by Rachel Lynn Solomon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 26, 2021
Delightfully romantic and emotionally uplifting.
To save their jobs, rival public radio co-workers pretend to be exes for a new show and end up getting much more than they bargained for.
Shay Goldstein hates her new co-worker, Dominic Yun. The 29-year-old senior producer has been with Pacific Public Radio for 10 years but has never realized the dream of hosting her own show. Dominic, 24 years old and armed with a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern, which he obnoxiously mentions every chance he gets, is already breaking big news on the air. Their competition boils over during a stationwide brainstorming session when Shay suggests starting a new dating show hosted by exes, and Dominic writes it off as tawdry commercial radio. But their shouting match has unexpected consequences when the station's program director tells them their verbal sparring and obvious tension would make them the perfect hosts for Shay’s show—and that it just might save them from upcoming layoffs. Of course, there’s one huge problem: They’ve never actually dated. As the show skyrockets in popularity, the fake exes become real friends, but a growing attraction might spell disaster. Shay and Dominic are brought to life with multilayered backstories. Shay shared her passion for radio with her late father, and she often wonders what he would think about her career choices; Dominic is determined to make a positive impact with his journalism degree but is unsure how to do so in the world of click-bait content. Witty dialogue meets steamy slow-burn tension while fun romance tropes (fake dating! there’s only one bed!) take a refreshing turn by making Dominic the less sexually experienced, and more emotionally open, of the two. A vibrant supporting cast of family, friends, and co-workers helps round out the plot.
Delightfully romantic and emotionally uplifting.Pub Date: Jan. 26, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593200-12-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
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by Abby Jimenez ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 11, 2023
A solid contemporary with a balance of humor and lasting emotional beats.
In this contemporary romance, two emergency room doctors, both recovering from messy breakups, form a close, comforting friendship and perhaps something more.
Dr. Briana Ortiz has enough on her plate. She’s in the midst of finalizing her divorce, and her brother’s on a deadline to find a kidney donor. Now she has to worry that the new doctor, Jacob Maddox, is there to nab her promotion to chief of emergency medicine. Admittedly, Jacob—who has social anxiety—doesn't make the best first impression on Bri, telling her off for bumping into him in the hall. To make amends, he writes her a letter to explain himself and apologize, and the tension between them softens as their letters to each other keep coming. Bri realizes Jacob isn’t there to undermine her, and Jacob gets to see Bri’s more vulnerable side. When Jacob offers to be Bri’s brother’s kidney donor and Bri agrees to be Jacob’s pretend girlfriend for a wedding, it's easy to wonder what kept these two apart in the first place. The answer: not much. Of course, the two are carrying some heavy baggage from prior relationships, but it seems like a minor obstacle when compared to the genuine connection Jacob and Bri share. This is a cute, slow-burn romance with plenty of funny moments and emotional challenges, though the focus seems to be on the leads finally realizing what’s been in front of them all along through grand and sometimes unnecessary machinations. Did this need a fake dating subplot? Or epistolary flirting? Not really, but Jimenez manages to pepper these adorable tropes throughout without making them feel too gimmicky.
A solid contemporary with a balance of humor and lasting emotional beats.Pub Date: April 11, 2023
ISBN: 9781538704394
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
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by Emily Henry ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 19, 2020
A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.
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Two struggling authors spend the summer writing and falling in love in a quaint beach town.
January Andrews has just arrived in the small town of North Bear Shores with some serious baggage. Her father has been dead for a year, but she still hasn’t come to terms with what she found out at his funeral—he had been cheating on her mother for years. January plans to spend the summer cleaning out and selling the house her father and “That Woman” lived in together. But she’s also a down-on-her-luck author facing writer’s block, and she no longer believes in the happily-ever-after she’s made the benchmark of her work. Her steadily dwindling bank account, though, is a daily reminder that she must sell her next book, and fast. Serendipitously, she discovers that her new next-door neighbor is Augustus Everett, the darling of the literary fiction set and her former college rival/crush. Gus also happens to be struggling with his next book (and some serious trauma that unfolds throughout the novel). Though the two get off to a rocky start, they soon make a bet: Gus will try to write a romance novel, and January will attempt “bleak literary fiction.” They spend the summer teaching each other the art of their own genres—January takes Gus on a romantic outing to the local carnival; Gus takes January to the burned-down remains of a former cult—and they both process their own grief, loss, and trauma through this experiment. There are more than enough steamy scenes to sustain the slow-burn romance, and smart commentary on the placement and purpose of “women’s fiction” joins with crucial conversations about mental health to add multiple intriguing layers to the plot.
A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0673-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Jove/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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