For a more patient reader.
A nerdy shifter and a quirky human become the spontaneous guardians of an orphaned bear-cub shifter in this paranormal romantic comedy.
Lila Kai is used to being new in town, frequently uprooting her life when the mood strikes. For now, she's decided to settle in Lilydale, Minnesota, with dreams of owning her own home and continuing her business as a teddy-bear surgeon—she repairs broken or ripped stuffed animals for children. Moving day is already a stressful affair, but she manages to hit a wolf with her vehicle and stumble across an injured bear cub, which she then takes home. Lila isn't fazed by the cub's transformation into a 10-year-old girl named Sally Smalls or by a handsome, disheveled man named Oz ripping her screen door off its hinges. Oz Adway is a wolf shifter and accountant who has lofty dreams of becoming a caseworker for the Interspecies Placement Agency. Sally is his first case and is having a hell of a time with it; she doesn't believe her parents have died and is scared of entering the foster system. Oz and Lila frequently collide, using Sally as an excuse to see one another, until things start getting dangerous. After all, Lila is a human in a town full of shifters, and there are some who'd prefer it if she packed up and headed elsewhere. She's also an odd duck with a bit of a mysterious past, and her twee eccentricity quickly loses its charm. Oz is just as big of a goofball, tripping over his words whenever he's in Lila's presence. They clearly have fun with one another, but the romantic chemistry isn't there. The stakes on whether they should or shouldn't start a relationship never feel very high, as both are incredibly accepting and flexible. The novelty of caseworkers for supernatural children is the best part of the book.
For a more patient reader.Pub Date: Feb. 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4926-9704-6
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Review Posted Online: Jan. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2021
An extremely fun, fast-paced, and unusual addition to the marriage-in-trouble romance canon.
A marriage on the rocks gets a second chance—with a science-fiction twist.
Dr. Emery Martín is happily married to her husband Luca…mostly. She’s been madly in love with him since the moment they met, but in the three years they’ve been wed, she hasn’t been able to focus much on him. To the world—including Luca—Emery’s job involves developing medical-grade lasers. In reality, she works at a supersecret San Diego lab that’s engineering a compound to bring mammals back from the dead. Although Emery doesn’t want to admit it, she can tell that Luca feels pushed aside, but she believes so deeply in her work that she has a hard time leaving the lab. When Emery is late for dinner—yet again—on their anniversary, she rushes home only to see Luca get hit by a car. She has the secret compound in her car, and she knows she could get in major trouble if she uses it—but what’s she supposed to do, not save her husband’s life? The compound has only been tested on animals so far, and there’s no guarantee it will even work for humans. It does, though, and Luca comes back to life—with one small caveat. He can’t remember most things, including his marriage to Emery. After almost losing Luca, Emery is now grateful for what she has, and she’s determined to show him that she can be a better, more attentive partner. While Luca may not remember her, their magnetic chemistry is still there. This may be the do-over they needed to save their marriage—that is, if Emery can keep the life-reviving measures she took hidden from everyone around them, including nosy neighbors and her own company. Lauren—the pen name of the duo behind rom-coms like The Paradise Problem (2024)—has created a unique hook that feels genuinely refreshing. Emery and Luca’s unconventional second chance is emotionally compelling, and the slight thriller edge as Emery tries to cover up her actions keeps the pages turning.
An extremely fun, fast-paced, and unusual addition to the marriage-in-trouble romance canon.Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781668017753
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.
A happily engaged woman is pulled back to her hometown—and her first love—when tragedy strikes.
Billie Wright is living her dream, running a thriving fertility clinic in New York City and engaged to a wonderful trauma surgeon named Dean. Her happily-ever-after meant giving up her life in Wisconsin, where she left behind many friends as well as her high school sweetheart, Mick. Although they’d been deeply in love, when Billie’s ambition pulled her away from home and toward the city, Mick couldn’t handle either the distance or her busy schedule. Billie has finally moved on from that heartbreak—but then she receives a phone call from Mick, the first communication between them in years. Her best friend, Erin, died in a car accident, leaving behind an 11-year-old daughter, Phoebe. Now Billie must return home to help sort Erin’s affairs and provide some kind of comfort to Phoebe while grieving the loss of her best friend. Of course, being back home also means being in close contact with Mick. Their feelings for each other may not have ever gone away, and their proximity leads to big decisions for Billie. Can she ever reconcile her current life in Manhattan with her past in Wisconsin? And which one will be her future? Giffin knows how to do drama, and she ratchets up the stakes with every page as she continues to reveal new obstacles for Billie. The ending wraps up quite neatly, but the nostalgia-filled ride is full of twists and turns that will keep readers flipping the pages.
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780593600320
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
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