This Victorian romance is a winner, weaving social history, intrigue, and humor with falling in love.
A double mystery involving London’s seamy underbelly turns a marriage of inconvenience into a love match in this multilayered historical romance.
In the London jungle, Penelope “Nell” Trewlove and Miles Quincey are natural adversaries until shared threats turn them into allies. A senior teacher at 23, Nell has considered the Benevolent Academy for the Betterment of Young Ladies her home and salvation since she was 4 years old. Relentless newspaper editor Miles hopes that uncovering the secrets of the isolated charity school and “home for dangerous revolutionaries” could revive his plummeting readership after his last investigative series took down a popular politician and aristocrat. When he demands that the school send a representative to London or he will come to them, the headmistress dispatches Nell to keep him outside their gates. With humor and attention to historical detail, Matthews skillfully explores every dimension of their awkward meet-cute and evolution, down to how Nell’s sartorial choices reflect the constraints and dangers of being a woman in 1864. The youthful “goddess” with the face and figure of a “sultry angel” who shows up at the London Courant shrouded in an all-black widow’s uniform with a veil and an enormous crinoline was not what Miles expected. Nell knew her costume conferred “a degree of respect not offered to unaccompanied young ladies.” She and her colleagues donned crinolines, those “controversial cage-like” undergarments, “like armor.” A woman so encased “demanded space…in every sphere through which she traveled.” And yet, in a deft bit of irony, a crinoline also precipitates Nell’s loss of power. When Miles’ cat gets entangled in the elaborate netting, Miles tries to free the mischievous animal and gets caught by one of the most judgmental clergymen in the city looming over Nell while she lay on the floor with her skirts above her knees. To save their reputations and livelihoods, Nell and Miles enter a hasty marriage arrangement that morphs into true partnership as they investigate the suspicious disappearances of her new pupil and his reporter in London’s seamier environs.
This Victorian romance is a winner, weaving social history, intrigue, and humor with falling in love.Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780593639313
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: Aug. 29, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: tomorrow
Bailey hits it out of the park with her latest spicy romance.
Two ambitious athletes plus one fake-dating arrangement—what could go wrong?
Though it’s only his first season for the Boston Bearcats hockey team, Robbie Corrigan has a well-established reputation as a playboy. He’s got major skills on the ice, and he’s also much more likely to love ’em and leave ’em than he is to build any long, meaningful relationships. Naturally, he’s just met the one woman who seems completely resistant to his charm: Skylar Page, a Boston University softball pitcher. When they meet over a friendly Saturday morning baseball game, Robbie instantly makes a poor impression by bragging to his teammates about his latest conquest within Skylar’s hearing. He thinks she’s gorgeous, though, and when he sets his sights on her, he’s surprised that she doesn’t seem to know it. Despite her initial distaste for Robbie, Skylar grudgingly confesses that she could use his help. If they pretend to date, maybe her current crush—her brother’s best friend—will finally sit up and take notice of her in a romantic way. The timing is less than ideal, since Robbie will have to team up with Skylar in the Page family’s latest wilderness competition, but it turns out that Robbie’s willingness to play fake boyfriend stems from some very real feelings. He wants to prove to her that he’s a changed man, and redeeming himself in her eyes starts with making sure she knows that she can really trust him. The latest addition to Bailey’s Big Shots series is a sexy, feel-good romance brimming over with the author’s trademark humor and dirty talk. While Skylar and Robbie’s dynamic doesn’t quite reach the level of enemies-to-lovers—he’s so head-over-heels for her that there’s no room for any real mean-spiritedness—their playful snark doubles as a welcome dash of foreplay in the lead-up to some seriously steamy scenes. Robbie’s efforts to show Skylar that he’s turned over a new leaf also result in some of the book’s best moments, emphasizing his commitment to becoming the type of man he knows she deserves.
Bailey hits it out of the park with her latest spicy romance.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780063380837
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Avon/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 30, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2025
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.
A travel writer has one last shot at reconnecting with the best friend she just might be in love with.
Poppy and Alex couldn't be more different. She loves wearing bright colors while he prefers khakis and a T-shirt. She likes just about everything while he’s a bit more discerning. And yet, their opposites-attract friendship works because they love each other…in a totally platonic way. Probably. Even though they have their own separate lives (Poppy lives in New York City and is a travel writer with a popular Instagram account; Alex is a high school teacher in their tiny Ohio hometown), they still manage to get together each summer for one fabulous vacation. They grow closer every year, but Poppy doesn’t let herself linger on her feelings for Alex—she doesn’t want to ruin their friendship or the way she can be fully herself with him. They continue to date other people, even bringing their serious partners on their summer vacations…but then, after a falling-out, they stop speaking. When Poppy finds herself facing a serious bout of ennui, unhappy with her glamorous job and the life she’s been dreaming of forever, she thinks back to the last time she was truly happy: her last vacation with Alex. And so, though they haven’t spoken in two years, she asks him to take another vacation with her. She’s determined to bridge the gap that’s formed between them and become best friends again, but to do that, she’ll have to be honest with Alex—and herself—about her true feelings. In chapters that jump around in time, Henry shows readers the progression (and dissolution) of Poppy and Alex’s friendship. Their slow-burn love story hits on beloved romance tropes (such as there unexpectedly being only one bed on the reconciliation trip Poppy plans) while still feeling entirely fresh. Henry’s biggest strength is in the sparkling, often laugh-out-loud-funny dialogue, particularly the banter-filled conversations between Poppy and Alex. But there’s depth to the story, too—Poppy’s feeling of dissatisfaction with a life that should be making her happy as well as her unresolved feelings toward the difficult parts of her childhood make her a sympathetic and relatable character. The end result is a story that pays homage to classic romantic comedies while having a point of view all its own.
A warm and winning "When Harry Met Sally…" update that hits all the perfect notes.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-9848-0675-8
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Berkley
Review Posted Online: March 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
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