A swoony, unputdownable story with an unconventionally satisfying happily-ever-after.
Lucas wants to land the boy of his dreams. George wants people to see him as more than a hot jock.
They’re not exactly enemies, but despite sharing a boat on the Cambridge University rowing team, they don’t quite see eye to eye, either. After they lose an important race due to George’s bad call, Lucas is overheard criticizing his teammate, an American student imported for his athletic prowess, saying he’ll never be able to pass his exams. Unfortunately for George, that’s true. And unfortunately for both of them, they’re the only two rowers studying economics. Lucas has no motivation to help George until the hapless himbo stops a very drunk Lucas from embarrassing himself in front of Amir, the boy he’s been crushing on all year. With his defenses down, Lucas proposed a deal: He’ll help George pass his exams if George helps Lucas land Amir. Initially, Lucas assumes they’ll have to cheat, but as the two grow closer he realizes that George has been underestimated and is smarter than anyone gives him credit for. As George is teaching a very shy Lucas the art of seduction, the two men share a kiss that changes their relationship from one of near hostility to a more intimate friendship. Lucas’ cynicism and sharp edges work well to complement George’s sweet nature, like a cup of strong coffee with a sugary pastry. This sweet, slow-burn romance will appeal to readers who loved Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue (2019), but the dynamic setting and crisp banter in Hammett’s impressive debut are totally his own.
A swoony, unputdownable story with an unconventionally satisfying happily-ever-after.Pub Date: Sept. 2, 2025
ISBN: 9781638933311
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Zando/Slowburn
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2025
A powerfully strong romance for readers who like their love stories full of torment and passion.
Best friends confront feelings for each other when they take a honeymoon trip together.
Francesca Gardiner and George Saint James have always been best friends—just like Jo and Laurie from Little Women, which they both love. Frankie has a big, complicated family and George was the boy next door who’d moved in with his eccentric grandmother. Their friendship survived childhood, awkward teenage years, and living together as young adults without ever venturing into the romantic—well, except for one kiss, but they don’t talk about that. When Frankie gets engaged to an older professor named Nate, George isn’t happy and a huge fight ensues. Despite his misgivings, George shows up to be her best man, but Nate leaves Frankie right before the wedding with only a cryptic letter. Devastated, Frankie goes to a friend’s house to recuperate, but her honeymoon is already planned and paid for—so she decides to travel to Tofino, a picturesque town on the coast of Vancouver Island, with George taking Nate’s place. Frankie wants to fix her friendship with George, but now that they’re in a romantic suite in a beautiful location, things are more complicated than ever. She’d always thought a relationship would be a bad idea, but she’s slowly beginning to realize they’ll never be able to go back to being kids. Maybe the only way forward involves forging a new kind of relationship. Fortune, the author of romances like This Summer Will Be Different (2024), returns with another love story full of longing and intense angst. The many allusions to Little Women are charming, and Frankie is a delightfully headstrong, feisty character. She and George have explosive chemistry, and Fortune manages to make the “will-they-or-won’t-they” nature of their relationship feel like life-or-death stakes.
A powerfully strong romance for readers who like their love stories full of torment and passion.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9780593953242
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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
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