A sometimes opaque tale about finding refuge in nature to make peace with a tumultuous past.
A young woman with suspicions hides her own truth in Fink’s romantic thriller.
Olivia Vandenberg is the manager of the Stehekin Wilderness Ranch, which is nestled along the coasts of Lake Chelan in Washington state. She has been working there for the past three years after a bad break-up (and an eventually identified “bad thing”) sent her in search of a change from her job in computer tech. When she meets Luka Novak, the new ranch hand hired on as the kayaking instructor and grounds electrician, Olivia has some reservations about the handsome Croatian (“I wondered what I would see behind those glass-green eyes if I were closer”). A month later, Olivia meets two high school graduates who will work on the ranch over the summer before heading off to college in the fall: Greta Schneider as kitchen staff and Ingrid Norgaard as a stablehand. Over the course of the summer tourist season, each character must contend with the restlessness within their spirits and hearts. As a supervisor, Olivia must maintain a certain level of professional distance between herself and Luka, Ingrid, and Greta, but she becomes intrigued by Luka, despite her qualms. While it is no surprise that the two young ladies are eager for a summer romance, what transpires between Luka and Olivia forces each of them to confront the difficult parts of their pasts that they came to Stehekin to escape. The author makes the menacing mysteriousness that Olivia senses around Luka the meat of the story. Though she has Olivia implicate her own “overactive imagination” at the outset, there are no actions by Luka on the page that support her suspicions. Similarly, when their relationship takes a turn, Fink provides no clear signs of emotional progression—all is revealed in long outpourings of past history. However, the author shines when relating Luka’s story, which unflinchingly highlights the horrors of war.
A sometimes opaque tale about finding refuge in nature to make peace with a tumultuous past.Pub Date: May 6, 2024
ISBN: 9798890250315
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Evolved Publishing LLC
Review Posted Online: June 13, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
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
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