An addictive, rollicking tale of friendship, love, and lust.
Gordon’s steamy romance follows a gorgeous and influential tech executive caught between two dashing Irish brothers.
Rose Ross is 32 years old and struggling to balance her obligations as the COO of her father’s tech company and her true passion for the art world. Because her father is the wealthiest Black man in the United States, Rose worries whether she can handle the pressure of Rick Ross Enterprises, as she has already given up a serious relationship to focus on work. To raise the stakes even higher, her father has asked her to succeed him as the next CEO. When her client Brianna Morrison asks if Rose can travel to Belfast to help curate an enormous charity art exhibition, Rose uses the opportunity to get away from work for a month to explore her passion. But she doesn’t anticipate the distractions that await her in Belfast, which come in the form of Brianna’s brothers, Niall and Aedan King. Equal parts charming and devilishly handsome, the brothers immediately take an interest in Rose. Since all three are staying in the family’s castle together, a tricky scenario ensues. On top of Rose’s demanding art schedule and her amorous run-ins with Niall and Aedan, there is continuous concern for her physical safety; plenty of unscrupulous outsiders are eager to see Rick Ross Enterprises fall should she disappear. When Rose’s ex-lover shows up on a whim, she must decide once and for all which man she wants—if any of them. Gordon’s novel will attract romance lovers of every stripe, especially those who prefer a bit of mystery and drama. The author’s love scenes sizzle, and her characters are well rounded in both a physical and psychological sense; she also doesn’t forget to expand on the history of Northern Ireland’s lush countryside. The book features a strong, ambitious female protagonist who is open to relationships but also knows that any love interest has to be compatible with her career—a favorable attribute in a modern romance. Despite moments when Rose has so many suitors that it can be difficult to keep track of them, this novel will likely keep its readers intellectually and emotionally engaged.
An addictive, rollicking tale of friendship, love, and lust.Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798985356601
Page Count: 396
Publisher: 12:56 a.m.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A powerfully strong romance for readers who like their love stories full of torment and passion.
Best friends confront feelings for each other when they take a honeymoon trip together.
Francesca Gardiner and George Saint James have always been best friends—just like Jo and Laurie from Little Women, which they both love. Frankie has a big, complicated family and George was the boy next door who’d moved in with his eccentric grandmother. Their friendship survived childhood, awkward teenage years, and living together as young adults without ever venturing into the romantic—well, except for one kiss, but they don’t talk about that. When Frankie gets engaged to an older professor named Nate, George isn’t happy and a huge fight ensues. Despite his misgivings, George shows up to be her best man, but Nate leaves Frankie right before the wedding with only a cryptic letter. Devastated, Frankie goes to a friend’s house to recuperate, but her honeymoon is already planned and paid for—so she decides to travel to Tofino, a picturesque town on the coast of Vancouver Island, with George taking Nate’s place. Frankie wants to fix her friendship with George, but now that they’re in a romantic suite in a beautiful location, things are more complicated than ever. She’d always thought a relationship would be a bad idea, but she’s slowly beginning to realize they’ll never be able to go back to being kids. Maybe the only way forward involves forging a new kind of relationship. Fortune, the author of romances like This Summer Will Be Different (2024), returns with another love story full of longing and intense angst. The many allusions to Little Women are charming, and Frankie is a delightfully headstrong, feisty character. She and George have explosive chemistry, and Fortune manages to make the “will-they-or-won’t-they” nature of their relationship feel like life-or-death stakes.
A powerfully strong romance for readers who like their love stories full of torment and passion.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9780593953242
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A cleverly titled, cozy SF romance that marks Thorne as a writer to watch.
After purchasing a dilapidated, century-old starship called the Destitute, Torian Razner discovers that the moss covering it is, in fact, a deeply sarcastic sentient computer with abandonment issues.
Torian’s sister, Celise, is dying. Determined to save her life by getting her to a distant planet with air she can breathe, Torian ignores her former captain Amelia Perrosk’s warning that it’s an impossible task (along with any romantic feelings she might have for Amelia). Using the only ionite bars she has to her name, Torian purchases an ancient, moss-covered alien starship that appears to be on its last legs, so to speak. She hardly expected the moss to be a sentient computer or for it to hold a century-old grudge against its former alien captain. Moss quickly proves itself to be acerbic, intelligent, and rightly angry after being having been left behind for 100 years by its former captain. The two form a reluctant and surprising alliance, Torian proving to Moss that not all captains are “dog-turd fungus,” and they both gradually evolve into the best versions of themselves, human or otherwise. It’s obvious from the early pages that Thorne has crafted a story tailored to fans of Becky Chambers’ Monk & Robot series and Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries. Falling somewhere between the two, this is a delightful mashup of romance, found family, and a touch of violence as Moss grapples with its feelings about its former captain and the unexpected kindness that Torian shows. Sweet without being overly saccharine, it’s a book for readers who want the adventure that comes with the vastness of outer space without its harsher realities.
A cleverly titled, cozy SF romance that marks Thorne as a writer to watch.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781250414144
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bramble Books
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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