Provides all the genre pleasures that romance fans demand with some fantasy flair.
This first installment of a romance series introduces an angelic, otherworldly hero.
Desperate to escape a life bound to a man she doesn’t want, Trinity travels through a portal from her world to Earth. Temporarily blind, almost naked, and with no memory of who she is or where she’s from, she lands in the middle of a street in a Minnesota town. The stranger who rescues her turns out to be a young artist named Jayden. After bringing Trinity to the studio that also serves as his apartment, he does his best to care for this young woman, who is as much a mystery to herself as she is to him—and she’s quite a mystery. Cars, cellphones, french fries, almost everything, it seems, is new to her (“This thing Jayden called a shower was the most amazing contraption ever”). She wears a gold bracelet that she cannot explain. She burns her hand because she doesn’t know that she shouldn’t touch a hot saucepan, but her blisters heal almost instantly. She speaks English, but she doesn’t understand slang or metaphorical speech—nor does she know the meaning of the word girlfriend. She does know that Jayden makes her feel things she’s never experienced before. And when she finally kisses him, wings unfurl from her shoulder blades. Jayden feels the same intense connection that Trinity does, and only a moment passes before his shock turns into delight. They will learn more about who Trinity is and where she’s from, but this knowledge will only come as danger gets closer to her. It appears that the would-be mate she fled wants her back—and that she’s not the only person from her world to travel to Earth. The resulting drama is fast-paced and enjoyable, and the ending is emotionally satisfying. But there are a few weak points in Rush’s vibrant story. Jayden has a girlfriend who is cartoonishly nasty and inconsistently portrayed. She is fiercely jealous and determined to hang onto her man but also easily dispatched. And there doesn’t seem to be any logic to which earthly phenomena are familiar to Trinity and which aren’t. For example, she’s never seen a refrigerator before, but she knows what to do with a toothbrush and toothpaste.
Provides all the genre pleasures that romance fans demand with some fantasy flair.Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2022
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 230
Publisher: FHL Press
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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