A well-developed love story that will make readers eager for a happily-ever-after.
In Saville’s romance novel, a movie star falls for a woman who’s working her way up the corporate ladder.
After giving yet another bad performance while filming a movie, Jake Laurent calls Kat Green, his friend and former pandemic bedmate, in a panic, asking her to come visit him on location in Denmark. Even though the two haven’t spoken in months, and it’s been at least a year since they were in each other’s presence, Kat, a busy executive at New York City–based PathMobile, finds a way to get to Copenhagen. Kat has her eye on the company’s chief operating officer position, which will be open soon, but she’s unfortunately lacking in international experience. A trip to Denmark would not only let her see Jake, but also highlight her skills at her company’s Denmark office. However, almost as soon as Jake arrives at the apartment they’re sharing, Kat finds herself completely distracted by him. To avoid drama from paparazzi following Jake around, and so Kat won’t be seen as unprofessional, the two come up with rules for their time together. The overall idea behind them is simple: “Whenever we can,” Kat says, “we should try to separate” while in public. At the same time, though, their physical attraction is more powerful than ever. In Saville’s contemporary romance, several familiar romance tropes collide to form an offbeat love story that will keep genre fans turning pages. The story starts out with the two main characters already in a relationship of sorts, and the author does a good job of catching readers up on their shared past, adding in vivid memories from their time together and effectively comparing past moments to their present interactions. Both Jake and Kat come off as authentic, and their worries and concerns regarding their work, their passions, and their relationships with others and each other ring true throughout. What makes this novel truly shine, though, is how the two work together to help each other realize their goals, frequently talking through problems to find solutions.
A well-developed love story that will make readers eager for a happily-ever-after.Pub Date: March 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781647428464
Page Count: 280
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: Nov. 20, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.
Childhood friends, almost-sweethearts, a misunderstanding, and a funeral.
Blair Lang and Declan Renshaw were best friends who went on one date before a disagreement and an accident sent them in different directions after high school. Now Blair is back from college to be with her great-aunt Lottie, who’s dying, and to support her single mother in small-town Seabrook, California. Finding a job at a coffee shop puts her in the path of her former boyfriend, since he turns out to be its owner. Can the two get past their mistakes? The novel uses the popular second-chance romance trope, but Pham fails to energize it through interesting characters. Blair’s grief over her great-aunt’s death and her plan to help her mother are overshadowed by internal monologues about her feelings, the way her friends aren’t paying attention to her, and the novel she plans to write. Declan’s distinguishing characteristic, besides being a former high school quarterback, is his skill at building birdhouses. Unsurprisingly, the couple doesn’t have much chemistry; when they embrace, their “bodies meld like…memory foam.” The wooden characters, unusual word choices (“conglomerate of pedestrians,” “litany of plants”), and odd turns of phrase (“tension melting from his eyebrows like butter melting in a warm pan”) are almost enough to obscure the lack of plot development. What passes for stakes is easily defused when Blair comes into an inheritance that saves her from working as a consultant at Ernst & Young in New York—so she can write a romance novel.
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781668095188
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
Two hot people confronting their trauma, making passionate love, and solving violent crimes! ’Nuff said.
A heartbroken man lusts after his therapist while seeking revenge on a drug kingpin and his enforcer.
Mitch Haskell’s wife, Angela, died two years ago of an apparent suicide, but Mitch has always believed the scene was staged. Certainly, she would never have willingly left their young son, Andrew, behind. Consumed with a thirst for vengeance, Mitch—a former Marine and undercover agent with the Drug Enforcement Administration and currently a police detective—is struggling with alcohol dependency and uncontrolled rage. Andrew is living with his in-laws, who are making not-so-subtle suggestions that they might apply for permanent guardianship if Mitch can’t get it together. So his boss and best friend, John Bowie, mandates that he go into therapy, which puts him in the path of sexy Dr. Dylan Reede. Within a few days, Mitch makes a connection between two new murders and the death of his former partner; finds a big clue that points to the truth about Angela’s death; goes undercover as a homeless man; takes on a vicious drug cartel; and obnoxiously bullies Dylan with a charm offensive that leads them inevitably to bed. While Mitch seems to lean into the stereotype of the ex-soldier/cop with deeply buried trauma who believes that the ends justify the means—at least in law enforcement—Dylan offers the strength and sweetness to help him start breaking down his walls, allowing herself to be vulnerable in turn. Is passionate sex enough to ground a relationship and a family for the long term? For these characters, and the breakneck speed of this thriller, it’s as good a foundation as any.
Two hot people confronting their trauma, making passionate love, and solving violent crimes! ’Nuff said.Pub Date: March 17, 2026
ISBN: 9781538743027
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
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