Christmas cheer and storybook romance combine in this uneven but charming holiday tale.
An unlucky-in-love arts educator goes on 12 dates before Christmas in Miller’s romance novel.
Jane Norwell believes she’s nothing special. Despite living in Snow Bridge, New York, where fairytale figures and other legendary characters roam the streets and prowl on dating apps, Jane is a non-magical, often-overlooked musical theater teacher. After giving up her own dreams of performing, she has settled for years of cohabitation with her immature high school sweetheart, Peter (Pan). Despite her beloved job and close relationship to her magically perfect sister Celeste’s family, Jane laments the passion missing from her life. Desperately dreaming of finding someone special to share Christmas with, Jane finally breaks it off with Peter. With Celeste’s pushy encouragement, she agrees to re-enter the dating pool, encountering a plethora of less-than-charming storybook suitors, each with their own entertaining fairytale foibles. Jane’s hopes begin to lift when her students are chosen to perform as the opening act for the Northpole Palace’s annual Holiday Benefit Production. Jane feels an instant spark with the gorgeous and powerful Nikolas, a suave and tender reimagining of Santa Claus (“The name isn’t just tradition: it’s legacy, a line of men, each chosen not just by blood but by something deeper, something magical”). This holiday romance effectively leverages the author’s expertise (Miller herself is an educator) to capture the importance of arts education and encouraging adolescents to find their voices. However, the deluge of storybook references often overpowers these themes and the quieter moments in Jane’s journey. The compressed, pre-Christmas timeline foreshortens Jane’s emotional maturation, speeding through and past moments for reflection. Still, the genuine and vibrant Christmas cheer that suffuses this book goes down as smoothly as hot cocoa and will satisfy fans of holiday romance.
Christmas cheer and storybook romance combine in this uneven but charming holiday tale.Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9798990923621
Page Count: 126
Publisher: Evergrove Media
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2025
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.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
