A charming opposites-attract tale for fans of romance tropes.
A young woman has 30 days to find true love or she will be forced to enter a passionless marriage of convenience.
Baird’s novel opens as Nell Delaney and her two sisters learn that their family coffee business and cafe are in dire straits. Their mother has brokered a deal with a rival business partner’s wife, Jane Strong. The agreement stipulates that if one of the sisters marries Jane’s son, the Delaneys will be able to retain ownership of the cafe rather than forfeiting it to the Strong family. Though Nell is generally eager to help her family, sacrificing her romantic future to a business arrangement seems too extreme. Nell and her sisters decide that if any of them should land a fiance within 30 days, that lucky woman will be exempt from the arranged marriage. Nell has been eyeing Grant Williams for a long time, and this is the push she needs to pursue him (“Grant was the only man she wanted. He seemed kind and intelligent and accomplished”). Unfortunately, the two have little in common, starting with Grant’s love of the outdoors and Nell’s decidedly indoor lifestyle. As she pretends to adore hiking and camping, Nell falls victim to one humorous disaster after another. Even so, she and Grant begin to grow closer, and her hopes rise that he may be the one. When Grant inadvertently learns about the sisters’ deal, it seems the relationship may be doomed. As readers wait to see whether Nell and Grant can make it work, the clock continues ticking on the sisters’ pact, keeping suspense high. Chock-full of delightful moments of outdoor adventures and interpersonal connections, the story feels like a light romp through small-town America. Although the initial setup of a mother advocating for an arranged marriage feels outdated and unrealistic, it allows for an entertaining tale to unfold. Similarly, the connection between Nell and Grant seems to develop too quickly and without any real substance to support their enjoyment of each other, but they are both likable characters who will endear themselves to readers with their different quirks. Punchy dialogue, flirty banter, forced proximity, mixed signals, and misunderstandings make for a formulaic but successful romance as the story races to its conclusion.
A charming opposites-attract tale for fans of romance tropes.Pub Date: June 28, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-64937-210-9
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Entangled: Amara
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.
A vampire and an Alpha werewolf enter into a marriage of convenience in order to ease tensions between their species.
As the only daughter of a prominent Vampyre councilman, Misery Lark has grown accustomed to playing the role that’s demanded of her—and now, her father is ordering her to be part of yet another truce agreement. In an effort to maintain goodwill between the Vampyres and their longtime nemeses the Weres, Misery must wed their Alpha, Lowe Moreland. But it turns out that Misery has her own motivations for agreeing to this political marriage, including finding answers about what happened to her best friend, who went missing after setting up a meeting in Were territory. Isolated from her kind and surrounded on all sides by the enemy after the wedding, Misery refuses to let herself forget about her real mission. It doesn’t matter that Lowe is one of the most confounding and intense people she’s ever met, or that the connection building between them doesn’t feel like one born entirely of convenience. There’s also the possibility that Lowe may already have a Were mate of his own, but in spite of their biological differences, they may turn out to be the missing piece in each other’s lives. While this is Hazelwood’s first paranormal romance, and the book does lean on some hallmark tropes of the genre, the contemporary setting lends itself to the author’s trademark humor and makes the political plot more easily digestible. Misery and Lowe’s slow-burn romance is appealing enough that readers will readily devour every moment between them and hunger to return to them whenever the story diverts from their scenes together.
Sink your teeth into this delightful paranormal romance with a modern twist.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780593550403
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Oct. 21, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
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