An uneven but charming Highlands romance.
A Scottish laird and an English lady defy convention together.
Up in the Highlands, lairds do as they please, and for the brawny Caelan MacCrae, Laird of CaerLaven, that means fishing naked in the loch, even in chilly April weather. Widowed two years ago and uninterested in the finer things, he’s happiest when he can catch his own trout, cook it over a fire, and then be left alone in his rapidly crumbling estate. And mostly, no one bothers him—until the Honorable Miss Clara Vetry arrives during a bout of unclothed fishing. Though she claims to be Mrs. Potts, a woman ordered from London to be his housekeeper, she’s actually a bookish noblewoman in her fourth season, fleeing London in disrepute after striking the Prince Regent in response to his groping her bosom. Banished by her mother, she jumps at the chance to start a new life, and even though everyone she meets can tell she’s not actually a housekeeper, she settles in and starts setting Castle CaerLaven to rights. Despite himself, Caelan is immediately attracted to Clara’s raucous hair and straightforward nature, and is intrigued to hear that all she wants in life is a “castle filled with books”; he has one to offer, and before long, he does. Clara is taken by Caelan’s tree-trunk thighs and kind nature. But even after they kiss and start falling for each other, Clara feels certain he won’t ever love her as he did his first wife and Caelan isn’t sure how many times he can keep proposing to Clara and being rejected. James has long been one of the masters of zany, witty Regencies, and for much of the story she’s in top form. The second novel in her Accidental Brides series starts strong, with a setting that fans of Scottish romances will fall for almost as quickly as Caelan falls for Clara. Unfortunately, the momentum gets bogged down due to a misunderstanding that lingers far longer than it should, leading to a conclusion that leaves several plot points dangling. However, the strong character development and very spicy intimate scenes more than make up for the story’s weaknesses, and James’ many fans will be happy to add this laird to their shelves.
An uneven but charming Highlands romance.Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780063347465
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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
© Copyright 2025 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.
