A charming story about logic, love, and labs.
A tech genius and a professional hockey player test their compatibility in this heartfelt romance.
Twenty-nine-year-old Harriet Smythe has created the next big thing in AI—a hopeless robot romantic. The Empirical Machine for Maximizing Athletics, E.M.M.A. for short, is expected to help coaches make informed training decisions and optimize an athlete’s performance...if only it would stop playing matchmaker. When Harriet’s boss at TrainTech, a Texas-based AI startup, asks her to find a real-life guinea pig to test E.M.M.A.’s capabilities, she knows that sooner or later she’ll have to contact Gale Knight. Gale is a struggling member of the Austin Regals starting lineup, and he’s also the kid brother of Harriet’s best friend, Brooke. Though at 25, he isn’t so little anymore, with muscles even a STEM geek like Harriet can’t help but appreciate. Out of respect for Brooke, Gale has always been off limits to Harriet, even if she’s always harbored a crush on him. Enter the AI! E.M.M.A. predicts that Harriet is the perfect match for Gale, the solution to his problems on and off the ice. Unluckily for Harriet, Gale is all too willing to work with her, making it harder and harder for her to keep things strictly professional. Can Harriet continue to deny the scientific proof in front of her, or will she finally accept that the algorithm doesn’t lie? Riley’s romance is a treat for fans of Ali Hazelwood and Elle Kennedy, and readers will appreciate the modern nod to Jane Austen’s beloved matchmaking heroine. Harriet and Gale’s friendship evolves throughout the story in a vulnerable, heartfelt way, with the just the right amount of spice to make the ice melt. Eerily sentient E.M.M.A. is a standout character, offering plenty of sass in her aptly named “Duchess mode” voice.
A charming story about logic, love, and labs.Pub Date: yesterday
ISBN: 9780063412361
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
If you like your romance the darker the better, this one is for you.
A young mother returns to the gothic manor of her childhood to dust off the family secrets and face her old flame.
Maven Blackthorn hasn’t been home since her mom died under suspicious circumstances 12 years ago, but the death of her grandmother, Lorinda, forces her return to Solstice, Vermont. Maven’s daughter, Beatrix, has never seen where her mother grew up, but she quickly learns the Blackthorns have a reputation for witchcraft, largely fueled by a centuries-long feud with the powerful Croft family, whose heir apparent, Ronan, was Maven’s forbidden teenage love and “worst nightmare.” Maven hopes to bid farewell to her grandmother and visit with her aunts without running into Ronan, but he proves hard to avoid. Maven’s hatred for Ronan runs deep and she believes the feeling is mutual. From Ronan’s perspective, it’s clear their painful unraveling was full of misunderstandings. When Lorinda’s body goes missing from the funeral home, Maven is forced to accept Ronan’s help in discovering what happened. While Maven dives into her family history and the many unfortunate events befalling Blackthorn women, Ronan is forever in her ear, seducing her back to him. The push and pull of their romance feels immature, which isn’t helped by the first-person present narration. At times, it’s easy to forget Maven and Ronan aren’t still teenagers, until the erotica is punched up a thousand percent in the final third. Controlling lines from Ronan like “Don’t test my patience, woman” might read better if his perspective were explored more, though fans of Geissinger’s dark erotica, including Brutal Vows (2025), may not be fazed. Maven’s perspective dominates, and though her investigation into family lore and increasing paranoia are the most compelling arc, the million and one ways in which she threatens Ronan with physical violence—“What I really want to do is tie you to a tree, disembowel you with my bare hands, feed your guts to the wolves, and cut off your head”—is a bit one-note. Trigger warnings abound.
If you like your romance the darker the better, this one is for you.Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781250379139
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bramble Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2025
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