A sweet, sporty romance.
Two old friends reconnect when they both begin working at the same rural college in Merrill’s sports romance.
Dancer Joe Judd returns to his alma mater, Greenvale College in Iowa, for the first time in 15 years to see old friend and fellow alumnus Les Payton, a retired NFL player who is now a football coach at the school. For Les, Joe is the one who got away; Les was attracted to him back in college, but Joe was too ambitious to stick around after graduation. Joe’s hard work has paid off—he has a thriving career as a dancer and choreographer on TV and Broadway. As such, Les and his brother, Barry (the college president), want to hire him to coach the cheerleaders at Greenvale as part of a program to revamp the athletic department. After giving it some thought, Joe takes the job. Both men worry their bodies are falling apart; Les incurred head injuries in the NFL, and Joe knows he has a finite number of days in which he’ll be able to keep dancing. As they work together (and in competition) on a fundraising project, Les and Joe grow closer. But then Joe gets a call about a potential job on Broadway that reminds him he has other options beyond Iowa. Will he stay? As a romance, the narrative is charming—the author has an engaging voice. Still, there are small niggles: Not all of the dialogue sounds natural; both leads are constantly telling each other how glad they are that the other is there (“ ‘You’re here now. I’m so happy you’re here now.’ Joe leaned down and kissed his forehead. ‘I am here, and I’m not going anywhere’ ”). Given that Joe has gained fame—and possibly fortune—in a splashy career as a dancer, it seems like a step down to become the cheerleading coach at a small, rural college, though Joe treats it like a huge opportunity. There also isn’t much conflict, and everyone is very nice, which makes for a pleasant, if not always compelling read. Overall, though, the characters are likable, and some fun sports details keep the narrative lively.
A sweet, sporty romance.Pub Date: May 3, 2023
ISBN: 9781953433084
Page Count: 312
Publisher: Celie Bay Publications LLC
Review Posted Online: June 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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