Romance with a perfect blend of light mystery and strong female representation.
An independent bookstore owner finds herself torn between two sexy, secretive men.
At 35, Zora Dizon can’t imagine anything lacking in her life. She’s a successful Black woman, owner of the indie bookstore Opus Northeast, and she lives in Maryland with her best friend, Emma, and her sassy Granny Marion. With a slew of author events up her sleeve and dreams of duplicating her store throughout the D.C. area, Zora has no room in her busy schedule for a man, despite Granny’s insistence on having great-grandbabies. The only guy Zora would dedicate her time to is her author crush, Lawrence Michaels. Lawrence is the brains behind a bestselling mystery series and even has a few film adaptations in the works, so Zora is amazed when he agrees to do a reading at her store. At the event, Zora meets Lawrence’s best friend, high school teacher Reid Hughes, as he grumbles to himself throughout the Q&A. Zora is shocked by Reid’s rude behavior, but she can't help but be charmed by his friend. Lawrence is bold and charismatic, if not a little egotistical—and she agrees to go on a date with him. But when Lawrence bails on an event at Reid’s school and suggests Zora give a speech in his stead, she can’t help but notice how good Reid smells or how attractive he is when he talks about writing. When Zora starts seeing both men, she can’t decide between the smooth charmer or the down-to-earth intellectual, although both men shut down whenever she mentions Lawrence’s mystery series. Zora knows she can get to the bottom of whatever they’re concealing, but will she lose them both in the process? McCoy’s romance is genuine and sexy, and Zora’s drive for honesty makes her a relatable heroine. The two handsome leads are not the true scene-stealers of McCoy’s novel, though—that’s Granny Marion, whose suggestive quips and sage advice will keep you hooked till the last page.
Romance with a perfect blend of light mystery and strong female representation.Pub Date: April 25, 2023
ISBN: 9780778333524
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harlequin MIRA
Review Posted Online: Feb. 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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