A compassionate story of navigating changes in identity, with a middling romance attached.
A former pop star heads back to college, where sparks fly with her psychology professor.
Ramona Wilder has been a celebrity all her life. She was the star of a popular children’s TV show, which launched her singing career. She quickly became a global sensation, but now, at 26, she’s ready to retire. Having spent years in the spotlight, Ramona longs for normalcy, whatever that may mean, and decides to attend UCLA. Aside from getting an education, Ramona wants to focus on all the things fame never left her time for—figuring out what she wants in life, building relationships (both romantic and platonic) not meant for the public eye, and coming to terms with her own past trauma. Recently divorced psychology professor Nick Navarro, 36, has been briefed that Ramona will be in one of his classes. Though he’s an optimist and someone who can roll with the punches, he isn’t quite prepared for the stir she causes the second she walks into the room, both with her peers and with him. He immediately realizes there’s something about her that challenges his easy-breezy existence. Ramona can’t help but needle him, and her button-pushing lays the groundwork for friendship and then something more. Nick and Ramona both experience the fear and vulnerability that comes with having to make decisions about the next phase of their lives, Ramona with her career and Nick with starting a new relationship after his divorce. Sadly, the romance is the weakest element here; the couple’s chemistry never rises above a simmer, and despite Ramona’s fame, the power dynamic between teacher and student feels questionable. The focus of the story is less on the romance, however, and more on Ramona coping with her own arrested development and on deeper themes like child exploitation and the lack of privacy cultivated by social media.
A compassionate story of navigating changes in identity, with a middling romance attached.Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9798217188284
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2026
An extremely fun, fast-paced, and unusual addition to the marriage-in-trouble romance canon.
A marriage on the rocks gets a second chance—with a science-fiction twist.
Dr. Emery Martín is happily married to her husband Luca…mostly. She’s been madly in love with him since the moment they met, but in the three years they’ve been wed, she hasn’t been able to focus much on him. To the world—including Luca—Emery’s job involves developing medical-grade lasers. In reality, she works at a supersecret San Diego lab that’s engineering a compound to bring mammals back from the dead. Although Emery doesn’t want to admit it, she can tell that Luca feels pushed aside, but she believes so deeply in her work that she has a hard time leaving the lab. When Emery is late for dinner—yet again—on their anniversary, she rushes home only to see Luca get hit by a car. She has the secret compound in her car, and she knows she could get in major trouble if she uses it—but what’s she supposed to do, not save her husband’s life? The compound has only been tested on animals so far, and there’s no guarantee it will even work for humans. It does, though, and Luca comes back to life—with one small caveat. He can’t remember most things, including his marriage to Emery. After almost losing Luca, Emery is now grateful for what she has, and she’s determined to show him that she can be a better, more attentive partner. While Luca may not remember her, their magnetic chemistry is still there. This may be the do-over they needed to save their marriage—that is, if Emery can keep the life-reviving measures she took hidden from everyone around them, including nosy neighbors and her own company. Lauren—the pen name of the duo behind rom-coms like The Paradise Problem (2024)—has created a unique hook that feels genuinely refreshing. Emery and Luca’s unconventional second chance is emotionally compelling, and the slight thriller edge as Emery tries to cover up her actions keeps the pages turning.
An extremely fun, fast-paced, and unusual addition to the marriage-in-trouble romance canon.Pub Date: July 14, 2026
ISBN: 9781668017753
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
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
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