Score’s latest romance brings humor, heat, and plenty of hijinks.
A heartbroken romance author travels to small-town Pennsylvania in hopes of curing her writer’s block and finding her own happy ending.
Since Hazel Hart’s marriage ended two years ago, she hasn’t been able to write one believable word about happily-ever-afters. And unfortunately for Hazel, she’s in the business of crafting HEAs that make her millions of fans swoon and come back for more. Stuck in a spiral of writer’s block and trash TV, Hazel is months overdue on the deadline for the latest book in her bestselling Spring Gate series—something Zoey Moody, her best friend and literary agent, seldom fails to let her forget. But when Hazel receives an eviction notice from her ex-husband and her publisher threatens to drop her, she decides it’s time to get her mojo back. Inspiration leads Hazel and Zoey from New York City to the quaint town of Story Lake, Pennsylvania, where Hazel spontaneously purchases a historic fixer-upper known as the Heart House that she’d read about in a newspaper article. She hopes to meet and write about Campbell Bishop, the handsomely rugged contractor who’d done some work on her new home in the past. Hazel and Zoey soon realize that their Hallmark-fantasy town is a bit eccentric, and Hazel experiences her first “meet-disaster” (the opposite of a “meet-cute”) with none other than the man she’s cast as her hero. Between Campbell and his brothers, Levi and Gage, and the town’s wacky locals, there’s enough material for Hazel’s new romance series to practically write itself. And hooking up with Campbell Bishop definitely counts as research, as long as it’s completely casual…but where’s the happily-ever-after in being friends with benefits? Score’s latest is funny and flirtatious, and readers will be charmed by Story Lake’s kooky but lovable townsfolk—even as the book doesn’t skimp on spice and sexual tension. No need to be disappointed when the book’s over: The Campbell brothers are an easy setup for a Story Lake trilogy, and Score drops hints about Zoey and Gage’s future in an author’s note.
Score’s latest romance brings humor, heat, and plenty of hijinks.Pub Date: March 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781728297057
Page Count: 528
Publisher: Bloom Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.
Childhood friends, almost-sweethearts, a misunderstanding, and a funeral.
Blair Lang and Declan Renshaw were best friends who went on one date before a disagreement and an accident sent them in different directions after high school. Now Blair is back from college to be with her great-aunt Lottie, who’s dying, and to support her single mother in small-town Seabrook, California. Finding a job at a coffee shop puts her in the path of her former boyfriend, since he turns out to be its owner. Can the two get past their mistakes? The novel uses the popular second-chance romance trope, but Pham fails to energize it through interesting characters. Blair’s grief over her great-aunt’s death and her plan to help her mother are overshadowed by internal monologues about her feelings, the way her friends aren’t paying attention to her, and the novel she plans to write. Declan’s distinguishing characteristic, besides being a former high school quarterback, is his skill at building birdhouses. Unsurprisingly, the couple doesn’t have much chemistry; when they embrace, their “bodies meld like…memory foam.” The wooden characters, unusual word choices (“conglomerate of pedestrians,” “litany of plants”), and odd turns of phrase (“tension melting from his eyebrows like butter melting in a warm pan”) are almost enough to obscure the lack of plot development. What passes for stakes is easily defused when Blair comes into an inheritance that saves her from working as a consultant at Ernst & Young in New York—so she can write a romance novel.
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781668095188
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
Two hot people confronting their trauma, making passionate love, and solving violent crimes! ’Nuff said.
A heartbroken man lusts after his therapist while seeking revenge on a drug kingpin and his enforcer.
Mitch Haskell’s wife, Angela, died two years ago of an apparent suicide, but Mitch has always believed the scene was staged. Certainly, she would never have willingly left their young son, Andrew, behind. Consumed with a thirst for vengeance, Mitch—a former Marine and undercover agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration and currently a police detective—is struggling with alcohol dependency and uncontrolled rage. Andrew is living with his in-laws, who are making not-so-subtle suggestions that they might apply for permanent guardianship if Mitch can’t get it together. So his boss and best friend, John Bowie, mandates that he go into therapy, which puts him in the path of sexy Dr. Dylan Reede. Within a few days, Mitch makes a connection between two new murders and the death of his former partner; finds a big clue that points to the truth about Angela’s death; goes undercover as a homeless man; takes on a vicious drug cartel; and obnoxiously bullies Dylan with a charm offensive that leads them inevitably to bed. While Mitch seems to lean into the stereotype of the ex-soldier/cop with deeply buried trauma who believes that the ends justify the means—at least in law enforcement—Dylan offers the strength and sweetness to help him start breaking down his walls, allowing herself to be vulnerable in turn. Is passionate sex enough to ground a relationship and a family for the long term? For these characters, and the breakneck speed of this thriller, it’s as good a foundation as any.
Two hot people confronting their trauma, making passionate love, and solving violent crimes! ’Nuff said.Pub Date: March 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781538743027
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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