A fast-moving action comedy with all the thrills of a summer blockbuster.
Exes get pulled into another heist—and back into each other’s orbit—in this fun sequel.
Desai’s To Have and To Heist (2023) introduced readers to Simi Chopra, Jack Danger, and their ragtag crew when they stole a multimillion-dollar necklace as a means to clear Simi’s best friend Chloe’s name. A year later, no one is where they expected to be—their reward money didn’t go as far as they thought it would, and Simi and Jack’s relationship couldn’t stand up to his demanding schedule as a mysterious thief. Now a mafia boss shows up at Simi’s office demanding the necklace—plus millions in interest—so Simi has to get the gang back together—including her hacker BFF, a tough-girl driver, a wannabe MMA fighter, and, unfortunately, Jack. He’s back in town and willing to do whatever it takes to show Simi’s he’s ready to settle down (as much as an international thief ever can) and be there for her no matter what—which includes helping her with this heist. Unfortunately, the necklace is in the hands of Jack’s ex, a very angry thief named Clare—and she’s not willing to forgive or forget how Jack abandoned her. But Simi and company have to work with Clare if they have any hope of getting the necklace back and saving their lives. Although the story is packed with action, near-death experiences, and plenty of violence, Desai keeps the tone light. Simi and Jack’s banter, by turns annoyed and romantic, helps things stay breezy—even in the most dire of situations, those two can’t keep their hands off each other. Simi’s slightly quirky but ever loyal group of friends keep spirits high as they refuse to give up on the job or each other. The details of the jewelry theft can get a little convoluted, but it’s best to simply focus on the fun and excitement that Simi’s crew brings to the process.
A fast-moving action comedy with all the thrills of a summer blockbuster.Pub Date: Aug. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780593641316
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 31, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2024
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 fun, positively frothy friends-to-lovers romance.
While on her sister’s wedding cruise, a woman enlists her childhood best friend for help as she attempts to woo her longtime crush.
JoJo Burton is bad at love. After she leaves her terrible fiancé, Pearce Richmond, at the altar, she’s convinced she might never settle down. But during her sister’s wedding, which is being held on an eight-day cruise to the Bahamas and Cozumel, she and her family concoct a plan that will help her seduce her recently divorced childhood crush, Finn Turner. The two of them once shared a blindfolded kiss that might have ruined JoJo for all other men, and she’s never forgotten it. But then JoJo’s best friend, Cooper Watts, shows up. Cooper and JoJo were inseparable as children but didn’t talk for years after she got engaged to Pearce. She doesn’t know why he suddenly disappeared on her, but it doesn’t matter—he’s here now, and she needs him to help her get Finn to reenact that long-ago kiss. But after she and Cooper share a cabin, get thrown together for every wedding week activity, and even engage in the classic friendly flirting meant to make another man jealous, JoJo starts to realize that Finn might not be the man she’s been waiting for, after all. Center keeps things light, focusing on humor even when the subject matter veers into family drama. JoJo and Cooper find themselves caught up in the sort of tropes that are catnip for romance fans—he takes care of her when she has a sunburn, for instance, and they participate in a slow-dance contest. As Center reveals in an author’s note at the beginning, “Spoiler: This book will end well.” The destination may not be a surprise, but the journey is a delight.
A fun, positively frothy friends-to-lovers romance.Pub Date: May 19, 2026
ISBN: 9781250408051
Page Count: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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