For readers who like their rom-coms to resemble Young Frankenstein.
Meet Victor Frankenstein’s sister—and the newly animated and confused love of her life.
Wealthy orphans Angelika Frankenstein, 24, and her older brother, Victor, have devoted themselves to scientific pursuits ever since their parents died 11 years ago thanks to their church’s faith in prayer over medicine. Served by their dour and aging housekeeper in a sprawling Gothic mansion, they’ve been trying to bring the dead to life—and this time they appear to have succeeded twice over. But Victor’s creation runs off into the forest, and Angelika’s made-to-order beau is an amnesiac with body dysmorphia thanks to having been brought back to life with the help of other people's limbs. Naïve spinster Angelika is anxious for his love. But between the newly named Will’s bafflement at his resuscitation, Victor's imminent wedding, the search for his missing experiment, the appearance of a military man with romantic inclinations toward Angelika, and Will's investigation into his previous identity, the course of true (scientifically assisted) love is not running smooth. The motley cast—secondary characters include hungry villagers, a greedy priest, an angelic baby, and an ardent pig—serves as a bathetic backdrop to Angelika’s character arc of becoming less thoughtless and more charitable. A paranormal fairy tale that is skeptical of its main protagonist’s desires, this comic-horror take on the classic novel feels like a cross between The Addams Family, “Sleeping Beauty,” and the subset of romances starring men of the cloth. Will’s physical torment and emotional distress echo Mary Shelley’s creature’s suffering, and his happily-ever-after with Angelika feels discomfiting and precarious despite the return of bodily vigor and the eventual end of his celibacy.
For readers who like their rom-coms to resemble Young Frankenstein.Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-06-291283-1
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A charming love story that absolutely radiates warmth.
A single mom winds up fake dating an incredibly wealthy man in her hometown.
Dolly Brick is back in her hometown of Whitfield, Rhode Island, for the summer to help her dad and disabled brother manage their house and family business. As a 39-year-old single mother with multiple jobs—which now include working at the Brick Fish House—Dolly is always busy. When her mom left their family years ago, Dolly took over caring for her siblings and father and never really stopped. When she runs into Stewart Whitfield after making a shrimp delivery to his family’s mansion, she doesn’t think they could be more different. She’s had to figure out how to do everything by herself, and he can’t even change a tire. That’s why Stewart’s proposal that she pretend to be his girlfriend feels so unbelievable—but it comes with a hefty check that she desperately needs for home repairs. So she becomes the fake girlfriend of Stewart Whitfield (as in, the Whitfields her town is named after; his real fiancée just dumped him and it’s a bad time for him to be single) and experiences what it’s like to walk into fancy buildings through the front door instead of the service entrance. More than the boats and helicopter and expensive dinners, though, Dolly is impressed by what a kind man Stewart is—and how it feels to let someone else take care of her for a change. Soon, their relationship starts to feel more real than fake. Monaghan creates an impossibly winning story with a charming, lovable heroine. Dolly is capable, hardworking, and will do anything for the people she loves. She and Stewart both possess real flaws, and while their relationship begins with one of the most beloved rom-com tropes, their challenges feel like realistic adult obstacles rather than easily solved miscommunications. It’s also refreshing that, even though Dolly must learn to allow other people to help her, she never views her caretaking responsibilities as burdens. She deeply loves her family, and that love carries through the entire story.
A charming love story that absolutely radiates warmth.Pub Date: May 26, 2026
ISBN: 9780593853979
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.
A happily engaged woman is pulled back to her hometown—and her first love—when tragedy strikes.
Billie Wright is living her dream, running a thriving fertility clinic in New York City and engaged to a wonderful trauma surgeon named Dean. Her happily-ever-after meant giving up her life in Wisconsin, where she left behind many friends as well as her high school sweetheart, Mick. Although they’d been deeply in love, when Billie’s ambition pulled her away from home and toward the city, Mick couldn’t handle either the distance or her busy schedule. Billie has finally moved on from that heartbreak—but then she receives a phone call from Mick, the first communication between them in years. Her best friend, Erin, died in a car accident, leaving behind an 11-year-old daughter, Phoebe. Now Billie must return home to help sort Erin’s affairs and provide some kind of comfort to Phoebe while grieving the loss of her best friend. Of course, being back home also means being in close contact with Mick. Their feelings for each other may not have ever gone away, and their proximity leads to big decisions for Billie. Can she ever reconcile her current life in Manhattan with her past in Wisconsin? And which one will be her future? Giffin knows how to do drama, and she ratchets up the stakes with every page as she continues to reveal new obstacles for Billie. The ending wraps up quite neatly, but the nostalgia-filled ride is full of twists and turns that will keep readers flipping the pages.
A deliciously dramatic look at how one woman’s past influences her future.Pub Date: July 7, 2026
ISBN: 9780593600320
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
SEEN & HEARD
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