A heartfelt, entertaining story of love and basketball.
In LaVonne’s novel, a basketball player must navigate a career-threatening scandal while confronting a ghost from her past.
When 25-year-old WNBA player Annie Larger steps off the court for an interview, the last thing she expects is to learn that the owner of her team (the fictional St. Louis Arrows) is her biological father, a secret her mother has kept since Annie was born. Shy and conflict-avoidant, Annie is terrified of what the revelation—and the accompanying rumors about how she was drafted and whether she deserves her spot on the team—will mean for her career. Her best friend, teammate, and Arrows superstar Jadea Jones, reaches out to Daniel Chan, the host of a popular sports show, after he publicly defends Annie online. She asks him to profile the team, hoping to shift attention back to women’s basketball. Jadea is unaware that Annie and Daniel dated in college…until a car hit Daniel and he abruptly ghosted her after leaving the hospital. Five years later, Annie is still smarting from the sudden end of their relationship. When Daniel agrees to cover the Arrows, Annie is startled to find their chemistry intact, making his past disappearance even harder to understand. As the scandal intensifies, Jadea proposes a bold distraction: Annie and Daniel should fake a relationship. Annie is stunned when Daniel agrees. Now, facing bullying from fans, shouldering pressure from her newfound biological family, and struggling to focus on the game she loves, Annie must also untangle her complicated feelings for Daniel and find her own voice amid the chaos. Fans of the WNBA and newcomers to women’s sports alike will find this story, with its entertaining references to real-life figures, compulsively readable. The narrative effectively weaves in the inequities that plague women’s sports, providing a strong backdrop for Annie’s personal journey. While Annie’s avoidant, passive nature can sometimes be frustrating (“I opened my mouth to respond, but Coach turned away. I nibbled my lip, torn”), her relationships with Jadea and Daniel keep the story tender and compelling.
A heartfelt, entertaining story of love and basketball.Pub Date: Aug. 19, 2025
ISBN: 9798218742553
Page Count: 347
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 6, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
PERSPECTIVES
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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