Though the slow-burn romance is unbalanced, there’s a nuanced and intimate depiction of depression and caretaking.
A woman takes up residence in a “spite house” located four feet from the home of her ex-fiance’s brother.
When Athena Greydon buys her fiance, Johnny Vine, a “spite house”—a 10-foot-wide home created to annoy the neighbors—in his hometown of Harlot’s Bay, Maryland, as a wedding present, she isn’t expecting him to call off their engagement soon after. But, at the encouragement of his older brother, Matthew, who thinks she’s irresponsible, he does just that. Athena, though, has no desire to sell the impulsively purchased home. Instead, she’s going to move in and make Matthew’s life a living hell because he just so happens to be her new next-door neighbor. Despite everything Athena does to irk him, like blasting erotica audiobooks at full volume, Matthew remains surprisingly nice. Dade thoughtfully includes trigger warnings at the beginning of the book because, while Athena is drawn in all her chaotic and petty glory, she’s reckoning with a lot of intense emotions—namely, loneliness and heartbreak. She goes through an accurately portrayed depressive episode, which injects a heavy, sorrowful tone that contrasts with the rest of the book. Matthew is calm and caring, not wanting to add to Athena’s heartache while attempting to be mindful of their mutual connection to Johnny. The biggest downside of the book is Dade’s attempt to do too much. Pop culture references and memes are shoehorned into a mental health journey that often shifts the focus away from the romance. Some jokes run a little too long, and that space could have been used to further untangle the knot of Athena and Matthew’s complicated dynamic. Dade’s romances, though, routinely show that people contain multitudes and that life is about offsetting personal pain with things that bring joy, and this one is no exception.
Though the slow-burn romance is unbalanced, there’s a nuanced and intimate depiction of depression and caretaking.Pub Date: Feb. 13, 2024
ISBN: 9780063215917
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A book that will wolfishly appeal to the most heated fans of omegaverse erotica.
Tess Covington is a talented, successful contractor who just learned that she’s a late-in-life omega wolf shifter. Her new boss, surly innkeeper Hunter Barrett, is an alpha who’s opposed to the remodeling she’s there to do.
Tess hasn’t made it public that she’s being considered for her own HGTV makeover show, but she runs her career like a well-oiled machine. She posts a lot of her remodels on social media, granting her a certain level of celebrity, and leans on her brothers to help run the business she took over after a stroke made it impossible for her father to keep working. Hunter’s last serious relationship with an omega 10 years ago left him deeply wounded, ending when his parents were killed in a car accident and he moved back home to take care of their lodge—hence his resistance to change. With few exceptions, Tess keeps her newly diagnosed omega status to herself. Unfortunately, as an alpha, Hunter sniffs her out and seems to be the only person capable of helping her with her sudden heats, so there’s a lot of very smutty caretaking. The specificity of omegaverse hierarchy might be new to some readers, but Ferguson’s worldbuilding is quick, easy, and deeply horny. General romance readers might enjoy the grumpy-meets-sunshine and stranded-in-a-snowstorm tropes, although for a book about shifters, the characters spend surprisingly little time in wolf form. There’s not much danger of character development or surprising plot elements here, but for fans excited to read about animalistic mating, that might be enough.
A book that will wolfishly appeal to the most heated fans of omegaverse erotica.Pub Date: Dec. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9780593953693
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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