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
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.
A violent attack hijacks a woman’s memory in this novel of domestic suspense.
McFadden wastes no time pulling the trigger in this harrowing story that starts with gunfire then swiftly propels readers into a crack tale of secrets and misdirection. Originally self-published in 2016, the book carries the same formidable weight as McFadden’s later novels featuring unsuspecting women who lose their power then fight to recapture it—mostly from men who have betrayed them. That formula perfectly fits Dr. Charlotte McKenna, a 37-year-old dermatologist who isn’t looking for love until the most handsome man she’s ever seen begins to woo her. There are warning signs about Clark Douglas and Charlotte overlooks them to her detriment—but is he a killer? The novel has dual timelines split between events leading up to the day Charlotte barely survives a head wound meant to kill her and the months afterward, when she struggles to reclaim her memory and her mobility. In real life, McFadden is a physician trained to treat brain injuries. Her expertise gives Charlotte’s rehabilitation authenticity, and her writing talent makes it interesting and engaging. As good as that timeline is, readers will yearn to get back to the alternate timeline about who wants Charlotte dead. It’s only a matter of time before Charlotte starts to remember who tried to kill her, and the clock is ticking toward their next attempt. McFadden dishes up plenty of suspects: Charlotte’s secretive husband, Clark; a former patient turned stalker who confronts Charlotte on her honeymoon; and the angry husband of a patient who blames Charlotte for his wife leaving him. Though the story is delicious and dark, McFadden brightens things up with a possible love interest for Charlotte and a surprise ending sure to please the author’s many fans.
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249617
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
Trust no one in this over-the-top tale of deception and revenge.
Dead bodies turn up in the first sentence of the prologue in McFadden’s latest domestic thriller.
The mystery of who died is at the pulsating heart of this propulsive tale. As Chapter 1 begins, Naomi arrives home to find the locks changed on the front door of the gorgeous home she shares with her husband, Jeremy, and their 5-year-old son, Teddy. Jeremy steps out the front door and convinces Naomi to move out while he has their home renovated, a plan Naomi knows nothing about. It’s all a ruse, though, as the next day Jeremy tells her he wants a divorce. Naomi is shellshocked and soon discovers that Jeremy is having an affair with Veronica, a beautiful younger woman. What seems at first like a stereotypical story about a man who leaves his wife turns into something else when Naomi decides she’ll do anything to get Veronica away from Jeremy and Teddy, and Veronica decides to fight for what she thinks she deserves. Fans of stalker novels will cringe with delight as creepy things start to happen. Teddy’s stuffed elephant, a gift from Veronica, is found impaled on a kitchen knife; Naomi suspects Jeremy is gaslighting her and that Veronica tried to poison her. A weird confrontation among Jeremy, Veronica, and Naomi at Teddy’s birthday party, to which Naomi shows up uninvited, is priceless. There are three main characters, and any or all of them may be unreliable narrators. Packing the plot with dark, gasp-inducing twists, McFadden outdoes herself in a story about how highly emotional people engage in risky behavior to get what they want—but in this novel, for better or worse, not everyone will survive.
Trust no one in this over-the-top tale of deception and revenge.Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249631
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
BOOK TO SCREEN
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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