Opposites attract in this engaging but uneven romance.
In this novel, a marriage that begins as a business transaction—a ploy to benefit each party’s professional endeavors—turns into something much more complex and a whole lot kinkier.
Miles Ravage has a terrible reputation in business, thanks to his dishonest father. As Miles loses clients, suffering the consequences of his father’s repeated swindling, his family hatches a plan. If handsome, rakish Miles marries a true do-gooder, such as beloved high-profile philanthropist Stella Deveraux, the move could revitalize his image among his wealthy clientele. Stella is seeking to launch her new fashion business, but she lacks the personal capital to do so. Miles and his father offer Stella $1 million in seed money to enter a sham marriage for a period of one year. Initially offended, she eventually caves to financial temptation. After a quickie marriage at the local courthouse, Stella begins to accept that she feels a strong attraction to her new husband, despite his perpetually standoffish manner and the many secrets he’s clearly keeping from her (“How is it that he always looks so put together?”). The physical attraction is mutual, and the couple quickly find themselves in sexual situations they can’t seem to resist, full of unexpected spice and shared fetishes. As they get to know each other physically, Stella wonders whether Miles will ever let her in emotionally. Told in the first person throughout, Richardson’s romance shifts between Miles’ and Stella’s perspectives as they attempt to navigate their unusual relationship. Unfortunately, after they surrender to physical attraction, the story becomes clogged with sex scenes that stall the plot’s advancement. While some readers will view the graphic sex as highly erotic, others may find the adventurousness and frequency a bit over the top. The novel does touch on some weightier issues, including self-acceptance, grief, and second chances. But these intriguing elements are often eclipsed by the tale’s excessive sexual content. Still, the fast-paced dialogue is entertaining. And despite the flimsy backstory holding together this marriage of convenience, readers seeking a dark, steamy romance will likely be satisfied by Miles’ brooding nature and physical prowess.
Opposites attract in this engaging but uneven romance.Pub Date: Aug. 9, 2023
ISBN: 9781739436322
Page Count: 438
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A surprisingly sensual sports romance.
A collegiate diver and swimmer secretly pursue kink together, and risk falling in love along the way.
Scarlett Vandermeer is struggling. Despite a successful recovery from the injury that almost ended her Stanford diving career, she hasn’t been able to get her head together, and it’s affecting her performance. Plus, she’s trying to stay focused on getting into medical school. A relationship would be out of the question. By comparison, Lukas Blomqvist is a swimming idol, a record-breaker who wins medals as easily as breathing, and Scarlett has long been convinced he would never look in her direction—until one fateful night when a mutual friend lets slip that they have something unexpected in common: Scarlett likes to be submissive in the bedroom, while Lukas prefers to take a dominant approach. Now, they both know a big secret about each other, and it’s something neither of them can stop thinking about. It’s Lukas who suggests they have a fling—purely physical, just to take the edge off, so Scarlett can get out of her own head and stop overthinking her dives. Initially, their arrangement is easy to stick to, but the more time they spend together, the more Scarlett starts to realize that what she feels for Lukas is more than physical attraction. Complicating the situation is the fact that Scarlett’s friend Penelope Ross used to go out with Lukas, and the longer Scarlett keeps mum about her true feelings for him, the more difficult it is to keep the situation hidden from another person she really cares about. While Scarlett and Lukas’ relationship does begin as a physical one, their deeper psychological connection takes a little too long to emerge amid all the other storylines, resulting in a somewhat rushed resolution. However, Hazelwood’s latest is proof of the depth and maturity that has emerged in her writing over the years, and it highlights her embrace of sexier, more emotional elements than were present in her original STEMinist rom-coms.
A surprisingly sensual sports romance.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9780593641057
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Dec. 28, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2025
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
SEEN & HEARD
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