This historical rom-com will delight readers looking for a fun, rompy read.
Two gender-nonconforming people find love with each other in Regency London.
Peggy Delancey loves herself and her body but knows she doesn’t fit into society’s rigid gender norms. She and her neighbor Arabella Tarleton have been friends and casual lovers for years, and Peggy is convinced that her feelings for Arabella are true love and not just sexual attraction even though Arabella doesn’t feel the same. Nevertheless, Peggy’s sense of duty and loyalty make her unable to resist Arabella’s pleas for help in wooing Orfeo, a famous castrato opera singer. Peggy is troubled by her instant feelings of attraction to Orfeo, wondering if it makes her disloyal to find them more attractive than Arabella. Even more thrilling, Orfeo is the first person who has ever preferred quiet, unassuming Peggy over the brash, beautiful Arabella. Orfeo instantly recognizes Peggy as someone special, and their magnetism and confidence show Peggy how to be honest with herself and others about her own identity. Hall’s trademark witty banter and impeccable comedic timing are on full display here. The book is a campy Regency, full of fabulous fashions and over-the-top plotting. The large returning cast of characters from the first book in the series, Something Fabulous (2022), adds a delightful feeling of camaraderie and a reminder of the importance of found family. Hall is explicitly claiming and making space in the historical romance subgenre for queer people to be main characters on their own terms. Peggy and Orfeo’s tender friendship and romance shows that queer people do not need to justify or explain their presence or identities to find love and that love, in some form or fashion, is for everyone.
This historical rom-com will delight readers looking for a fun, rompy read.Pub Date: April 11, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-5420-3528-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: April 24, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2023
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.
Two people with bad luck in relationships find each other through a popular Reddit thread.
Emma Grant and her best friend, Maddy, are travel nurses, working at hospitals for three-month stints while they see the country. Just a few weeks before they’re set to move to Hawaii, Emma reads a popular “Am I the Asshole” Reddit thread from a Minnesota man who thinks he’s cursed—women he dates find their soulmates after breaking up with him, and the latest one found true love with his best friend! Emma has had a similar experience, which inspires her to DM the man and commiserate. She’s delighted by her witty, lively interactions with software engineer Justin Dahl, and is intrigued when he suggests that if they date each other, maybe they’ll each find their soulmate afterward. Emma upends the Hawaii plan and convinces Maddy to move to Minneapolis for the summer so she can meet Justin in person. The overly complex setup brings Emma and Justin together and the two hit it off, with Justin immediately falling head over heels for Emma. Jimenez then pivots to creating romantic roadblocks and melodramatic subplots centering on each character’s family of origin. Justin’s mother is about to serve six years in prison for embezzlement, which means Justin must move back home to care for his three much younger siblings. Emma was traumatized by her own mother for much of her childhood, left to fend for herself and eventually abandoned in the foster system. When her mother shows up in Minnesota, Emma must face her traumatic childhood and admit that she has prioritized her mother’s well-being over her own. There is little time devoted to Emma’s painful efforts to heal herself enough to accept Justin’s love, which leaves the novel feeling unsatisfying.
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781538704431
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
