A breezy follow-up to a movie-set meet-cute goes down smoothly but with little narrative development or conflict.
Leavy presents a sequel to her novel The Location Shoot (2023) that follows the continuing relationship of an unlikely couple: A-list movie star Finn Forrester and writer and philosopher Ella Sinclair.
That first installment ended with a surprise proposal at the Cannes Film Festival, and this one concerns itself with Finn and Ella’s happily ever after. The couple moves to Finn’s mansion in Los Angeles. There, Ella must get used to Finn’s lavish lifestyle, and Leavy ably brings the reader into this fantasy world: Ella receives a luxurious new wardrobe and makeover, as well as a beautiful, custom-made, French country-style office. She also befriends amiable household staff and throws dainty tea parties and sumptuous Moroccan-inspired feasts. Initially, Finn worries that Ella won’t feel at home in Hollywood, but she mostly enjoys just being with Finn, wherever they are. Gradually, she begins building her own circle of friends and working on a book about love and philosophy. The extremely low-conflict narrative follows Finn and Ella’s romance as they start building their life together—dealing with work-life balance, jealousy involving his love scenes, and the paparazzi. Their romance grows and they start a family. Overall, the book is a frothy, sunny read. However, it does not work well as a standalone novel. It opens with Finn and Ella madly in love, and this situation barely changes over the course of the story. Minor issues are usually resolved within a page or so, complete with treacly terms of endearment that the pair repeat again and again. Finn and Ella are an appealing couple, but their minor struggles won’t sustain many readers’ interest. Still, fans of TheLocation Shoot will be pleased to see the supporting characters return for a festive celebration, and Ella’s work as a philosopher does add deeper levels to the book’s examination of the nature of love.
A breezy follow-up to a movie-set meet-cute goes down smoothly but with little narrative development or conflict.Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9781647427504
Page Count: 232
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: May 2, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.
Childhood friends, almost-sweethearts, a misunderstanding, and a funeral.
Blair Lang and Declan Renshaw were best friends who went on one date before a disagreement and an accident sent them in different directions after high school. Now Blair is back from college to be with her great-aunt Lottie, who’s dying, and to support her single mother in small-town Seabrook, California. Finding a job at a coffee shop puts her in the path of her former boyfriend, since he turns out to be its owner. Can the two get past their mistakes? The novel uses the popular second-chance romance trope, but Pham fails to energize it through interesting characters. Blair’s grief over her great-aunt’s death and her plan to help her mother are overshadowed by internal monologues about her feelings, the way her friends aren’t paying attention to her, and the novel she plans to write. Declan’s distinguishing characteristic, besides being a former high school quarterback, is his skill at building birdhouses. Unsurprisingly, the couple doesn’t have much chemistry; when they embrace, their “bodies meld like…memory foam.” The wooden characters, unusual word choices (“conglomerate of pedestrians,” “litany of plants”), and odd turns of phrase (“tension melting from his eyebrows like butter melting in a warm pan”) are almost enough to obscure the lack of plot development. What passes for stakes is easily defused when Blair comes into an inheritance that saves her from working as a consultant at Ernst & Young in New York—so she can write a romance novel.
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781668095188
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
A deep and moving portrayal of first love.
Two college students rekindle their relationship as they unravel the truth behind their breakup.
On the outside, college senior Bennett Reiner has it all. A goalie for Waterfell University’s hockey team, he lives with a group of friends in a luxurious off-campus house. He and his best friend, Rhys Koteskiy, have fathers who are retired hockey legends. But on the inside, he’s falling apart. Struggling with OCD, a shaky friendship with Rhys, and second thoughts about pursuing a future in hockey, the only thing keeping Bennett afloat is also the one thing breaking his heart: Paloma Blake. All dyed-hair and attitude, Paloma has built a bad reputation on the hockey scene since their relationship ended freshman year—but Bennett knows the real P. Underneath her promiscuous facade lies a scared and lonely girl running from a childhood of abuse. When they were together, it seemed like their romance was perfect, until Paloma broke it off without warning. Since then, Bennett has run to Paloma’s side whenever she needed him, whether she was drunk, lonely, or hurting, and now he’s determined to win her back. For Bennett, Paloma is his antidote, the cure for his compulsions; for Paloma, Bennett is her protector, her safe space. And though Paloma yearns to be with Bennett again, she’s not sure she’s willing to open old wounds and reveal the truth about her painful past. In the third installment of the Undone series, Corinne spotlights familiar characters as they navigate trauma, heartbreak, and first love. Bennett and Paloma’s relationship is raw and vulnerable, and their journey of relinquishing control is both necessary and inevitable. Their romance evolves as they open up to one another, and in return, the reader is rewarded with a love story that’s as lyrical, evocative, and emotional as poetry.
A deep and moving portrayal of first love.Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781668219423
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
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