A fat-positive romance that blends the witty repartee of a buddy comedy with sexual tension.
An IT professional sets out to find a boyfriend before her 30th birthday.
Aaliyah James’ family thinks she needs to find a man. Though she can’t stand their meddling or her opinionated uncle’s fatphobic remarks about why she’s single, she’d like a partner, too. Convinced to try an app, she embarks on a series of dates, each one ending in comedy or boredom. Her exasperation is partly mitigated by the friendly ribbing she encounters from Ahmad Williamson, the bartender at the place where she meets her dates. Dishing back the snark in equal measure, Aaliyah appreciates Ahmad’s presence as a wingman. Inevitably, seeing him begins to seem more fun than going out with the online matches who are a letdown in person. Unwilling to fall for a man who appears to be taken, as suggested by a ring on his finger, though, Aaliyah persists in her boyfriend quest. But as the summer passes and Aaliyah and Ahmad learn more about each other’s past losses and start to heal their trauma in each other’s presence, they must figure out if they’ll be able to overcome the boundaries they had set. Allen’s twist on the “fifty first dates” comic plot provides a strong structure for Aaliyah and Ahmad’s romantic connection, and the skillful way she writes their banter is a refreshing update of classic screwball rom-coms. While weaker in the sections in which the intelligent and competent Aaliyah spirals into misunderstandings and fight-or-flight mode, the narrative shines during the times when she stands up for herself, including her physical appearance. The chemistry between the couple sizzles, while the conversations between Aaliyah and her girlfriends and family, and Ahmad and his friends, provide more nuances to their personalities.
A fat-positive romance that blends the witty repartee of a buddy comedy with sexual tension.Pub Date: June 11, 2024
ISBN: 9781250331045
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Bramble Books
Review Posted Online: March 23, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.
An earnest grad student and a faculty member with a bit of a jerkish reputation concoct a fake dating scheme in this nerdy, STEM-filled contemporary romance.
Olive Smith and professor Adam Carlsen first met in the bathroom of Adam's lab. Olive wore expired contact lenses, reducing her eyes to temporary tears, while Adam just needed to dispose of a solution. It's a memory that only one of them has held onto. Now, nearly three years later, Olive is fully committed to her research in pancreatic cancer at Stanford University's biology department. As a faculty member, Adam's reputation precedes him, since he's made many students cry or drop their programs entirely with his bluntness. When Olive needs her best friend, Anh, to think she's dating someone so Anh will feel more comfortable getting involved with Olive's barely-an-ex, Jeremy, she impulsively kisses Adam, who happens to be standing there when Anh walks by. But rumors start to spread, and the one-time kiss morphs into a fake relationship, especially as Adam sees there's a benefit for him. The university is withholding funds for Adam's research out of fear that he'll leave for a better position elsewhere. If he puts down more roots by getting involved with someone, his research funds could be released at the next budgeting meeting in about a month's time. After setting a few ground rules, Adam and Olive agree that come the end of September, they'll part ways, having gotten what they need from their arrangement. Hazelwood has a keen understanding of romance tropes and puts them to good use—in addition to fake dating, Olive and Adam are an opposites-attract pairing with their sunny and grumpy personalities—but there are a couple of weaknesses in this debut novel. Hazelwood manages to sidestep a lot of the complicated power dynamics of a student-faculty romance by putting Olive and Adam in different departments, but the impetus for their fake relationship has much higher stakes for Adam. Olive does reap the benefits of dating a faculty member, but in the end, she's still the one seemingly punished or taunted by her colleagues; readers may have been hoping for a more subversive twist. For a first novel, there's plenty of shine here, with clear signs that Hazelwood feels completely comfortable with happily-ever-afters.
Fresh and upbeat, though not without flaws.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-33682-3
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
A lovely and moving romance that examines what it truly means to live.
Opposites attract when a Grim Reaper clashes with a Guardian Angel in this whimsical paranormal romance.
Darcy Moore is in a bit of a tough spot; she’s a Grim Reaper who’s grown tired of death. When she’s given her next assignment, Darcy decides to go rogue. Rather than reaping, Darcy is determined to save her mark, which only upsets the balance kept by the Department of Hauntings and Spirits. Nothing good comes from a Grim Reaper who’s gone AWOL. Bartender Gabriel Aetos works as a Guardian Angel. He doesn’t take kindly to the fact that a Grim Reaper is slinking around his territory. His role is to protect people, while hers is to usher souls into death. To him, their very natures are at odds and his sudden attraction to Darcy won’t change that. This is very much a grumpy-meets-grumpy romance. Gabriel tries hard to keep Darcy at arm’s length and is open about his mistrust of her. Darcy’s standoffishness, though, is born out of her feelings of isolation and loneliness. Dealing in death has taken an obvious toll on her, and she’s traveling her own introspective path on what it means to be human. Darcy’s fragility is what slowly convinces Gabriel to get close to her, despite the heady yearning he keeps under wraps. However, both view their jobs as central to their existence, for better or worse. While Darcy is actively wondering what it would mean to break free of her Grim Reaper responsibilities, Gabriel has never seemed to ponder being anything other than a Guardian Angel. Borison’s romances—most recently And Now, Back to You (2026)—always strike an emotional chord, with deep-seated conflicts that tap into themes of identity, connection, and grief. This addition is truly the epitome of a Borison romance.
A lovely and moving romance that examines what it truly means to live.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9780063430464
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
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