A fun and sexy ode to rom-coms, full of joy and chemistry.
A screenwriter finds herself starring in her latest romantic comedy…alongside the hunky nemesis who made her leave acting years ago.
Emmy Harper is one of the most popular screenwriters in Hollywood, and she even has an Oscar under her belt. Now she’s working on her latest film with her best friend, Liz Hudson, as the director. Everything should be going great—except that they can’t find an actress who fits Emmy’s vision. Liz convinces Emmy to take on the role herself, even though she’s hesitant to attempt it. The child of two well-known actors, Emmy had one disastrous role as a teenager that convinced her she worked better on the page than in front of the camera. But now she’s excited to try again, looking forward to working with her BFF on a fun movie…until she gets to the charming small-town inn where they’re filming and discovers that her leading man is none other than Grayson West. These days Grayson is a two-time Sexiest Man Alive who’s known for his work in action flicks, but Emmy knows him as her co-star in her first and only movie. She blames him for her career going up in flames, and now they’ll have to pretend to be in love again. The only problem, of course, is that Emmy still hates him with the fire of a thousand suns. If they want this movie to work—and if Emmy wants to avoid tanking her acting career for the second time—they’ll have to pretend they can’t keep their hands off each other. But what happens when their on-screen pretending crosses over into real life? Ballard creates a winning romantic comedy full of simmering chemistry. Emmy and Grayson’s intense sexual tension makes the pages fly by. The cozy small-town setting gives the story all the charm of a Hallmark movie—but with way more steam and snark.
A fun and sexy ode to rom-coms, full of joy and chemistry.Pub Date: Feb. 27, 2024
ISBN: 9780593712900
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
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
Deeply moving and emotional.
A hockey player falls in love with his tutor.
Matt “Freddy” Fredderic is the life of the party at Waterfell University. He’s a starter on the hockey team and can have any girl on campus—but he’s also in danger of failing out if he can’t improve his grades in math and biology. His ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia make him eligible for university tutoring services, and Ro Shariff is his newly assigned tutor. Ro had a crush on Freddy freshman year but convinced herself that she’s over it now, in her senior year. She’s been in an on-again, off-again relationship with a guy named Tyler for the past two years, but he’s manipulative, borderline abusive, and probably cheating on her. Ro is desperate for love and affection and still suffers from bouts of intense homesickness. She and Freddy develop a tentative friendship even though they couldn’t be more different on the surface—he’s a popular, gregarious athlete to her quiet, introverted academic. Ro sees beyond Freddy’s persona as a dumb jock, while he recognizes that she feels lonely and like an outsider. When Freddy swoops in to rescue Ro after an ugly disagreement with Tyler, the two admit that their feelings for each other are more romantic than friendly. Corinne’s second novel is an emotional powerhouse. Ro and Freddy share everything with each other: fears of not being good enough for their friends, details of their harmful previous romantic relationships, and the deep feelings of grief related to illness and loss of parents. They have to learn to trust themselves and each other in the midst of the pressures that come with transitioning from college to adulthood. Their evolution from friends to lovers is a classic slow burn, and it makes for an angsty and deeply affecting read.
Deeply moving and emotional.Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781668068489
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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