A soft, spicy romance with perfect fall vibes.
Sparks fly between a witch and a museum curator, but magic may be keeping them apart.
Dina Whitlock’s London café, Serendipity, has a reputation as a place where “good things [happen],” but what none of Dina’s customers know is that all her delicious treats are made with a bit of actual magic. Coming from a family of witches, she has a spell for everything, whether it’s giving a friend a dash of luck with a job interview or crafting a tea blend that calls back a fond childhood memory. What she can’t figure out, though, is how to ditch the hex that’s been hanging over her since her last brutal breakup. It’s not easy getting close to someone when there’s a literal curse in the picture, designed to put any romantic partners in harm’s way. Then Scott Mason walks into Serendipity, and all Dina’s resolutions about closing herself off to love fly out the window. Well, almost. The tall, dark, and handsome curator for the British Museum is her type in every way, but Dina can’t run the risk of sentencing him to a string of bad luck. Fate, however, seems to have a plan for them: It turns out that one of Dina’s best friends is getting married to one of Scott’s, and guess who’s in the wedding party? As they travel to the countryside for a weekend of celebration and witchy rituals, Dina and Scott fight their attraction to each other at every turn in an attempt to keep the focus on their friends in the lead-up to the wedding, but they can’t deny they want to be more than pals. Can Dina lift the hex and give herself a long-deserved chance at love, or is this romance cursed from the start? El-Fassi’s debut romance is a delightfully magical story with a welcome helping of spice. An emphasis on female friendship and Dina’s connections with her family—Moroccan on her mother’s side and Welsh on her father’s—adds a heartwarming throughline, but the real star of the story is the steam between Dina and Scott.
A soft, spicy romance with perfect fall vibes.Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780593871799
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Dell
Review Posted Online: July 4, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2024
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
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
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