A tough-as-nails hero and a clever take on female empowerment add layers to a fun, sexy story of self-discovery.
A salty wonder woman learns to open up in Woeppel’s unconventional superhero romance.
Birdie Bowden is tired of the sexism and public scrutiny that comes with being the “Chicago Bird,” her city’s official superhero. She is losing patience with “the weight of responsibility” and “always being careful who is watching.” After a public relations disaster during an attempted rescue of a drunken baseball fan, Birdie is put on leave. She retreats to the lakeside suburb of Grove, where she reluctantly attends her mandated therapy sessions with the soft-but-tough Dr. Marly Evans. She begins to reckon with the traumatic relationships from her past (neither her mother or her ex-fiance could handle her superhuman abilities). Another of Dr. Evans’ patients, the spunky Evie, takes Birdie under her wing and gives her a place to stay. Evie, a recovering cancer patient trying to repair her marriage, pushes Birdie to open up and enjoy herself. Their friendship deepens, as does Birdie’s prickly relationship with Evie’s brother, the annoyingly grumpy but devastatingly attractive Aiden. As Birdie grows closer to them both, she starts to challenge her assumption that her abilities prevent her from forming attachments to ordinary humans. As her leave comes to an end, Birdie must decide if she can return to a job that requires her to tame her fiery character and if her fledgling romance with Aiden can survive once he knows her true strength. Woeppel cleverly uses a superhero protagonist to explore the constraining expectations for working women and the ways in which society discourages unchecked displays of female strength. Birdie’s grit and foul language make her an unusual but very appealing romantic hero. Likewise, Aiden has an openness and ease that make him more engaging than the average gruff, prickly love interest; the chemistry between these two tough cookies is satisfyingly steamy. Extroverted and zany Evie makes for a great best friend—her struggles in the aftermath of her illness lend her a depth that adds to the emotional complexity of the story. Cozy cottages, quirky summer festivals, and comfy Adirondack chairs provide a picturesque backdrop for Birdie’s new beginning.
A tough-as-nails hero and a clever take on female empowerment add layers to a fun, sexy story of self-discovery.Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
ISBN: 9781632998774
Page Count: 314
Publisher: River Grove Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Although it lacks the surgical precision of Slaughter’s very best nightmares, this one richly earns its title.
More than a decade after a Georgia man is convicted of a monstrous double murder, an uncomfortably similar crime frees him and resets the search for the guilty party.
In Clifton County, home to the Rich Cliftons and the other Cliftons, the disappearance of teens Madison Dalrymple and Cheyenne Baker during the Halloween festivities hits everyone in North Falls hard. Working with her father, Sheriff Gerald Clifton, Deputy Emmy Lou Clifton hears the clock ticking down as she races frantically to get leads on the two friends, who’d been secretly plotting to take off for Atlanta after some undisclosed big score. As a longtime friend of Madison’s mother, Hannah, Emmy hopes against hope to find the missing teens before they’re both dead. By the time Emmy’s hopes are dashed, two unpleasantly likely suspects with strong attachments to underage sex partners have emerged, and one of them ends up in prison. In a bold move, Slaughter jumps over the next 12 years to the case of Paisley Walker, a 14-year-old whose disappearance catches the eye of retiring FBI criminal psychologist Jude Archer, who promptly crosses the country to come to Clifton County and take charge—um, that is, consult—on this heartrending new investigation. Emmy, suddenly and shockingly deprived of counsel from the parents who’ve supported her all her life, doesn’t get along any better with Jude than with the larger circle of Cliftons and the Clifton-Cliftons. But together they identify one new suspect, then another, before a shootout that arrives so early you just know there are still more surprises to come.
Although it lacks the surgical precision of Slaughter’s very best nightmares, this one richly earns its title.Pub Date: Aug. 12, 2025
ISBN: 9780063336773
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
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
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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