A dynamic rivals-to-lovers romance.
Two physicists get off on the wrong foot, but they learn to give each other second chances—in both work and love.
Elsie Hannaway is a people-pleaser. When she meets anyone, her first instinct is to give them the answer she knows they want to hear so as not to make waves. This trait has allowed her to model herself into the perfect fake girlfriend, working a part-time gig for an app where she gets paid to accompany single guys to excruciating family events. It’s easy money, and Elsie has managed to separate her fake dating world from her stressful (and badly paid) life as an adjunct professor of theoretical physics at three Boston universities...until now. When she comes face to face with Jack Smith, her current fake boyfriend’s older brother, she realizes that he’s also her professional nemesis, the experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and turned theoretical physics into the laughingstock of the science community. Naturally, he’s also standing in the way of what could very well be her dream job at MIT, since he’s on the hiring committee. Elsie’s first instinct is to battle Jack for the spot she wants, no matter the cost. What she's less prepared for are the lingering looks he gives her or the way he always sees right through the facades she slips on to make herself appear more likable. Fighting in increasingly close quarters, however, only helps Elsie see all of Jack’s hidden angles. Letting Jack, her enemy, get to know her might be the biggest test of Elsie’s willingness to let down her walls, too. Hazelwood’s latest STEM-set novel may be her best yet, addressing not only discrimination among different realms of physics, but the unconscious bias Elsie has to continually fight as a woman in her field. Elsie and Jack’s banter is electric and hilarious from the start, and Jack earns the mantle of a swoonworthy hero who keenly discerns the heart of his love interest even when Elsie doesn’t always represent herself genuinely. Their happily-ever-after is a standout, too—these two are content to take things at their own pace, a refreshing narrative choice that doesn’t conform to every assumption of the genre.
A dynamic rivals-to-lovers romance.Pub Date: June 13, 2023
ISBN: 9780593336861
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
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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