A heartwarming contemporary romance that delivers both humor and heat.
After having had an on-again, off-again secret relationship for years, one couple must decide whether they’re ready to commit to each other in public.
Former firefighter Leo Vega was in search of a new purpose long before he sustained an injury that changed everything for him, but the recovery process has caused him to rethink his priorities in both life and love. His secret recurring fling with Sofi Santana, his sister Kamilah’s best friend, has cooled off in recent years, especially in the wake of a long trip she took to Europe. Now that Sofi is back in town for Kamilah’s wedding, her heightened proximity is a strong reminder of all the reasons Leo first fell for her way back when, and it’s clear that their mutual attraction is still going strong. For her part, Sofi is determined to make a fresh start, hardly looking to revisit the past, but when one thing leads to another and she and Leo unexpectedly end up as roommates, their close quarters reintroduce the buried feelings they’ve always had. If that weren’t enough, Leo’s grandfather Papo Vega is back to his old matchmaking tricks, and he and Sofi’s grandmother team up to ensure that yet another of his descendants gets their happy ending. The biggest strength of Caña’s Vega Family Love Stories trilogy has always been the element of community, and readers who have been eagerly waiting for Leo’s turn to shine won’t be disappointed by this conclusion. The couple comes preloaded with years of complicated history, but their story would have benefited from more moments set in the present to give the third-act conflict more emotional weight. With an ensemble this big, the emphasis falls more on the family dynamics rather than the romantic narrative, but the book offers everything longtime fans of the Vega clan could want.
A heartwarming contemporary romance that delivers both humor and heat.Pub Date: Oct. 29, 2024
ISBN: 9780778305460
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
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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