A well-developed romance-fantasy about determination, loyalty, and duty.
In Rose’s fantasy romance novel, a young woman sheds the constraints of her noble status to join a hunt for a malevolent creature.
As the daughter of the Comte de Grecy, 20-year-old Claris knows that her expected role in life is to marry a fellow noble, become the new Comtesse, and give birth to an heir. However, as a passionate practitioner of the impalement arts, Claris yearns to be like the blade-maidens in the neighboring country of Suevia: “fierce in battle and beholden to no man.” When a man named Brahim comes to her father’s estate with news of a demi-lich entering their domain, the opportunity to shake off her constraints presents itself. Demi-lichs are former mages who’ve traded their souls for immortality, spread death and destruction, and steal their victims’ souls. Demi-lichs only can only be killed by a specific type of blade thrown directly into one vulnerable spot. Claris, a highly skilled knife-thrower, successfully convinces her ill father to allow her to go. With her pet lynx Pepin by her side, Claris sets forth with Brahim and six garde from Grecy: Sigibert, Flore, Roul, Dalfin, Odo, and Torsten. However, the monstrous demi-lich isn’t her only challenge. Claris must prove herself to her male companions (and to herself), further hone her blade skills, and contend with marauders, faieries, goblins, and dangerous corpse crawlers. The growing, mutual attraction she and Torsten share may further complicate matters. Over the course of this novel, Rose weaves a compelling story that explores loyalty, duty, and love. The worldbuilding stands out, featuring well-developed magic systems and inspiration from global folklore. Although common romance-genre tropes (“She was glad to unburden her back as she removed her pack, but there was only one bed. A bed large enough to share….”) render some parts predictable, readers will appreciate the diversity of the characters, including LGBTQ+ characters Torsten and Odo, and disabled garde Dalfin.
A well-developed romance-fantasy about determination, loyalty, and duty.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
ISBN: 9781764251501
Page Count: 380
Publisher: Rose Quill
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.
Childhood friends, almost-sweethearts, a misunderstanding, and a funeral.
Blair Lang and Declan Renshaw were best friends who went on one date before a disagreement and an accident sent them in different directions after high school. Now Blair is back from college to be with her great-aunt Lottie, who’s dying, and to support her single mother in small-town Seabrook, California. Finding a job at a coffee shop puts her in the path of her former boyfriend, since he turns out to be its owner. Can the two get past their mistakes? The novel uses the popular second-chance romance trope, but Pham fails to energize it through interesting characters. Blair’s grief over her great-aunt’s death and her plan to help her mother are overshadowed by internal monologues about her feelings, the way her friends aren’t paying attention to her, and the novel she plans to write. Declan’s distinguishing characteristic, besides being a former high school quarterback, is his skill at building birdhouses. Unsurprisingly, the couple doesn’t have much chemistry; when they embrace, their “bodies meld like…memory foam.” The wooden characters, unusual word choices (“conglomerate of pedestrians,” “litany of plants”), and odd turns of phrase (“tension melting from his eyebrows like butter melting in a warm pan”) are almost enough to obscure the lack of plot development. What passes for stakes is easily defused when Blair comes into an inheritance that saves her from working as a consultant at Ernst & Young in New York—so she can write a romance novel.
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781668095188
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
Two hot people confronting their trauma, making passionate love, and solving violent crimes! ’Nuff said.
A heartbroken man lusts after his therapist while seeking revenge on a drug kingpin and his enforcer.
Mitch Haskell’s wife, Angela, died two years ago of an apparent suicide, but Mitch has always believed the scene was staged. Certainly, she would never have willingly left their young son, Andrew, behind. Consumed with a thirst for vengeance, Mitch—a former Marine and undercover agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration and currently a police detective—is struggling with alcohol dependency and uncontrolled rage. Andrew is living with his in-laws, who are making not-so-subtle suggestions that they might apply for permanent guardianship if Mitch can’t get it together. So his boss and best friend, John Bowie, mandates that he go into therapy, which puts him in the path of sexy Dr. Dylan Reede. Within a few days, Mitch makes a connection between two new murders and the death of his former partner; finds a big clue that points to the truth about Angela’s death; goes undercover as a homeless man; takes on a vicious drug cartel; and obnoxiously bullies Dylan with a charm offensive that leads them inevitably to bed. While Mitch seems to lean into the stereotype of the ex-soldier/cop with deeply buried trauma who believes that the ends justify the means—at least in law enforcement—Dylan offers the strength and sweetness to help him start breaking down his walls, allowing herself to be vulnerable in turn. Is passionate sex enough to ground a relationship and a family for the long term? For these characters, and the breakneck speed of this thriller, it’s as good a foundation as any.
Two hot people confronting their trauma, making passionate love, and solving violent crimes! ’Nuff said.Pub Date: March 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781538743027
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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