A moving conclusion to an excellent historical romance series.
The final Luna sister searches for happiness.
Four years ago, Gabriela Luna and her sisters fled their home in Mexico City to escape the encroaching French army, then sailed to London to try to win supporters for the Mexican cause. Now, the rebellious and impulsive Gabby is the only one of the three who isn’t married, and after she’s nearly trapped into matrimony by a penniless earl seeking her healthy dowry, she decides it’s time to go home and prove her worth to her father. Onboard the ship, she’s dismayed to learn that one of her traveling companions is Sebastian Brooks, the Duke of Whitfield, who’s heading abroad to check on an investment (and keep an eye on Gabby). Gabby has never been able to see him as more than a rake, after walking in on him and a partner in a very intimate moment, and the two have been arguing ever since. The long journey, however, gives them a chance to see each other in a new light. Once back in Mexico, Gabby is upset when she realizes that her father still doesn’t respect her work, but also pleasantly surprised that Sebastian steps up to defend her. Gabby quickly realizes that even on the other side of the Atlantic she’s still being assessed primarily for her value as a wife, and when she decides to escape back to England, Sebastian is the one who accompanies her. And since there’s only one cabin left, which they need to share, it isn’t long before the connection that’s been developing between them becomes intense and physical—but after they’re caught stealing one last kiss on the London docks, it looks as though Gabby’s journey may end up with a marriage after all. De la Rosa’s highly anticipated final Luna Sisters novel is a delight; the slow burn between Gabby and Sebastian is expertly executed, as is their enemies-to-lovers dynamic. Fans will be happy to see Gabby finally get her turn in the spotlight, as well as to get another glimpse at the lives that her sisters, Isabel and Ana María, have been leading since their HEAs. Through it all, De la Rosa delivers a complex, compelling story that celebrates the embrace of family alongside the thrill of true love.
A moving conclusion to an excellent historical romance series.Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9780593440926
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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 fun, positively frothy friends-to-lovers romance.
While on her sister’s wedding cruise, a woman enlists her childhood best friend for help as she attempts to woo her longtime crush.
JoJo Burton is bad at love. After she leaves her terrible fiancé, Pearce Richmond, at the altar, she’s convinced she might never settle down. But during her sister’s wedding, which is being held on an eight-day cruise to the Bahamas and Cozumel, she and her family concoct a plan that will help her seduce her recently divorced childhood crush, Finn Turner. The two of them once shared a blindfolded kiss that might have ruined JoJo for all other men, and she’s never forgotten it. But then JoJo’s best friend, Cooper Watts, shows up. Cooper and JoJo were inseparable as children but didn’t talk for years after she got engaged to Pearce. She doesn’t know why he suddenly disappeared on her, but it doesn’t matter—he’s here now, and she needs him to help her get Finn to reenact that long-ago kiss. But after she and Cooper share a cabin, get thrown together for every wedding week activity, and even engage in the classic friendly flirting meant to make another man jealous, JoJo starts to realize that Finn might not be the man she’s been waiting for, after all. Center keeps things light, focusing on humor even when the subject matter veers into family drama. JoJo and Cooper find themselves caught up in the sort of tropes that are catnip for romance fans—he takes care of her when she has a sunburn, for instance, and they participate in a slow-dance contest. As Center reveals in an author’s note at the beginning, “Spoiler: This book will end well.” The destination may not be a surprise, but the journey is a delight.
A fun, positively frothy friends-to-lovers romance.Pub Date: May 19, 2026
ISBN: 9781250408051
Page Count: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
