An offbeat story that offers unexpected twists on a familiar setup.
A historical romance featuring a widow and an uptight British gentleman who find love.
As the story opens, it’s 1817, and Gareth Lockheart is listening to Sandford Featherstone, his guide to the behavior of the English aristocracy, talk about how many puppies he’d need to raise hunting dogs. All Gareth wants to do is get back to his investment projects, but in order to do business with the upper echelons of British society, he must learn to act like an aristocrat. He already has the lavish country house—it just needs the finishing touches, such as a beautiful garden. Widowed gardener Serena Lombard originally comes to Gareth’s country home to talk over possible design plans for improving the estate, but she leaves with total control over the whole design and construction project. She initially finds Gareth’s straightforward and humorless manner mildly amusing, but the more time they spend together, the more she realizes that her feelings for him run deeper. As time goes on, though, the two grow closer, and Serena begins to rely on him—and even reveals some of the darkness in her past. However, Gareth needs an aristocratic wife to be seen as a perfect British gentleman, and both he and Serena know that she’s not it. It soon becomes clear that their love might not be enough to keep them together. Spencer’s second novel in the Academy of Love series, following 2019’s The Music of Love, manages to feel original despite its very traditional opposites-attract storyline. This is due in part to the inclusion of Serena’s dangerous past, her young son, and Gareth’s desperation to fulfill a role that he doesn’t particularly care for. The attraction between the two main characters is clear from their first meeting, and their banter and occasional awkwardness around each other make for a consistently entertaining read. Serena’s past provides an exciting twist that will satisfy readers looking for something a little different in the historical romance genre.
An offbeat story that offers unexpected twists on a familiar setup.Pub Date: Feb. 9, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-951662-02-8
Page Count: 329
Publisher: Crooked Sixpence Press
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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