An exciting introduction to a sexy new series in the growing genre of race-car romance.
An aspiring Formula One engineer juggles a love triangle and lies at an elite racing academy.
Twenty-year-old Shay MacDonald is hiding two secrets, both of which threaten to destroy her relationship with her adoptive father. Against her dad’s wishes, Shay has been standing in for him at his mechanic job for Ashford Racing Inc. while he recovers from a medical issue. She’s also transferred from Ohio State to Ashford Academy—a training school for aspiring F1 drivers and engineers. Her father would be furious if he knew she had anything to do with the Ashfords, the prominent racing family that owns both the garage and the academy. Ever since Shay survived the car crash that killed her birth parents when she was 4, her father has forbidden her from having anything to do with the local family whose name is synonymous with racing and risk. Shay dreams of becoming an automotive engineer, though, so it’s all worth the fight they’ll inevitably have when her father finds out. Then, as if she wasn’t under enough stress, she has an unfortunate run-in with racing royalty on her first day at the academy. Ashford heirs Theo and Jameson are both devastatingly handsome, but that’s where their similarities end. Theo is all flirtation and sunshine while Jameson is haughty, hot, and utterly frustrating. Both guys have taken an interest in Shay, but it’s Jameson she can’t get off her mind—even when he’s being a total jerk. As Shay begins to enmesh herself in the Ashfords’ dangerous, alluring inner circle, she realizes their lives might be more connected to her own than she’d thought. The first entry in Lawson’s Ashford Academy series is a hot, slow burn with just the right hint of intrigue. Jameson and Theo’s brotherly feud provides the material for a quintessential love triangle—think The Summer I Turned Pretty meets an F1 racetrack—and Shay is a badass, capable protagonist with an unstoppable drive. And to Theo fans: Don’t fret, a sequel starring the younger brother is hinted at in the epilogue.
An exciting introduction to a sexy new series in the growing genre of race-car romance.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2026
ISBN: 9798217238583
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley XO
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2026
A charming love story that absolutely radiates warmth.
A single mom winds up fake dating an incredibly wealthy man in her hometown.
Dolly Brick is back in her hometown of Whitfield, Rhode Island, for the summer to help her dad and disabled brother manage their house and family business. As a 39-year-old single mother with multiple jobs—which now include working at the Brick Fish House—Dolly is always busy. When her mom left their family years ago, Dolly took over caring for her siblings and father and never really stopped. When she runs into Stewart Whitfield after making a shrimp delivery to his family’s mansion, she doesn’t think they could be more different. She’s had to figure out how to do everything by herself, and he can’t even change a tire. That’s why Stewart’s proposal that she pretend to be his girlfriend feels so unbelievable—but it comes with a hefty check that she desperately needs for home repairs. So she becomes the fake girlfriend of Stewart Whitfield (as in, the Whitfields her town is named after; his real fiancée just dumped him and it’s a bad time for him to be single) and experiences what it’s like to walk into fancy buildings through the front door instead of the service entrance. More than the boats and helicopter and expensive dinners, though, Dolly is impressed by what a kind man Stewart is—and how it feels to let someone else take care of her for a change. Soon, their relationship starts to feel more real than fake. Monaghan creates an impossibly winning story with a charming, lovable heroine. Dolly is capable, hardworking, and will do anything for the people she loves. She and Stewart both possess real flaws, and while their relationship begins with one of the most beloved rom-com tropes, their challenges feel like realistic adult obstacles rather than easily solved miscommunications. It’s also refreshing that, even though Dolly must learn to allow other people to help her, she never views her caretaking responsibilities as burdens. She deeply loves her family, and that love carries through the entire story.
A charming love story that absolutely radiates warmth.Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9780593853979
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
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
SEEN & HEARD
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