An entertaining and sharply written, if sometimes over-the-top, tale of an ideologically divided America.
MacDonald’s political romance asks: Can a progressive musician love a hard-right Republican—and without getting framed for murder?
Sam Maripol, the frontman of a rock band in Palm Beach, Florida, is bummed out at the election of a very Trump-like politician for president. His despond lifts when he meets gorgeous, blue-eyed nurse Ashley Beck, only to return when he finds out that she’s a Christian Republican; they have heated exchanges on abortion and other hot-button issues, but sizzling sexual chemistry keeps them interested in each other. (Ashley’s resolve to not have sex before marriage poses little obstacle, as she interprets this rule as only restricting intercourse.) A bigger obstacle is Ashley’s dad, Adam, a wealthy Christian nationalist who dislikes Sam, offers him $100,000 to dump Ashley, and brings in a rival suitor to woo her away. Sam discovers that Adam is surveilling Ashley’s apartment, and retaliates by bugging Adam’s mansion, which reveals a plot to assassinate the new president—he’s too loose a cannon, apparently, even for the far right—and frame Sam as the left-wing killer. Now, the rocker faces the dismaying task of trying to save a president whom he despises, while also wondering if Ashley set him up. MacDonald’s lurid portrait of a Republican-dominated America is full of rabid bigots and fascist militias, as well as vehement left-leaning polemics: “Fux News told them to blame immigrants, people of color, liberals, and elitists, whatever that means; and we know the White working class has more prejudice than economic sense,” says Sam’s best friend, discussing the president’s base. Despite some distracting soapboxing, MacDonald is a talented and perceptive writer, especially during the assassination subplot, which combines suspense with shrewd psychological nuance and punchy, evocative prose: “He’s in love with the crowd,” one conspirator tells a would-be assassin, describing the president’s rallies, adding that “After a while, he’ll get a little tired, lean against the podium, rest on his elbow, and go silent for a moment while he listens to them cheer…. That’s when he’s motionless. Wait for it.”
An entertaining and sharply written, if sometimes over-the-top, tale of an ideologically divided America.Pub Date: Dec. 14, 2025
ISBN: 9798901849217
Page Count: 222
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.
An earnest grad student and a faculty member with a bit of a jerkish reputation concoct a fake dating scheme in this nerdy, STEM-filled contemporary romance.
Olive Smith and professor Adam Carlsen first met in the bathroom of Adam's lab. Olive wore expired contact lenses, reducing her eyes to temporary tears, while Adam just needed to dispose of a solution. It's a memory that only one of them has held onto. Now, nearly three years later, Olive is fully committed to her research in pancreatic cancer at Stanford University's biology department. As a faculty member, Adam's reputation precedes him, since he's made many students cry or drop their programs entirely with his bluntness. When Olive needs her best friend, Anh, to think she's dating someone so Anh will feel more comfortable getting involved with Olive's barely-an-ex, Jeremy, she impulsively kisses Adam, who happens to be standing there when Anh walks by. But rumors start to spread, and the one-time kiss morphs into a fake relationship, especially as Adam sees there's a benefit for him. The university is withholding funds for Adam's research out of fear that he'll leave for a better position elsewhere. If he puts down more roots by getting involved with someone, his research funds could be released at the next budgeting meeting in about a month's time. After setting a few ground rules, Adam and Olive agree that come the end of September, they'll part ways, having gotten what they need from their arrangement. Hazelwood has a keen understanding of romance tropes and puts them to good use—in addition to fake dating, Olive and Adam are an opposites-attract pairing with their sunny and grumpy personalities—but there are a couple of weaknesses in this debut novel. Hazelwood manages to sidestep a lot of the complicated power dynamics of a student-faculty romance by putting Olive and Adam in different departments, but the impetus for their fake relationship has much higher stakes for Adam. Olive does reap the benefits of dating a faculty member, but in the end, she's still the one seemingly punished or taunted by her colleagues; readers may have been hoping for a more subversive twist. For a first novel, there's plenty of shine here, with clear signs that Hazelwood feels completely comfortable with happily-ever-afters.
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-33682-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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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