A captivating, philosophical, and romantic exploration of life, death, and the decisions we make during our time on Earth.
When a deeply unfulfilled woman meets an untimely demise, she’s offered a second chance at life.
Josephina Vasquez has had many regrets in her 32 years, but Elijah Aarons is her biggest. Joey has been in love with Ellie since college, though that’s just one small slice of an unsatisfying life. She hates her career as a corporate lawyer, her relationship with her family is non-existent, and she hasn’t spoken to her best friend in months. To top it off, she has an unpleasant squabble with Alex Aquino—an annoying guy who went to college with her and Ellie—at the same dinner party where she finds out Ellie’s wife is pregnant. Then Joey gets into a car accident and wakes up in a 1970s-themed room with horrendous shag carpet only to learn she’s dead. In this purgatorial waiting room, Joey is offered a second chance at life. Apparently, candidates who died with regrets are eligible for a do-over. Choosing to restart at the age when her regrets began, Joey returns to her freshman year of college in hopes of rewriting the history of her relationship with Ellie. Newly 18 again, Joey realizes she can change more than just her love life: She doesn’t have to be a lawyer—hell, she can even invest in bitcoin. But when Joey surprises herself by developing feelings for Alex Aquino, she wonders if the life she’s been chasing has prevented her from living the one she was destined for. This novel is a magical, moving adventure about second chances and happy endings. Readers will cry, have butterflies, laugh, and maybe even pause for an existential crisis—all within a few pages. With a shocking reveal in the final act, you may even want to restart the book from the very beginning.
A captivating, philosophical, and romantic exploration of life, death, and the decisions we make during our time on Earth.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781668213643
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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