A smart, slightly meta romance that plays out like the best movies.
Two former high school sweethearts with completely different views on love reconnect at their 15-year reunion.
Molly Marks and Seth Rubenstein were very much in love as teenagers, even though they had vastly different personalities. Molly was cynical and jaded from her parents’ terrible divorce, while Seth was cheerful and believed in soul mates. But, somehow, they worked…until Molly unceremoniously dumped him at the end of high school. The two haven’t talked since, but they end up seated next to each other at their 15th high school reunion, where they discover they’re still attracted to each other—even if Seth is now a divorce lawyer, a job that horrifies Molly. They get drunk on too many cocktails and hook up, but Molly knows it doesn’t mean anything—she may write Hollywood rom-coms for a living, but she knows happily-ever-afters exist only in the movies. Seth, however, thinks Molly’s choice of job means there must be a hidden romantic in there somewhere, and he swears she’ll fall in love with him eventually. He’s so certain, they make a bet: They must predict the romantic fate of five different couples from their school…including each other. As the years pass, Molly and Seth keep reconnecting, much like When Harry Met Sally but with way more angst (and sex). Doyle, who also writes historical romance under the name Scarlett Peckham, creates a strong, winning chemistry between Molly and Seth. Many of their connections happen at different points during the pandemic, which brings in a bit of realism that never feels too heavy. It’s refreshing that Seth is a male romance lead with wide-eyed optimism and a deep desire to start a family, while Molly is the skeptical one who runs from commitment. Even though their would-be romance is thwarted at every turn by other partners, distance, and their own hang-ups, Doyle keeps the story interesting enough—with plenty of zingy dialogue and interesting side characters—that it’s always a joy to read.
A smart, slightly meta romance that plays out like the best movies.Pub Date: June 4, 2024
ISBN: 9781250328090
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
Light on plot and heavy on bolstering traditional gender norms as the ultimate goal for both men and women.
A Seattle woman meets a Chicago businessman as she flies home from a visit to a friend, and her small act of kindness blossoms into more.
Maisy Gallagher is barely making ends meet. With her father’s unexpected death a few years earlier, she dropped out of nursing school to help out in the family’s jewelry store, working with her uncle. Her older brother, Sean, also moved back home so he and Maisy could help their mother and their 10-year-old brother, Patrick. When Maisy offers a ride to a rude businessman who sat next to her on the plane, she’s just operating on the kindness her grandmother instilled in her. That businessman, Chase Furst, turns out to be an incredibly wealthy banker; he’s flown into Seattle to make funeral arrangements for his mother, to whom he hasn’t spoken in years. Sparks fly in this gentle and predictable romance that leans heavily on long-distance and class-divide tropes. As with many of the author’s books, Christianity and the characters’ reliance on God’s will—as they wait and see what happens next—play a large part, as do traditional gender roles where women cook, clean, and only work in paying jobs until they have children at home to take care of. The author does offer a lighter touch when it comes to the painful ways alcoholism can destroy family relationships, with an understanding of the regret that can weigh on every family member.
Light on plot and heavy on bolstering traditional gender norms as the ultimate goal for both men and women.Pub Date: April 28, 2026
ISBN: 9798217091676
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.
Childhood friends, almost-sweethearts, a misunderstanding, and a funeral.
Blair Lang and Declan Renshaw were best friends who went on one date before a disagreement and an accident sent them in different directions after high school. Now Blair is back from college to be with her great-aunt Lottie, who’s dying, and to support her single mother in small-town Seabrook, California. Finding a job at a coffee shop puts her in the path of her former boyfriend, since he turns out to be its owner. Can the two get past their mistakes? The novel uses the popular second-chance romance trope, but Pham fails to energize it through interesting characters. Blair’s grief over her great-aunt’s death and her plan to help her mother are overshadowed by internal monologues about her feelings, the way her friends aren’t paying attention to her, and the novel she plans to write. Declan’s distinguishing characteristic, besides being a former high school quarterback, is his skill at building birdhouses. Unsurprisingly, the couple doesn’t have much chemistry; when they embrace, their “bodies meld like…memory foam.” The wooden characters, unusual word choices (“conglomerate of pedestrians,” “litany of plants”), and odd turns of phrase (“tension melting from his eyebrows like butter melting in a warm pan”) are almost enough to obscure the lack of plot development. What passes for stakes is easily defused when Blair comes into an inheritance that saves her from working as a consultant at Ernst & Young in New York—so she can write a romance novel.
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781668095188
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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