A steamy love story with memorable characters despite occasional distracting asides.
In Bell’s romance, an NFL player and his unlikely best friend fall in love.
Sawyer Jackson, a 25-year-old Miami Mavericks tight end—a position likely chosen for its double-entendre—is convinced that beautiful, hilarious, 21-year-old Kennedy Quinn, a student at the Berklee College of Music, has “gifted [him] a FastPass to the friend zone.” Kennedy reciprocates Sawyer’s attraction, but an ex-boyfriend, Boston College’s star quarterback Hunter Sterling, recently cheated on her. She isn’t ready to move on, so she and her “Hottest Friend,” Sawyer, maintain a flirty but platonic connection. The narrative then shifts abruptly to three years and four months later, when Sawyer is about to join the big-league New York Cougars—for which Hunter is the quarterback—and still nursing his crush on close friend Kennedy. She’s moved to New York City with musical-theater aspirations and a powerful agent, William Abreu, to match. Sawyer wants to get out of “Kennedy’s friend zone and into her heart’s end zone,” but a number of factors could jeopardize their romance: Sawyer’s playboy history; Kennedy’s sexy new roommate, Andrew; a “morality and ethics clause” in Sawyer’s Cougars contract that could keep the couple apart; and neither party's wanting to ruin their current relationship. As Sawyer and Kennedy’s attractions heats up, the author heightens the internal and external stakes for the characters, making for a page-turning read. Sawyer’s voice is full of “colorful verbiage,” as Kennedy puts it in one of her point-of-view sections, and often-funny metaphors: Kennedy’s laugh is described by Sawyer as a “cock-hardening ballad” in narration; he also calls his teammate Declan Walsh an “anti-wingman” and opines that calling men’s boxers “panties” is “basically verbal castration.” However, italicized asides sometimes distract from the narrative: After a heartfelt confession, for instance, Kennedy breaks out of the moment to think, “Whoa. That’s a lot to unpack.” Both Sawyer’s and Kennedy’s perspectives are laugh-out-loud funny, but the author occasionally dips into cliché: “She didn't wear a drop of makeup; she didn’t need it.” That said, the leads each gain depth as their relationship progresses.
A steamy love story with memorable characters despite occasional distracting asides.Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2022
ISBN: 9798985418453
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: June 2, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
Henry fans, rejoice: This is her best yet.
A recently dumped librarian finds herself fake dating her polar opposite.
When Daphne Vincent’s fiance, Peter, dumps her, she’s shocked—but the worst part is that he’s leaving her for his gorgeous best friend, Petra, the woman he’d always told Daphne not to worry about. Now Daphne has to move out of Peter’s home and restart her life in the small Michigan town where she’d moved to be with him. Salvation comes in the form of Miles Nowak, Petra’s ex—he has a tiny spare room in his apartment, and he understands what it’s like to wallow in heartbreak. Daphne feels lucky to have her dream job as a children’s librarian, but other than that, she feels adrift and friendless in Waning Bay—and then she and Miles get invitations to Peter and Petra’s wedding. In a momentary lapse of judgment, Daphne not only says she’ll attend the wedding, but tells Peter she’s dating Miles. It would be the perfect way to show Peter and Petra that they’ve moved on…if only it were true. In the grand tradition of fake-dating romances, Daphne and Miles pretend to be in love, getting to know each other while having various adventures and misadventures. Daphne quickly learns that although she’d dismissed Miles as a pothead with a lack of direction, he’s actually a good time—and a loyal friend. But Daphne knows she needs to get out of Waning Bay, so this fake relationship can’t lead anywhere…can it? Reliable bestseller Henry has written another surefire hit that manages to be dramatic, sexy, and fun. Miles and Daphne have chemistry that leaps off the page, and their will-they-or-won’t-they energy propels the story to its satisfying conclusion. Daphne is an immensely likable character, one whose past realistically informs her current relationships. The world of Waning Bay is charmingly quirky, and Daphne’s co-workers at the library are endearing. As always, Henry’s biggest strength is the sharp, often hilarious dialogue that makes the story a joy to read.
Henry fans, rejoice: This is her best yet.Pub Date: April 23, 2024
ISBN: 9780593441282
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
PERSPECTIVES
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