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MISADVENTURES OF A GOOD WIFE

Fans of erotic romance will revel in this quick and steamy read.

Awards & Accolades

Our Verdict

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Wild (Misadventures of a City Girl, 2017, etc.) and Hardt (Surrender, 2017, etc.), team up for an erotic romance novel that’s full of death threats and hot sex scenes.

In this second installment of the Misadventures series, Kate Lewis is still mourning her husband, Price, nearly a year after his death. Her sister-in-law talks her into a tropical getaway, ostensibly for Kate to unwind and get away from it all. Instead, Kate is shocked when her dead husband shows up while she’s at the beach. They immediately fall into bed and renew their passionate relationship, and Wild and Hardt describe each erotic encounter in explicit, racy detail, demonstrating why their previous fiction has topped multiple bestseller lists. Between their sexual escapades, Price, a day trader, explains that a multibillion-dollar conglomerate called Cybermark Enterprises had hired people to kill him after he dug too deeply into their shady past and current dealings. He faked his own death to protect his loved ones, he says, but he couldn’t stay away from Kate. However, as she aptly points out, the threat still exists, and, despite Price’s best intentions, “he’d chosen a life with me over my ultimate protection.” Price wants Kate to join him on the run, but she wants to expose Cybermark and hold them accountable for their actions. The narrative moves at a quick pace—an enjoyable vehicle that transports readers between passionate, engaging sex scenes. Although the climax (of the narrative) is abrupt, it neatly ties up all of the plot’s loose ends. Price is an archetypal character for the genre—a wealthy and possessive man who happens to also be an extraordinary lover. The sex is always good and provides a ready solution to most problems; when Kate finds herself overwhelmed by the magnitude of the Cybermark threat, she doesn’t burrow under the covers with a pint of ice cream: “Don’t want to talk. Kiss me,” she demands. Price is more than happy to comply with a kiss—and much more.

Fans of erotic romance will revel in this quick and steamy read.

Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-943893-46-1

Page Count: 200

Publisher: Waterhouse Press

Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2017

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ONE DAY IN DECEMBER

Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an...

True love flares between two people, but they find that circumstances always impede it.

On a winter day in London, Laurie spots Jack from her bus home and he sparks a feeling in her so deep that she spends the next year searching for him. Her roommate and best friend, Sarah, is the perfect wing-woman but ultimately—and unknowingly—ends the search by finding Jack and falling for him herself. Laurie’s hasty decision not to tell Sarah is the second painful missed opportunity (after not getting off the bus), but Sarah’s happiness is so important to Laurie that she dedicates ample energy into retraining her heart not to love Jack. Laurie is misguided, but her effort and loyalty spring from a true heart, and she considers her project mostly successful. Perhaps she would have total success, but the fact of the matter is that Jack feels the same deep connection to Laurie. His reasons for not acting on them are less admirable: He likes Sarah and she’s the total package; why would he give that up just because every time he and Laurie have enough time together (and just enough alcohol) they nearly fall into each other’s arms? Laurie finally begins to move on, creating a mostly satisfying life for herself, whereas Jack’s inability to be genuine tortures him and turns him into an ever bigger jerk. Patriarchy—it hurts men, too! There’s no question where the book is going, but the pacing is just right, the tone warm, and the characters sympathetic, even when making dumb decisions.

Anyone who believes in true love or is simply willing to accept it as the premise of a winding tale will find this debut an emotional, satisfying read.

Pub Date: Oct. 16, 2018

ISBN: 978-0-525-57468-2

Page Count: 400

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: July 30, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018

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LOVE AND OTHER WORDS

With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.

Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.

Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.

With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.

Pub Date: April 10, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018

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