An exceptional romance debut that doubles as a love letter to Iceland.
A travel journalist takes a work trip to Iceland with the photographer who broke her heart years ago.
Mona Miller is a people-pleaser by nature. Her reputation as a team player has served her well so far, even though she feels like she’s been running in place at the travel magazine where she works. When she’s called into her boss’s office, her first instinct is to expect a pink slip, but instead she’s offered the opportunity of a lifetime—a trip to Iceland to write the cover story for an upcoming issue. It’s not only a fun change of pace from the local gigs she’s been landing; it’s also an assignment that could set her up for a promotion. The only catch is that the photographer assigned to accompany her is an absolutely unwelcome blast from her past. Benjamin Carter is a rising star behind the lens, but he was also Mona’s childhood best friend, the person with whom she once shared all her secrets and a whole lot of firsts before he inexplicably broke her heart 14 years ago. Mona doesn’t want to rock the boat, though, so she decides to grin and bear it for the sake of professionalism. The next 10 days could make or break this opportunity for Mona, but the more time they spend together, the more likely it is that Ben could also break her heart all over again. Oliver’s debut is a stunning achievement, full of unresolved emotion and angst that results in feelings simmering to the surface, as well as proof that the embers of true love can never fully die down. Mona’s frequent reflection on her history with Ben is seamlessly interwoven with the present-day timeline, for which the Icelandic setting serves as the perfect backdrop, with vivid, descriptive imagery and intense, open-air experiences that push Mona beyond her physical limits while likely inspiring more than a little wanderlust in the reader.
An exceptional romance debut that doubles as a love letter to Iceland.Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
ISBN: 9780593952405
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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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