ARC Review: Ruinous Ends (The Souls of Blackwood Academy #2) by I.V. Marie

 

The Decennial is over, but for the students of Blackwood Academy, the fight for the afterlife has just begun.

The infamous school was hiding more secrets—and lies—than any of the Decennial’s participants could have imagined. And there’s still so much that remains buried beneath its ancient foundations. Now the future of the academy, and all the souls within it, rests in the hands of six former pupils:
The charmer and the golden boy . . .
The traitor and the girl desperate to save her . . .
The Chosen One and the one who would choose her over and over again . . .

Any of them could be the hero the afterlife needs . . . or the villain who will destroy it for good. Because the truth is, Blackwood’s biggest secret has yet to come to light—and when it does, it will shake the institution to its core.

Title: Ruinous Ends (The Souls of Blackwood Academy #2)

Author: I.V. Marie

Publisher: Random House Children's Delacorte Press

Publication Date: July 14, 2026

Review:

Thank you to Random House Children's/Delacorte Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

If you have not read the first book in this series, stop here. Do not proceed. Reading the first book is a must to understand the world and the characters you meet in this book.

This book picks up where the last book left off on a cliffhanger. The Blackwood Academy crew has been dismantled after the Decennial has happened and everyone now knows the truth of Silas's plan. But there are still secrets and people to be usurped. And this crew will get to the bottom of it all if it's the last thing they do.

Warning, there are six POVs in this book. I usually like multiple points of view but something having so many can be confusing. Marie did a great job keeping each POV obvious of who was speaking not only by using their names as the chapter heading but by always making sure you to mention their name in the first or second sentence. I liked this approach and it really did make it easier for me to keep everyone straight. The differing POVs were also necessary, in my opinion. It solidified a lot of emotions between the characters as well as showed me the different things happening. Especially during the very action packed last quarter of the story.

Marie does a great job reintroducing us to the characters from the first book. There are some allusions to the first story and how relationships formed during that book but for the most part this book assumes you remember what you've already ready previously. I do wish Marie had taken a bit of time to remind the reader of the previous story and how this one spins off of that but it didn't totally kill the story for me.

I truly enjoyed this book. It wrapped up really well. I definitely had many emotional moments while reading it. My hope was dashed and then pieced back together many times over during the conclusion of this series. The author chose the fates of all the characters so well. 

I very much enjoyed the pacing and plot of this story. I'm excited to see what I.V. Marie comes up with next. She's definitely been added to my auto-read author list!

Author:

I.V. Marie is the instant New York Times, USA Today and Indie Bestselling author of Immortal Consequences. She was born and raised in Miami to a Peruvian mother and Chilean father, where she acquired a penchant for afternoon cafecitos and developed an all-consuming obsession with books. Her writing ambitions began behind her grandparents’ computer, where she spent her childhood crafting spooky and fantastical short stories. When she is not writing, you can find her rock climbing or watching atmospheric Youtube videos with her dog, Mr. Darcy.

ARC Review: Die for Me by Shirlene Obuobi

 

“I'm obsessed.” —Ali Hazelwood

"I never wanted [it] to end...Stunning." —Lyla Sage

What my eyes are showing me can’t be possible. Can’t be real. Because if they are, then I have to accept that Julian Conrad has been alive for a very long time.

Too long to be human.

A stay-up-all-night, smart, spicy romance following a doctor who finds herself falling for an alluring, much-younger man with a deadly secret

Sean’s not in the market for love. The only female, let alone Black, interventional cardiologist at her hospital, she’s watched too many of her male colleagues divorce their first wives to marry younger models—and then there’s the abusive relationship she’s spent the better part of her early 30s healing from. Her passions are reserved for her best friend, her goddaughter, and her job.

Then she meets Julian. Brooding, beautiful and eleven years her junior. In short: A bad idea.

Julian pursues her in a way that sets off alarm bells in her mind, but she finds herself unable to resist their undeniable chemistry—even starts fantasizing about him in dreams that feel altogether too real. They also have a lot in common despite their age gap. So, to hell with it: If men can date younger, why can’t she? But the more Sean gets to know him, the more impossible Julian seems: He has a depth and sorrow to him that’s beyond his years, and sometimes there’s a look in his eyes that’s less than human, and leaves her feeling more like prey. Plus, Sean herself has been exhibiting odd symptoms—memory lapses, a lack of restraint that's unlike her, persistent exhaustion—that all trace back to Julian, making Sean feeling more than a little afraid. Who—or what—is she falling, irrevocably, in love with?

Extraordinarily transfixing, suspenseful, and addictive, Die for Me is nothing short of a seduction.

Title: Die for Me

Author: Shirlene Obuobi

Publisher: Viking Penguin

Publication Date: July 14, 2026

Review:

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Viking for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed her are my own.

I'll be honest, I took the widget for this one simply because Ali Hazelwood blurbed it and had it featured in her newsletter. I love Hazelwood and figured I could not go wrong with a title she enjoyed. I didn't even read the blurb for this, so I really had no idea what I was getting into. And boy was I pleasantly surprised. I was not expecting a paranormal romance. Nor was I expecting what the paranormal creatures actually were. This is actually the first time I've read a book with this type of supernatural being as the main "monster." I do not know much about this type of creature, except from what I kind of learned through the show Supernatural, so I was totally engrossed in trying to figure out what was going on.

