A sweet look at what it really takes to get to happily-ever-after.
A romance author’s personal life is suddenly as turbulent as those of her characters when her first love reappears.
Kara Sullivan is surrounded by love. She’s a novelist who has written five super successful historical romances (and two less-successful contemporaries). Her sister, Jen, is pregnant with her first child, and her best friend, Cristina, is days away from getting married to her fiance, Jason. Sure, Kara has recently broken up with her boyfriend, and she hasn’t been inspired to write much of the new novel that's due to her publisher any day now, just before she leaves on a six-month trip to Italy. But she’s content to watch love in her peripheral vision for now. That is, until she's surprised to see Ryan Thompson at a party Cristina throws a week before her wedding. Ryan was her first love, and their tumultuous relationship ended in heartbreak so shattering that she hasn’t seen or spoken to him once in the 10 years since. Now it turns out that Ryan is one of Jason's groomsmen. After she lets Cristina talk her into a double date, Kara finds that the pattern of fighting and flirting she and Ryan fall into isn’t only confusing—it’s finally inspiring her to write. Though it’s hard to believe Kara can’t write a single word without being near Ryan—especially considering that she’s published seven novels in the decade since they broke up—she invites him to stay with her when he and his dog, Duke, are kicked out of their hotel. As they spend quality time in close quarters, secrets past and present come to light, and soon their relationship is more complicated than ever. In her debut novel, Bromley takes time to dive deeply into the complexities of Kara and Ryan’s story, building a believable foundation for a rekindled romance.
A sweet look at what it really takes to get to happily-ever-after.Pub Date: May 25, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-525-80643-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Graydon House
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2021
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
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
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