A smart hockey romance that will leave readers swooning.
An Arizona-based romance author ventures to Montana to learn about hockey in Jenshak’s series-starter.
Promising 20-something vampire-romantasy author Ruby Madison has been stuck in a brutal slump ever since her ex-boyfriend stole her book idea and spun it into a bestseller. Her own latest release flopped, and she hasn’t sold anything since. Just as she’s starting to feel hopeless, an editor at a top publishing house expresses interest in an old baseball romance she’d written years ago. There’s a catch: They want her to rewrite it as a hockey-themed romance, and Ruby knows absolutely nothing about the sport. Luckily, her agent comes up with a plan: Ruby will travel from Arizona to Moonshot, Montana, where she’ll spend six weeks interviewing the famous—and ruggedly handsome—hockey player Nick Galaxy while staying in a cabin next to his house. What she doesn’t realize is that 31-year-old Nick’s well-meaning father has orchestrated the entire arrangement to play matchmaker for his son. Nick isn’t thrilled by the surprise houseguest, but Ruby’s contagious, chaotic enthusiasm eventually breaks through his guarded demeanor. As she embeds herself in his world—getting to know his teammates and his tween son, Aidan—she finds that Moonshot is beginning to feel like home. A looming question becomes unavoidable: What happens when she finishes the book, and she and Nick are 1,000 miles apart? Jenshak tells her tale from Ruby’s and Nick’s alternating first-person perspectives, and the characters’ chemistry is palpable. The novel manages to strike a balance between playful banter and emotional depth. Along the way, the author handles Nick’s health anxieties and Ruby’s imposter syndrome with care, and it’s heartwarming to watch them work through their insecurities as they fall for each other. Ruby’s relationship with Aidan is especially wholesome, adding warmth to the narrative without feeling forced. Jenshak’s novel combines the bookish charm of Emily Henry’s work with the sporty-romance appeal of Elle Kennedy’s. Readers will be eager to book a return trip to Moonshot.
A smart hockey romance that will leave readers swooning.Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9798347036578
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Podium Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
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 thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.
A promise to his best friend leads an Army serviceman to a family in need and a chance at true love in this novel.
Beckett Gentry is surprised when his Army buddy Ryan MacKenzie gives him a letter from Ryan’s sister, Ella. Abandoned by his mother, Beckett grew up in a series of foster homes. He is wary of attachments until he reads Ella’s letter. A single mother, Ella lives with her twins, Maisie and Colt, at Solitude, the resort she operates in Telluride, Colorado. They begin a correspondence, although Beckett can only identify himself by his call sign, Chaos. After Ryan’s death during a mission, Beckett travels to Telluride as his friend had requested. He bonds with the twins while falling deeply in love with Ella. Reluctant to reveal details of Ryan’s death and risk causing her pain, Beckett declines to disclose to Ella that he is Chaos. Maisie needs treatment for neuroblastoma, and Beckett formally adopts the twins as a sign of his commitment to support Ella and her children. He and Ella pursue a romance, but when an insurance investigator questions the adoption, Beckett is faced with revealing the truth about the letters and Ryan’s death, risking losing the family he loves. Yarros’ (Wilder, 2016, etc.) novel is a deeply felt and emotionally nuanced contemporary romance bolstered by well-drawn characters and strong, confident storytelling. Beckett and Ella are sympathetic protagonists whose past experiences leave them cautious when it comes to love. Beckett never knew the security of a stable home life. Ella impulsively married her high school boyfriend, but the marriage ended when he discovered she was pregnant. The author is especially adept at developing the characters through subtle but significant details, like Beckett’s aversion to swearing. Beckett and Ella’s romance unfolds slowly in chapters that alternate between their first-person viewpoints. The letters they exchanged are pivotal to their connection, and almost every chapter opens with one. Yarros’ writing is crisp and sharp, with passages that are poetic without being florid. For example, in a letter to Beckett, Ella writes of motherhood: “But I’m not the center of their universe. I’m more like their gravity.” While the love story is the book’s focus, the subplot involving Maisie’s illness is equally well-developed, and the link between Beckett and the twins is heartfelt and sincere.
A thoughtful and pensive tale with intelligent characters and a satisfying romance.Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-64063-533-3
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: Jan. 2, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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