A heartfelt second-chance love story that’s grounded in grief and resilience.
In Sloane’s romance novel, a grieving single mother, determined to buy a ranch, finds her plans upended after she meets a restless mechanic.
Ever since her spouse died in a horse-riding accident, Ava Garcia has been living in survival mode. She finds herself unable to return to the ranch, Hidden Meadows, where the accident occurred, and she’s spent the past year raising her toddler, Nina, and working overtime as an office assistant. She’s been trying to save enough to put a down payment on the ranch property: “If I lost our ranch, I lost him forever.” She’s been working for her current boyfriend, a real estate agent, and she’s shocked to learn that he’s secretly arranged to sell the ranch to a luxury hotel developer. Their very public breakup at a strip mall leaves Ava without a job or a place to live. Help arrives in the form of Eli Anderson, a nomadic mechanic who rescues Nina from a near-accident in the mall’s parking lot and offers the pair his family’s trailer for the night. Eli’s in town to help his retired architect father with his own recently bought ranch, although neither of them have any ranch experience. He helps Ava get back on her feet as she hunts for a job, applies for apartments, and does chores around the ranch to earn her keep. She’s determined to convince the aging owner of Hidden Meadows to sell the struggling property to her. But will Eli’s fear of putting down roots cost them both the ranches and their budding romance? The greatest strength of Sloane’s novel lies in how authentic Ava’s grief is, revealing itself in her stubborn independence, self-isolation, and desperate need to hold everything together on her own. The romance unfolds naturally via steady banter, with Eli consistently showing up for Ava and Nina when they need him most. Hidden Meadows and the other run-down ranch provide strong, lived-in settings, with both properties ably reflecting the characters’ emotional journeys. Although the plot follows familiar romance conventions, the nuanced handling of loss and love gives the novel additional depth.
A heartfelt second-chance love story that’s grounded in grief and resilience.Pub Date: June 29, 2026
ISBN: 9798995331605
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Caffeinated Llama
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A powerfully strong romance for readers who like their love stories full of torment and passion.
Best friends confront feelings for each other when they take a honeymoon trip together.
Francesca Gardiner and George Saint James have always been best friends—just like Jo and Laurie from Little Women, which they both love. Frankie has a big, complicated family and George was the boy next door who’d moved in with his eccentric grandmother. Their friendship survived childhood, awkward teenage years, and living together as young adults without ever venturing into the romantic—well, except for one kiss, but they don’t talk about that. When Frankie gets engaged to an older professor named Nate, George isn’t happy and a huge fight ensues. Despite his misgivings, George shows up to be her best man, but Nate leaves Frankie right before the wedding with only a cryptic letter. Devastated, Frankie goes to a friend’s house to recuperate, but her honeymoon is already planned and paid for—so she decides to travel to Tofino, a picturesque town on the coast of Vancouver Island, with George taking Nate’s place. Frankie wants to fix her friendship with George, but now that they’re in a romantic suite in a beautiful location, things are more complicated than ever. She’d always thought a relationship would be a bad idea, but she’s slowly beginning to realize they’ll never be able to go back to being kids. Maybe the only way forward involves forging a new kind of relationship. Fortune, the author of romances like This Summer Will Be Different (2024), returns with another love story full of longing and intense angst. The many allusions to Little Women are charming, and Frankie is a delightfully headstrong, feisty character. She and George have explosive chemistry, and Fortune manages to make the “will-they-or-won’t-they” nature of their relationship feel like life-or-death stakes.
A powerfully strong romance for readers who like their love stories full of torment and passion.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9780593953242
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
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
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