A swoony Victorian romance that celebrates the genre.
A cloistered wallflower and a notorious war hero look between the covers.
Julia Wychwood doesn’t want to get married, especially if it means actually talking to someone at a ball. Unfortunately, her overbearing and sickly parents are insisting that she do her duty, as long as she chooses a titled man who lives close enough to their house on Belgrave Square that she can keep taking care of them. They have an elderly nearby earl in mind, but she's drawn to Capt. Jasper Blunt, a mysterious hero (or possible villain) of the Crimean War who happens to love romantic novels as much as she does. Capt. Blunt is taken by Julia as well—and especially her dowry, which would allow him to fix his estate—though he's quickly warned off by her father. But after a brush with death makes Julia realize she needs to escape her family before it’s too late, the two impulsively marry and then run away to Blunt’s country estate in Yorkshire. Despite mysteries and misunderstandings between them, Julia begins to settle into her new country life, and it seems they may find some happiness in their marriage of convenience. But as secrets from Blunt’s past continue to unfurl, Julia wonders whether she will ever trust him enough to love him. The heat in this relatively chaste story comes entirely from the slowest of slow burns between Julia and Jasper, which is irresistible. Matthews brings their story to life with dozens of impeccable details, especially when it comes to fashion and medicine, giving readers a unique glimpse into how the era looked. Secondary characters may feel a bit one-note, but most won’t notice, distracted by the beautiful relationship blossoming between the captain and Mrs. Blunt. Julia’s bluestocking ways will please contemporary readers, but Matthews never truly abandons the realities of the Victorian era, giving the book excellent balance overall and the feel of a story from Heyer or even Austen.
A swoony Victorian romance that celebrates the genre.Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-33715-8
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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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