A familiar story made fresh by engaging relationships, emotional depth, and strong writing.
When a guarded witch meets her fated soulmate, she must choose between keeping her walls up or risking everything for love in Shae’s supernatural romance.
After losing her father as a child and watching her mother slowly unravel, Laura Hollis decided early on that love was a risk she couldn’t take. In the years since, she’s carefully curated an image—all bright clothes and sharp edges—and developed a firm belief that she’s better off not getting too close to anyone. Her equanimity is shattered by her mother’s disappearance at the hands of the warlock who killed her father (the world of the novel resembles our own, but contains hidden magic). Enter Ash Cedar, an Earth witch with lumberjack vibes, sunshine energy, and the patience of a saint (“The warmth of his body is overwhelming, making me want to lean in and soak it up like a cat in the sun”). Ash is everything Laura doesn’t want to want: He’s gentle, persistent, and, unfortunately, her soulmate. The bond they share is hard to ignore, but Laura does everything she can to resist it. Her plan to avoid Ash is complicated by her grandmother’s request that Laura help man her booth in the local witch’s market. Ash is a regular there, advertising his family’s business, and Laura finds herself drawn further into his orbit. Their growing connection becomes more than just romantic; it challenges her sense of identity and the beliefs she’s clung to for years. As Laura’s fire powers lead her to a stunning revelation, she has to choose between keeping her walls up or taking the terrifying leap into love and vulnerability. This novel, the second installment in the author’s Pruitt Witches series, offers a heartfelt blend of emotional growth and slow-burn romance between characters who feel layered and sincere. While the plot follows familiar beats, the story’s charm lies in the warmth of the relationships and the quiet power of the storytelling. Laura’s transformation from an aloof “golden child” to a woman learning to trust her own strength is at times frustrating and ultimately deeply satisfying.
A familiar story made fresh by engaging relationships, emotional depth, and strong writing.Pub Date: July 8, 2025
ISBN: 9798987132852
Page Count: 308
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: Sept. 4, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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
A deep and moving portrayal of first love.
Two college students rekindle their relationship as they unravel the truth behind their breakup.
On the outside, college senior Bennett Reiner has it all. A goalie for Waterfell University’s hockey team, he lives with a group of friends in a luxurious off-campus house. He and his best friend, Rhys Koteskiy, have fathers who are retired hockey legends. But on the inside, he’s falling apart. Struggling with OCD, a shaky friendship with Rhys, and second thoughts about pursuing a future in hockey, the only thing keeping Bennett afloat is also the one thing breaking his heart: Paloma Blake. All dyed-hair and attitude, Paloma has built a bad reputation on the hockey scene since their relationship ended freshman year—but Bennett knows the real P. Underneath her promiscuous facade lies a scared and lonely girl running from a childhood of abuse. When they were together, it seemed like their romance was perfect, until Paloma broke it off without warning. Since then, Bennett has run to Paloma’s side whenever she needed him, whether she was drunk, lonely, or hurting, and now he’s determined to win her back. For Bennett, Paloma is his antidote, the cure for his compulsions; for Paloma, Bennett is her protector, her safe space. And though Paloma yearns to be with Bennett again, she’s not sure she’s willing to open old wounds and reveal the truth about her painful past. In the third installment of the Undone series, Corinne spotlights familiar characters as they navigate trauma, heartbreak, and first love. Bennett and Paloma’s relationship is raw and vulnerable, and their journey of relinquishing control is both necessary and inevitable. Their romance evolves as they open up to one another, and in return, the reader is rewarded with a love story that’s as lyrical, evocative, and emotional as poetry.
A deep and moving portrayal of first love.Pub Date: April 7, 2026
ISBN: 9781668219423
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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