Readers who like a streak of danger and politics in their romance will thrill to this whip-smart historical.
The attraction between Effie Flite and Gabriel Royce is offset by the magnitude of their competing interests in a high-stakes historical tango.
As outsiders infiltrating the upper echelons of London society with competing political agendas, Effie and Gabriel are fascinated and alarmed when they meet. Effie is masquerading as an aristocratic young lady on the marriage market though she’s really a penniless orphan from the slums of St. Giles and protégé of the mysterious Miss Corvus. In a brilliant reimagining of the infamously jilted Miss Havisham of Great Expectations, instead of having her simply wasting away in a mansion stuck in time, Miss Corvus trains girls to push England forward by becoming undercover activists in the service of women’s rights. Effie is her first and greatest pupil, tasked with bringing down the villainous Viscount Compton who opposes reforming the married women’s property bill, the crux of the legal and financial subjugation of women. “Compton must be destroyed,” Corvus instructs Effie, “His ruination will be the salvation of this proposal.” While Effie’s feminine charms are her weapon, “influence was currency to Gabriel. He knew how to wield it. To weaponize it.” He gains power through his betting shop, using his aristocratic clients’ debts and the intel on them he hoards as leverage to compel their support for improving living conditions in the Rookery, the slum he was raised in. One of those aristocrats is Lord Compton, and Gabriel’s success hinges on him remaining in power. Like her peers Courtney Milan and Alyssa Cole, Matthews deftly blends social history with epic love stories. As Effie and Gabriel’s attraction and conflicts bloom, readers gain a window into struggles over class and gender in late 19th-century England.
Readers who like a streak of danger and politics in their romance will thrill to this whip-smart historical.Pub Date: May 20, 2025
ISBN: 9780593639290
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An extremely fun, fast-paced, and unusual addition to the marriage-in-trouble romance canon.
A marriage on the rocks gets a second chance—with a science-fiction twist.
Dr. Emery Martín is happily married to her husband Luca…mostly. She’s been madly in love with him since the moment they met, but in the three years they’ve been wed, she hasn’t been able to focus much on him. To the world—including Luca—Emery’s job involves developing medical-grade lasers. In reality, she works at a supersecret San Diego lab that’s engineering a compound to bring mammals back from the dead. Although Emery doesn’t want to admit it, she can tell that Luca feels pushed aside, but she believes so deeply in her work that she has a hard time leaving the lab. When Emery is late for dinner—yet again—on their anniversary, she rushes home only to see Luca get hit by a car. She has the secret compound in her car, and she knows she could get in major trouble if she uses it—but what’s she supposed to do, not save her husband’s life? The compound has only been tested on animals so far, and there’s no guarantee it will even work for humans. It does, though, and Luca comes back to life—with one small caveat. He can’t remember most things, including his marriage to Emery. After almost losing Luca, Emery is now grateful for what she has, and she’s determined to show him that she can be a better, more attentive partner. While Luca may not remember her, their magnetic chemistry is still there. This may be the do-over they needed to save their marriage—that is, if Emery can keep the life-reviving measures she took hidden from everyone around them, including nosy neighbors and her own company. Lauren—the pen name of the duo behind rom-coms like The Paradise Problem (2024)—has created a unique hook that feels genuinely refreshing. Emery and Luca’s unconventional second chance is emotionally compelling, and the slight thriller edge as Emery tries to cover up her actions keeps the pages turning.
An extremely fun, fast-paced, and unusual addition to the marriage-in-trouble romance canon.Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781668017753
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.
A happily engaged woman is pulled back to her hometown—and her first love—when tragedy strikes.
Billie Wright is living her dream, running a thriving fertility clinic in New York City and engaged to a wonderful trauma surgeon named Dean. Her happily-ever-after meant giving up her life in Wisconsin, where she left behind many friends as well as her high school sweetheart, Mick. Although they’d been deeply in love, when Billie’s ambition pulled her away from home and toward the city, Mick couldn’t handle either the distance or her busy schedule. Billie has finally moved on from that heartbreak—but then she receives a phone call from Mick, the first communication between them in years. Her best friend, Erin, died in a car accident, leaving behind an 11-year-old daughter, Phoebe. Now Billie must return home to help sort Erin’s affairs and provide some kind of comfort to Phoebe while grieving the loss of her best friend. Of course, being back home also means being in close contact with Mick. Their feelings for each other may not have ever gone away, and their proximity leads to big decisions for Billie. Can she ever reconcile her current life in Manhattan with her past in Wisconsin? And which one will be her future? Giffin knows how to do drama, and she ratchets up the stakes with every page as she continues to reveal new obstacles for Billie. The ending wraps up quite neatly, but the nostalgia-filled ride is full of twists and turns that will keep readers flipping the pages.
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780593600320
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
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