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MY (NOT SO) PERFECT LIFE

A delightful and charming story that will appeal to Shopaholic fans.

A young woman learns that a “perfect” life isn’t always what it seems as she attempts to move on from a dramatic firing by working at her family’s farm.

Country girl Katie Brenner is living the life she’s always dreamed of in London. She’s reinvented herself as Cat, works at a hip branding agency, and left behind her not-so-posh accent. But behind her perfectly curated Instagram account, life isn’t actually as great as she’d like it to be. She’s barely making it financially, living with terrible roommates, and trying desperately to impress her boss, Demeter. When Katie develops a flirtation—or maybe more—with her cute co-worker, she thinks things may be looking up. But when Demeter fires Katie, she's forced to move back home to live with her father and stepmother in Somerset. She spends her days helping them run an upscale glamorous camping, or glamping, business and applying for every marketing job she can find. Her time in London seems like another life—until Demeter shows up, family in tow, to spend a relaxing holiday in a yurt. Katie is determined to exact her revenge on Demeter, but in the process she learns that Demeter’s life isn’t what she always assumed, either. Katie is a winning heroine with a point of view even more likable than that of Kinsella’s Becky Bloomwood (Shopaholic to the Rescue, 2015, etc.). It’s easy to root for Katie as she deals with problems that are relatable (being fired, dealing with roommates) and less-than-relatable (running a glamping business). The romance is charming, but the main strength of the story is Katie and Demeter’s evolving relationship. Kinsella creates characters that are well-rounded, quirky, and a complete joy to read.

A delightful and charming story that will appeal to Shopaholic fans.

Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-8129-9826-9

Page Count: 448

Publisher: Dial Books

Review Posted Online: Nov. 5, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016

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LOVE AND OTHER WORDS

With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.

Eleven years ago, he broke her heart. But he doesn’t know why she never forgave him.

Toggling between past and present, two love stories unfold simultaneously. In the first, Macy Sorensen meets and falls in love with the boy next door, Elliot Petropoulos, in the closet of her dad’s vacation home, where they hide out to discuss their favorite books. In the second, Macy is working as a doctor and engaged to a single father, and she hasn’t spoken to Elliot since their breakup. But a chance encounter forces her to confront the truth: what happened to make Macy stop speaking to Elliot? Ultimately, they’re separated not by time or physical remoteness but by emotional distance—Elliot and Macy always kept their relationship casual because they went to different schools. And as a teen, Macy has more to worry about than which girl Elliot is taking to the prom. After losing her mother at a young age, Macy is navigating her teenage years without a female role model, relying on the time-stamped notes her mother left in her father’s care for guidance. In the present day, Macy’s father is dead as well. She throws herself into her work and rarely comes up for air, not even to plan her upcoming wedding. Since Macy is still living with her fiance while grappling with her feelings for Elliot, the flashbacks offer steamy moments, tender revelations, and sweetly awkward confessions while Macy makes peace with her past and decides her future.

With frank language and patient plotting, this gangly teen crush grows into a confident adult love affair.

Pub Date: April 10, 2018

ISBN: 978-1-5011-2801-1

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2018

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THE UNHONEYMOONERS

Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable...

An unlucky woman finally gets lucky in love on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii.

From getting her hand stuck in a claw machine at age 6 to losing her job, Olive Torres has never felt that luck was on her side. But her fortune changes when she scores a free vacation after her identical twin sister and new brother-in-law get food poisoning at their wedding buffet and are too sick to go on their honeymoon. The only catch is that she’ll have to share the honeymoon suite with her least favorite person—Ethan Thomas, the brother of the groom. To make matters worse, Olive’s new boss and Ethan’s ex-girlfriend show up in Hawaii, forcing them both to pretend to be newlyweds so they don’t blow their cover, as their all-inclusive vacation package is nontransferable and in her sister’s name. Plus, Ethan really wants to save face in front of his ex. The story is told almost exclusively from Olive’s point of view, filtering all communication through her cynical lens until Ethan can win her over (and finally have his say in the epilogue). To get to the happily-ever-after, Ethan doesn’t have to prove to Olive that he can be a better man, only that he was never the jerk she thought he was—for instance, when she thought he was judging her for eating cheese curds, maybe he was actually thinking of asking her out. Blending witty banter with healthy adult communication, the fake newlyweds have real chemistry as they talk it out over snorkeling trips, couples massages, and a few too many tropical drinks to get to the truth—that they’re crazy about each other.

Heartfelt and funny, this enemies-to-lovers romance shows that the best things in life are all-inclusive and nontransferable as well as free.

Pub Date: May 14, 2019

ISBN: 978-1-5011-2803-5

Page Count: 416

Publisher: Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: March 2, 2019

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019

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