A funny, light-hearted romp fueled by miscommunication and subterfuge.
A woman agrees to help her sister land the man of her dreams—only to fall for him herself.
When Vanessa Cordero was in college, she had a lucrative gig working as a “starter ex”—women would hire her to date their crushes, but she'd make the guy so miserable that he’d turn back to the first woman, who was waiting in the wings to "save" him. Now she’s returned to New York after having spent eight years as a financial planner in Chicago, hoping to convince her overworked parents to sell their Harlem bodega and retire. Her sister, Lisa, who’s been holding down the fort at home, resents her sudden reappearance and, to make up for it, wants her to bring her “starter ex” persona out of retirement to help her land Jason Torres. Vanessa has serious misgivings, but she’s willing to do anything to repair her relationship with her sister. Meanwhile, Jason is dealing with the weight of his family’s expectations. The Torres clan is gearing up for younger daughter Cami’s wedding, and Jason’s mother is pressuring him to settle down. Jason has been burned by previous lovers, and he refuses to make the same mistake again, no matter how much he and Vanessa seem to have in common. He’s hurt and angry when he discovers her deception, but realizes he can keep his family at bay by continuing to date Vanessa no matter how hard she tries to shake him. Sosa’s plotting is successfully zany, with Vanessa’s schemes becoming more desperate and outrageous. Vanessa and Jason are deeply sympathetic characters caught in a trap of their own making, but readers might tire of their lies and wonder what it will take for them to admit they’re falling in love.
A funny, light-hearted romp fueled by miscommunication and subterfuge.Pub Date: March 10, 2026
ISBN: 9798217044320
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 12, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
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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