This small-town romp has sexy main characters and a wacky, at-times exasperating crew.
A bad-boy photographer and a by-the-book businesswoman fall in love in a small town.
Nikolai Vulkov is taking some time off. Though he’s used to traveling the world photographing beautiful models and attending gallery openings in Manhattan, Niko hasn’t felt like picking up his camera in a long time. Looking for a change of scenery and maybe even a little inspiration, he decides to visit his friend Summer Pierce’s home in Blue Moon for a few weeks. Blue Moon is a quaint town in upstate New York teeming with quirky locals and acres of farmland, and is also the place where many inhabitants find their one true love. Take Summer’s husband, for example: Each of the Pierce brothers is happily married, perhaps with some intervention from the town’s “Beautification Committee,” a group of busybodies who meddle in the love affairs of Blue Moon newbies. Not that Niko is looking for anything serious—for all Blue Moon knows, he’s a died-in-the-wool, no-strings-attached bad boy. That is, until he meets Emmaline Merrill. New to town herself, Emma runs a tight ship as manager of the local brewery. Ever since her mother left when she was young, Emma has morphed into what her sisters call a control freak. It’s in her nature to take charge and want stability, but as soon as Niko walks into the brewery with his motorcycle boots and wolfish grin, she has to fight hard not to let him in. As Niko works to prove to Emma that he’s serious relationship material, could the town of Blue Moon start to feel like home for the two newcomers? In Book 4 of her Blue Moon series, Score excels at creating a setting full of antics, farm animals, and vibrant characters. Though the Pierce family and company can be a bit much, with overly precocious children and a lot of macho talk, the cozy location and elevated spice level will make this a quick and easy read.
This small-town romp has sexy main characters and a wacky, at-times exasperating crew.Pub Date: July 8, 2025
ISBN: 9781728295251
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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 heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.
Two struggling authors spend the summer writing and falling in love in a quaint beach town.
January Andrews has just arrived in the small town of North Bear Shores with some serious baggage. Her father has been dead for a year, but she still hasn’t come to terms with what she found out at his funeral—he had been cheating on her mother for years. January plans to spend the summer cleaning out and selling the house her father and “That Woman” lived in together. But she’s also a down-on-her-luck author facing writer’s block, and she no longer believes in the happily-ever-after she’s made the benchmark of her work. Her steadily dwindling bank account, though, is a daily reminder that she must sell her next book, and fast. Serendipitously, she discovers that her new next-door neighbor is Augustus Everett, the darling of the literary fiction set and her former college rival/crush. Gus also happens to be struggling with his next book (and some serious trauma that unfolds throughout the novel). Though the two get off to a rocky start, they soon make a bet: Gus will try to write a romance novel, and January will attempt “bleak literary fiction.” They spend the summer teaching each other the art of their own genres—January takes Gus on a romantic outing to the local carnival; Gus takes January to the burned-down remains of a former cult—and they both process their own grief, loss, and trauma through this experiment. There are more than enough steamy scenes to sustain the slow-burn romance, and smart commentary on the placement and purpose of “women’s fiction” joins with crucial conversations about mental health to add multiple intriguing layers to the plot.
A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0673-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Jove/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
BOOK TO SCREEN
PERSPECTIVES
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