A sweet and sexy love letter to readers that sacrifices none of its slow-burn sexiness for comfort.
A struggling librarian’s comfortable life is shaken up when an unexpected roommate enters her carefully curated world.
Sabrina Finkelstein is juggling library school, part-time work at a branch of the New York Public Library, and a geriatric roommate she adores. Marcia Haber is a spry, independent 72. The two met on an intergenerational app meant to match seniors who could use a hand around the house with young people who could use a break on rent. When her grandson, Adam, is laid off from his job in Philadelphia, he comes to stay with Marcia and Sabrina. He’s hot, passionate about books, and excited to connect with his grandmother. Adam’s father had broken off contact with Marcia years ago when she came out as bisexual, and Sabrina doesn’t mind having Adam crash on the sofa, because it gives Marcia a chance to reconnect with her grandson. Soon, the chemistry between Sabrina and Adam is palpable, aided by their two-person YA book club, and the close quarters make for a steamy buildup. Then, returning from a disastrous first date, Marcia nearly catches Sabrina and Adam in a steamy make-out session. Sensing how this might complicate their housing situation, they decide to keep things platonic. But after Marcia has a minor health scare, her doctor suggests that living with two young people is causing her undue stress, and she asks Adam to move out. Adam—unbeknownst to his grandmother—tells Sabrina he thinks she should be the one to leave, and their hot secret romance turns into a competition to prove who’s the best fit for their septuagenarian roommate. This forced-proximity romance is a cozy homage to intergenerational friendships, New York City, romance novel fandom, and grand gestures. As romantic leads, Adam and Sabrina are compelling, and the occupational and financial uncertainty faced by single 20-somethings is very real, but readers might just find that the secondary story of Marcia’s foray into senior dating on the apps is what they stick around for.
A sweet and sexy love letter to readers that sacrifices none of its slow-burn sexiness for comfort.Pub Date: June 10, 2025
ISBN: 9781538758267
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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