by Therese Beharrie ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 30, 2021
A sweet reminder of the connections between love and magic.
A romance novelist stumbles on the man of her dreams, but she must reckon with reality before finding her own happy ending.
After spending a childhood in foster homes, Gaia Anders is overdue for a miracle. So, just as she enters adulthood, Gaia develops an extremely unusual ability: When she writes romantic stories during the day, she lives them that night in her dreams: "Every word, every detail came to life whenever she fell asleep." Not only that, but any tweaks she makes in her dreams automatically write themselves into her stories. Gaia uses her magical gifts to write authentic and heartwarming romance novels that wind up on bestseller lists. It works like a charm for more than a decade—until she bumps into her best friend Seth’s brother, the perennially busy Jacob Scott. They share a kiss and part ways, but their encounter is far from over: Jacob begins to share Gaia’s dreams. While they titillate and excite each other in intense dreams, their actual conversations force them to face several truths. Gaia is struggling with a deep-seated fear of abandonment, and Jacob has been miserably unhappy since taking over the reins of his father’s business. Jacob and Gaia must learn what it means to fight for their individual dreams if they are to have a real future together. The paranormal element in this love story is mostly fun and sometimes muddling, but Beharrie weaves her best magic when she unpacks the ways the protagonists’ minds and hearts work. Jacob and Gaia’s interactions are consistently compelling, and their internal struggles evoke empathy. But Seth’s sharp disapproval of Gaia’s closeness with Jacob, which throws a wrench into several relationships, is inadequately explained, the reasons for his outburst deeply unconvincing. Gaia’s relationship with romance novels allows Beharrie to tug at the threads of the genre’s long journey through changing times and doff her hat to its many charms.
A sweet reminder of the connections between love and magic.Pub Date: Nov. 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4201-5338-5
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Zebra/Kensington
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2021
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by Emily Henry ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 19, 2020
A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.
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Two struggling authors spend the summer writing and falling in love in a quaint beach town.
January Andrews has just arrived in the small town of North Bear Shores with some serious baggage. Her father has been dead for a year, but she still hasn’t come to terms with what she found out at his funeral—he had been cheating on her mother for years. January plans to spend the summer cleaning out and selling the house her father and “That Woman” lived in together. But she’s also a down-on-her-luck author facing writer’s block, and she no longer believes in the happily-ever-after she’s made the benchmark of her work. Her steadily dwindling bank account, though, is a daily reminder that she must sell her next book, and fast. Serendipitously, she discovers that her new next-door neighbor is Augustus Everett, the darling of the literary fiction set and her former college rival/crush. Gus also happens to be struggling with his next book (and some serious trauma that unfolds throughout the novel). Though the two get off to a rocky start, they soon make a bet: Gus will try to write a romance novel, and January will attempt “bleak literary fiction.” They spend the summer teaching each other the art of their own genres—January takes Gus on a romantic outing to the local carnival; Gus takes January to the burned-down remains of a former cult—and they both process their own grief, loss, and trauma through this experiment. There are more than enough steamy scenes to sustain the slow-burn romance, and smart commentary on the placement and purpose of “women’s fiction” joins with crucial conversations about mental health to add multiple intriguing layers to the plot.
A heartfelt look at taking second chances, in life and in love.Pub Date: May 19, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0673-4
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Jove/Penguin
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2020
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by Colleen Hoover ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 18, 2022
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
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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
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