A swoony slow-burn romance that lives in the little moments.
Two former flames agree to get married for as long as it takes to flip the run-down apartment they’ve inherited together.
LaRynn Lavigne and Deacon Leeds haven’t laid eyes on each other since the summer in Santa Cruz when they had a brief fling as teenagers. The relationship didn’t last, but it made enough of an impact that when they’re finally face to face again, a decade later, they have to figure out how to exist around each other. Total avoidance isn’t a possibility, because their grandmothers—who were married to each other and both recently died—left them a shared inheritance of a ramshackle apartment, and LaRynn and Deacon have to figure out the best way to fix it up and sell it for a profit. The only snag in their plan is that LaRynn can’t access the money they need in her trust fund until she gets married, and Deacon can’t use his construction skills to do the repair work without said funds. When the idea of tying the knot comes up between them, they reluctantly agree to a temporary union: stay hitched for as long as it takes to renovate the house, then go their separate ways. Living in the apartment while they fix it up, they’re sharing a space that lacks most of its walls, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of emotional barriers still in place. As their forced proximity also forces LaRynn and Deacon into some tough but long-needed conversations, it begins to lead them to the realization that the intense feelings they had for each other still burn just as hot as they did during that summer 10 years ago. DeWitt’s latest romance is less about two people finding love and more about how they rediscover a love that never truly disappeared. Through dual timelines and points of view, we’re offered a window into both the evolution of Deacon and LaRynn’s romance and their incredibly satisfying, hard-earned road to a happily-ever-after.
A swoony slow-burn romance that lives in the little moments.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2024
ISBN: 9781250329387
Page Count: 352
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2024
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
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.
Two people with bad luck in relationships find each other through a popular Reddit thread.
Emma Grant and her best friend, Maddy, are travel nurses, working at hospitals for three-month stints while they see the country. Just a few weeks before they’re set to move to Hawaii, Emma reads a popular “Am I the Asshole” Reddit thread from a Minnesota man who thinks he’s cursed—women he dates find their soulmates after breaking up with him, and the latest one found true love with his best friend! Emma has had a similar experience, which inspires her to DM the man and commiserate. She’s delighted by her witty, lively interactions with software engineer Justin Dahl, and is intrigued when he suggests that if they date each other, maybe they’ll each find their soulmate afterward. Emma upends the Hawaii plan and convinces Maddy to move to Minneapolis for the summer so she can meet Justin in person. The overly complex setup brings Emma and Justin together and the two hit it off, with Justin immediately falling head over heels for Emma. Jimenez then pivots to creating romantic roadblocks and melodramatic subplots centering on each character’s family of origin. Justin’s mother is about to serve six years in prison for embezzlement, which means Justin must move back home to care for his three much younger siblings. Emma was traumatized by her own mother for much of her childhood, left to fend for herself and eventually abandoned in the foster system. When her mother shows up in Minnesota, Emma must face her traumatic childhood and admit that she has prioritized her mother’s well-being over her own. There is little time devoted to Emma’s painful efforts to heal herself enough to accept Justin’s love, which leaves the novel feeling unsatisfying.
A wallowing, emotionally wrenching family drama that leaves little time for romance.Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781538704431
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Forever
Review Posted Online: Feb. 3, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
SEEN & HEARD
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