An easy, comforting read.
Four sisters, two fathers, many relationships.
Nidhi, Rani, Avani, and Sirisha—the Indian American Singh sisters whom readers met in 2022’s Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things—are back together. Well, almost. Oldest sister Nidhi’s on her way home from New Delhi to Orcas Island in Washington state when she bumps into Grayson, the boy she’d been dating, at LAX. Meanwhile, Avani is still writing her poetry (some of it steamier these days, thanks to boyfriend Fernando) but also wondering about her future as she tries to figure out her college plans—but none of her sisters seem to have time for her. Meanwhile, youngest sister Sirisha is reeling from her breakup with girlfriend Brie, but she’s invited to an interactive murder-mystery costume party that pushes her out of her comfort zone, and things start looking up. However, the star of this story is aspiring filmmaker Rani, Avani’s twin, who’s shooting a short movie for a festival inspired by her relationship with boyfriend Raj, but her plans go awry right from the start. The fathers—Dad and his new husband, Pakistani Amir—play less of a role this time around, and they’re sorely missed. Oscillating between past and present timelines, the story is punctuated by group chat messages offering insights into the family’s warm, poignant relationships. As a windstorm picks up, so does the story’s pace, as it traces the ebb and flow of the ties among the members of the charming ensemble cast.
An easy, comforting read. (Fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
ISBN: 9781368081245
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance.
A Connecticut girl and her best friend devise a series of plans in order to achieve their goals: following a dream and winning back an ex.
Eighteen-year-old Audrey Barbour has a Master Plan: attend Blue Ridge Glass School in North Carolina and someday turn her Etsy shop, Golightly Glass, into a thriving business. But her uber-wealthy parents insist that she instead follow in their footsteps and go to business school. So Audrey decides to go find the tuition money she needs with help from her best friend, Henry Chen. Henry needs a favor, too: He hopes that fake dating Audrey will help him win back his ex-girlfriend, and he points out to a reluctant Audrey that this could make her crush, Griffin, notice her. While Audrey’s parents vacation in France for three weeks, the pair rent out the Barbour mansion on the Long Island Sound. Soon romantic chemistry grows alongside their business partnership. Despite the pair’s great preparation and an abundance of secondary characters with connections and talents to help pull off their increasingly ambitious ideas, plans go awry, leaving Audrey and Henry scrambling and second-guessing their choices. The pacing is even, but the characters often take a back seat to the whirlwind of activity that drives the plot, with the emphasis falling on each person’s practical skills and their role in keeping the action moving over their emotional bonds. Audrey is white, and Henry’s surname cues him as Chinese American.
A light and entertaining plot-driven romance. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593904794
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Delacorte Romance
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A character-focused entry that will satisfy fans.
Romantic complications between a trained killer and one of her captors drive this sequel to Watch Me (2025).
Appealing to readers who prefer their romantic dramas to be light on action and heavy on long passages of banter, bitter sibling arguments, and tortured reflections, Mafi continues the tale of Rosabelle Wolff, the flaxen-haired assassin from the dystopic Reestablishment, and magnetic, “impossibly stunning” James Anderson, her nemesis-turned-lover who’s still trying to take down the regime. Now desperate to accomplish several secret missions, Rosa easily escapes from one of The New Republic’s prisons, where she was left in the series opener, and, dressed in “a little kid’s cat onesie,” eludes all pursuers except for James, who can seemingly find her at will. Enigmatic Rosa responds unpredictably to many human contacts—including with violence, temporary death (one of her abilities), or a sudden panic attack. Along with the central pair of rivals and lovers, James’ older brother, Aaron, shares the narration. Bestseller Mafi tucks in several subplots, including, notably, a cameo from Juliette Ferrars, the protagonist of the original Shatter Me series, who’s undergoing a scarily difficult pregnancy. Amid the slowly simmering rising action, the author delivers a revelation and a twist that set up a potential series climax. Some ethnic diversity is present in the supporting cast.
A character-focused entry that will satisfy fans. (Dystopian. 14-adult)Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780063419056
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Storytide/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 7, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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