A heartwarming tale for readers who enjoy a slow-burn love story.
An overworked interior designer falls for a sweet personal trainer in Collier’s debut romance.
Jessica Chandler, who’s in her early 30s, isn’t as physically fit as she’d like to be, and she runs into trouble at the Franklin Thanksgiving Turkey Trot, when she loses a bet with her twin brother after collapsing during the race. Luckily, personal trainer Paul Brady comes to her rescue. Sparks quickly fly, but Jessica is still too upset about her last breakup to chance going on a date with him. Besides, she’s busy trying to rescue her fledgling Nashville interior design business from the brink of failure by attempting to win a bid for a prestigious project for the Tom Buchanan Company. After Paul calls her for help decorating his apartment, she finds out that Tom Buchanan is his client and friend. The two strike a deal: They’ll fake a relationship in an attempt to convince Tom that Jessica’s design business is the one he should choose. Collier plays with a classic romance trope in a tale with two very likable characters with plenty of chemistry. In fact, the chemistry is so good it will be hard for readers to accept Jessica’s refusal to admit that there’s a connection between them. Side plots effectively help to flesh out the characters; one involves Paul trying to convince his aging grandparents to move to a retirement community, and another has Jessica and her brother Lenny worrying about their dad’s trips to London. Mrs. Worthmore, a scary client of Jessica’s, is particularly endearing, and their acquaintance effectively helps Jessica to learn that life isn’t all about work: “She felt vibrant now, as if an alarm clock had just gone off in her heart, awakening her to a different life entirely.” Romance is just a part of Jessica’s journey, but it’s the sweetest part of the novel.
A heartwarming tale for readers who enjoy a slow-burn love story.Pub Date: Oct. 31, 2024
ISBN: 9798345020944
Page Count: 301
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A book about revenge that’s more punishing than purposeful.
A woman from a matriarchal society kidnaps a prince from a neighboring kingdom, planning to force him into marriage.
Five hundred years ago, the wife of the abusive king of Amarra prayed to her goddess for mercy; in return, the goddess granted every woman in the country the ability to rule over men. Amarra’s queens have governed with vengeance ever since, creating a fiercely violent matriarchy. Now, 21-year-old Olerra Corasene, a gifted military strategist and powerful general, is competing with her cunning and devious cousin, Glenaerys, to be the next queen. Since Glen is trying to secure the throne by currying favor with the wealthy nobles, Olerra decides on a different tactic, the time-honored Amarran tradition of kidnapping a husband. Her target is a good-looking younger prince from the neighboring country of Brutus, but she accidentally and unknowingly nabs Sanos, the king’s eldest son and heir to the throne. She drags Sanos back to Amarra, where he’s treated with all the contempt for men that is normal in her society: He’s dressed as a sexual plaything, forced to shave his beard and body hair, leashed and restrained for bad behavior. Olerra can’t understand Sanos’ objections to this treatment, and the ensuing power struggle makes up most of the plot. Marketed as romantasy, Levenseller’s first adult novel falls flat as both romance and fantasy. There is little connection or chemistry between Olerra and Sanos, and since both are more caricature than character, neither experiences the kind of growth that creates challenging or interesting romantic relationships. In addition, the worldbuilding is paper thin. Amarra is a world built on reverse misogyny, but the motifs, imagery, and scenes often read more like a brainstormed list (a penis guillotine!) than a fully realized attempt to say something meaningful about women’s rage.
A book about revenge that’s more punishing than purposeful.Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2025
ISBN: 9781250379375
Page Count: 368
Publisher: FEIWEL
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Bailey hits it out of the park with her latest spicy romance.
Two ambitious athletes plus one fake-dating arrangement—what could go wrong?
Though it’s only his first season for the Boston Bearcats hockey team, Robbie Corrigan has a well-established reputation as a playboy. He’s got major skills on the ice, and he’s also much more likely to love ’em and leave ’em than he is to build any long, meaningful relationships. Naturally, he’s just met the one woman who seems completely resistant to his charm: Skylar Page, a Boston University softball pitcher. When they meet over a friendly Saturday morning baseball game, Robbie instantly makes a poor impression by bragging to his teammates about his latest conquest within Skylar’s hearing. He thinks she’s gorgeous, though, and when he sets his sights on her, he’s surprised that she doesn’t seem to know it. Despite her initial distaste for Robbie, Skylar grudgingly confesses that she could use his help. If they pretend to date, maybe her current crush—her brother’s best friend—will finally sit up and take notice of her in a romantic way. The timing is less than ideal, since Robbie will have to team up with Skylar in the Page family’s latest wilderness competition, but it turns out that Robbie’s willingness to play fake boyfriend stems from some very real feelings. He wants to prove to her that he’s a changed man, and redeeming himself in her eyes starts with making sure she knows that she can really trust him. The latest addition to Bailey’s Big Shots series is a sexy, feel-good romance brimming over with the author’s trademark humor and dirty talk. While Skylar and Robbie’s dynamic doesn’t quite reach the level of enemies-to-lovers—he’s so head-over-heels for her that there’s no room for any real mean-spiritedness—their playful snark doubles as a welcome dash of foreplay in the lead-up to some seriously steamy scenes. Robbie’s efforts to show Skylar that he’s turned over a new leaf also result in some of the book’s best moments, emphasizing his commitment to becoming the type of man he knows she deserves.
Bailey hits it out of the park with her latest spicy romance.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780063380837
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
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