Fans of supernatural romps will enjoy Bond’s latest otherworldly adventure.
In the sequel to Not Your Average Hot Guy (2021), it’s once again up to bookish Callie and devilish Luke to avert disaster of biblical proportions—this time by locating the legendary Holy Grail.
It’s been a few weeks since Callie saved the world from the apocalypse with the help of her boyfriend, Luke—son and heir of Lucifer himself—but she’s far from used to her new normal. Balancing the mundanity of her daily responsibilities at the family escape room business with her jaunts to the underworld is proving difficult, especially now that Callie believes she’s finally found her life’s purpose: giving lost souls a second chance at redemption. Luke is sure Callie’s scheme to alter the rules of Hell won’t go over well with his father, but Lucifer agrees—with a catch. If Callie and Luke can save a soul of his choosing within three days, he’ll allow the experiment to go on. But no one ever said making a deal with the devil was easy. Sean Tattersall, Lucifer’s chosen wayward soul, is a charming swindler with one mission: to find the Holy Grail and bring about Heaven on Earth. As the trio—along with a cast of old friends and enemies—travels Europe in search of the Grail, the truth of Lucifer’s intentions comes to light, setting off a series of events that will change Callie’s and Luke’s lives for eternity. Bond’s humorous take on the trials of Heaven and Hell takes on a more complex tone in this sequel, with the addition of Arthurian legend and more in-depth characterization. A subplot of romantic angst between Luke and Callie is unnecessary, and the novel’s conclusion—no doubt the setup for a third book—feels too neatly wrapped.
Fans of supernatural romps will enjoy Bond’s latest otherworldly adventure.Pub Date: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-2507-7176-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2022
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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
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