Entertaining, intelligent, and emotionally rewarding.
Another sweet—and steamy—historical romance from the author of The Lady’s Guide to Celestial Mechanics (2019).
When artist Agatha Griffin discovers that a swarm of bees has made itself at home in her workshop, she follows her mother-in-law’s advice and seeks the help of Penelope Flood. The beekeeper convinces the printmaker to let her move the colony to a skep behind the shop, and a correspondence that begins with a brief discussion of the colony’s honey production soon turns more intimate. Penelope is warm and outgoing. Agatha is more inclined to be reserved, but Penelope’s kindness helps her realize that she is—three years after her husband’s death—terribly lonely. Given the genre, it is inevitable that these two will fall in love, but Waite doesn’t rush her protagonists. At first, Agatha knows only that Penelope is married to a sailor who is seldom ashore. Penelope only knows that Agatha loved her husband. It takes time and trust for them to reveal their true feelings and desires to each other. It’s a real pleasure watching this friendship between two women in middle age blossom and evolve into a passionate attachment. Waite wove politics into the first installment of her Feminine Pursuits series, and she is even more explicit here. Agatha and Penelope meet just as the House of Lords is about to put Queen Caroline on trial for adultery, an event that exposed several fault lines in British society and marked a turning point for the press. Agatha faces some difficult choices as she decides how radical she wants to be in choosing what to print, and Penelope is compelled to examine loyalties and relationships that cut across classes. This is a richly layered novel, with much to recommend it to readers who don’t typically read historical romance.
Entertaining, intelligent, and emotionally rewarding.Pub Date: July 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-06-293182-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A charming contemporary romance that doesn’t shy away from tackling big issues.
Two contestants on a reality dating show start falling for each other—instead of the guy they’re meant to be competing for.
Former rodeo queen Krystin spent most of her early dating years devoted to competitions, which didn’t leave much time to prioritize romance. When she realizes she’s exhausted all the options in her Montana hometown, she decides to sign up as a contestant on the reality dating show Hopelessly Devoted. While her best friend is vocally skeptical about the odds of her finding anything resembling true love, Krystin is trying to go into the experience as optimistically as possible. If only one of her fellow contestants didn’t give her more butterflies than the guy she’s meant to be winning over! Lauren knows she isn’t appearing on Hopelessly Devoted for the right reasons—she’s more interested in using the show’s visibility to grow her brand as an influencer than in finding a boyfriend. The truth is that she’s not even romantically interested in men, but somehow, she’s securing herself a spot on the show week after week—and getting ever closer to earning a proposal from Josh Rosen, the season’s Hopeless Romantic. While Krystin and Lauren aren’t really sure what they want to get out of this experience, they both know it’s becoming increasingly difficult to ignore their growing feelings for each other. Paulsen and Wang have co-authored a romance that tackles the world of reality competition shows honestly without becoming too cynical about the behind-the-scenes experience. Through Krystin and Lauren’s evolving relationship, which brims over with chemistry; the two women’s individual journeys to exploring their identities; and a fearlessness in introducing morally complex characters, this debut contributes bold new aspects to the romance genre while embracing that all-important happily-ever-after.
A charming contemporary romance that doesn’t shy away from tackling big issues.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781639107094
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Alcove Press
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
A clever, romantic, sexy love story.
The much-loved royal romance genre gets a fun and refreshing update in McQuiston’s debut.
Alex Claremont-Diaz, son of the American President Ellen Claremont, knows one thing for sure: He hates Henry, the British prince to whom he is always compared. He lives for their verbal sparring matches, but when one of their fights at a royal wedding goes a bit too far, they end up falling into a wedding cake and making tabloid headlines. An international scandal could ruin Alex’s mother’s chances for re-election, so it’s time for damage control. The plan? Alex and Henry must pretend to be best friends, giving the tabloids pictures of their bromance and neutralizing the threat to Ellen's presidency. But after a few photo ops with Henry, Alex starts to realize that the passionate anger he feels toward him might be a cover for regular old passion. There are, naturally, a million roadblocks between their first kiss and their happily-ever-after—how can American political royalty and actual British royalty ever be together? How can they navigate being open about their sexualities (Alex is bisexual; Henry is gay) in their very public and very scrutinized roles? Alex and Henry must decide if they’ll risk their futures, their families, and their careers to take a chance on happiness. Although the story’s premise might be a fantasy—it takes place in a world in which a divorced-mom Texan Democrat won the 2016 election—the emotions are all real. The love affair between Alex and Henry is intense and romantic, made all the more so by the inclusion of their poetic emails that manage to be both funny and steamy. McQuiston’s strength is in dialogue; her characters speak in hilarious rapid-fire bursts with plenty of “likes,” “ums,” creative punctuation, and pop-culture references, sounding like smarter, funnier versions of real people. Although Alex and Henry’s relationship is the heart of the story, their friends and family members are all rich, well-drawn characters, and their respective worlds feel both realistic and larger-than-life.
A clever, romantic, sexy love story.Pub Date: June 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-31677-6
Page Count: 432
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
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