him. But amid all of her own gossip to spill, the group chat erupts into chaos. Amy and her husband haven’t slept together in a month, Eva can’t seem to find the “one,” and Sumira’s been practically MIA. In spite of all her gabbing, it’s time for Rachel to lend a listening ear, rally her friends, and find her happily-ever-after…with plenty of shenanigans to spare. In Applebaum’s laugh-out-loud romance, Rachel bears a charming similarity to that quirky British heroine Bridget Jones. Rachel is confident, loud, and boisterous, and despite her lack of self-awareness and knack for causing a scene, readers will need to know what nonsense she’ll get up to next. The star of the show, however, is Rachel’s tightknit friend group: You’ll come for Darcy, but you’ll stay for the Charlottes.
A true-blue rom-com, perfect for readers wanting a contemporary Jane Austen or Helen Fielding novel.Pub Date: Sept. 24, 2024
ISBN: 9781538757840
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
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
SEEN & HEARD
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