A wholesome if predictable summer romance.
A teenage girl finds first love with a boy from the wrong side of the tracks in the summer of 1968.
Shelby Montgomery, from an extremely influential white family in Memphis, loves summertime, when the Montgomerys travel to their country estate in Tupelo, Mississippi. Rare for the time, the teen’s best friend is an African American girl named Liberty Chestnut, who brings Shelby down to the local pond for swimming on hot summer days. On one of these days, Shelby spies River Martin, a handsome, brooding, local boy she doesn’t know much about, and when their eyes meet, she’s thoroughly smitten. Liberty tells Shelby that River, who's white, is a blues musician, and she knows just how to sneak in to his upcoming gig. As Shelby and River connect, Shelby also learns the disturbing news that her own father is much despised by many locals because he’s been scheming to purchase their land to make way for a new highway. When a tragic accident befalls another member of the town, Shelby must decide how far she’s willing to go to prevent the wrong person from taking the blame. As she attempts to navigate her relationships and simultaneously save the town from her father’s “improvement” plans, it seems it might just be too much for one young woman. Told in a close third person, the book primarily follows Shelby. Tupelo provides the perfect backdrop for this coming-of-age story; both the socioeconomic battles and Shelby’s increasingly rebellious behavior contrast well with the charming southern town. While the setting details are rich, with descriptions of blackberry pies, fireflies, and lakeside bluffs in abundance, physical descriptions of most characters are sparse, making it difficult to keep identities straight. Similarly, the plot-heavy story is full of action and drama, but the characters’ emotions often feel underdeveloped. Even so, the author does an admirable job of exposing issues related to loss of innocence and artificial social boundaries.
A wholesome if predictable summer romance.Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2025
ISBN: 9798993139500
Page Count: 251
Publisher: Emerald Fountain Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A powerfully strong romance for readers who like their love stories full of torment and passion.
Best friends confront feelings for each other when they take a honeymoon trip together.
Francesca Gardiner and George Saint James have always been best friends—just like Jo and Laurie from Little Women, which they both love. Frankie has a big, complicated family and George was the boy next door who’d moved in with his eccentric grandmother. Their friendship survived childhood, awkward teenage years, and living together as young adults without ever venturing into the romantic—well, except for one kiss, but they don’t talk about that. When Frankie gets engaged to an older professor named Nate, George isn’t happy and a huge fight ensues. Despite his misgivings, George shows up to be her best man, but Nate leaves Frankie right before the wedding with only a cryptic letter. Devastated, Frankie goes to a friend’s house to recuperate, but her honeymoon is already planned and paid for—so she decides to travel to Tofino, a picturesque town on the coast of Vancouver Island, with George taking Nate’s place. Frankie wants to fix her friendship with George, but now that they’re in a romantic suite in a beautiful location, things are more complicated than ever. She’d always thought a relationship would be a bad idea, but she’s slowly beginning to realize they’ll never be able to go back to being kids. Maybe the only way forward involves forging a new kind of relationship. Fortune, the author of romances like This Summer Will Be Different (2024), returns with another love story full of longing and intense angst. The many allusions to Little Women are charming, and Frankie is a delightfully headstrong, feisty character. She and George have explosive chemistry, and Fortune manages to make the “will-they-or-won’t-they” nature of their relationship feel like life-or-death stakes.
A powerfully strong romance for readers who like their love stories full of torment and passion.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9780593953242
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
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
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