Sean is a cardiologist who has spent her life making sure those around her know she is just as talented as anyone else who might be in her position. Her fight as not only a woman but a black woman is at the forefront of this book from the beginning. The opening chapter totally makes it clear she has had to claw her way to the top and fight to stay there. Her dedication to this is evident in her life choices of not having settled down, gotten married, or had kids. It has not been her priority to fit romance into her life. When she meets Julian at her best friend's ex's wedding, she is surprised by their instant connection despite their age gap. But as their relationship progresses, she notices things are not quite how they seem and takes a deep dive into finding out what Julian and his sisters, Rose and Leila, truly are. But this deep dive comes at an expense: her relationship with Julian and possibly her life.

I love that Sean is a such strong character. She can very much take care of herself. She has formed a found family with her best friend and her daughter. She lives the life she has set for herself and doesn't let anyone else dictate things for her. She's completely settled in her self. Strong and undeniably independent. Her letting Julian into her life is unusual. Her falling for him so quickly is even more so. I also enjoyed that Obuobi chose to write this book from just one perspective: Sean's. Everything we see, everything we feel, everything we know is because this truly capable woman shows it to us. It was refreshing and I was kind of surprised I was ok with is (I normally like dual POV for romances).

Julian is this sexy, broody man who knows what he wants and he wants Sean. His whole persona is a mystery. He is also single minded in getting Sean's attention and having her as his. To the point that he seems utterly obsessed with Sean. He moves so quickly, which was a red flag for me, to be honest. But given what he is, it's understandable Sean had very little control in her attraction to him.

On top of the romance is a mystery of what Julian and his siblings are. Slowly Sean reveals what she finds. Along the way we get to know her best friend, Winona, Winnys' daughter Sophie, their ex-husband/best friend Brandon, and her adorable dog Onix. All the supporting characters in this book brought something special to the story. There were no extraneous characters who made you wonder why they were there. 

Finally, the pacing of this book was great. I would have finished it in one day had I not been on vacation and exhausted from a boating trip we took. I didn't want to put this one down. I had to know what was actually happening and once it was revealed I was definitely a bit shocked. Like I said above, I haven't really read books with this kind of monster in it so it was very new to me. By the 75% mark when all is finally truly revealed, the book really takes off. There is action and more mystery and some gore (nothing horrible but horrible enough). I was so worried Obuobi would leave me with heartbreak and had no idea how she would actually wrap it up so I'd be happy but she managed to do it! This book solidified that I will be reading Obuobi's future works and going back to see what her other books are about. 

Author:

Shirlene Obuobi is a Ghanaian-American physician, cartoonist, and author who grew up in Chicago, Illinois, Hot Springs, Arkansas and The Woodlands, Texas. When she’s not in the hospital (and let’s be honest, even when she’s in it), she can be found drawing comics, writing on her phone, and obsessing over her three cats. She currently lives in Chicago, where she is completing her cardiology fellowship.

ARC Review: Extracurricular by Rachel Lynn Solomon

 

When a former pop star enrolls in college, the last thing she expects is A-plus chemistry with her psychology professor in this sexy and tender romance from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Ramona Wilder has spent her whole life in the spotlight. After a hit kids’ TV show, she transitioned into music, singing in arenas around the world and becoming an icon for millions of teenage girls. Now at age twenty-six, exhausted by the inhumane lack of privacy, she’s done—with all of it. She wants a chance at normal, whatever that might mean for her. And she’s starting with college.

Professor Nick Navarro is recently divorced but determinedly optimistic, allowing himself a very reasonable ten minutes per day to wallow. When his department calls a meeting about a celebrity enrollment, he plans to treat whoever it is like any other student. Except when Ramona blazes into class and causes an uproar, the typically easygoing professor is rattled, maybe for the first time in his career.

Ramona loves the way she flusters him, taking every opportunity to push Nick’s buttons, though what she really wants is to unbutton them completely. When a crisis brings them closer outside of class, they begin a tentative friendship amid an undeniable attraction. But Ramona can’t be so easily finished with her old life, and they’ll both have to confront their pasts if they want a chance at something real.

Title: Extracurricular

Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon

Publisher: Berkley Publishing Group

Expected Publication Date: July 14, 2026

Review:

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for supplying me with a copy of this title to read and give an honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I've not read any titles by this author before. I have seen them around but haven't had a chance but the reviews have been good so I wanted to give her a try. And I was not disappointed at all. I enjoy a really well written forbidden love story and Solomon did a really good job with this while also including an age gap!

Romona Wilder has retired from being a pop star after years of abuse from the industry. She's gone back to school at UCLA to see where she wants her to go. Nick Navarro is just off a divorce from his childhood love. He's trying to make a new life for himself but is also having a hard time moving on. What does keep him going is his niece and his job as a psychology professor at UCLA. When Romona chooses his class as one to take, he is skeptical she is in school for the right reasons, But there's an attraction between them that neither seems to be able to ignore. As they grow closer as "friends," Nick finds himself at risk of not only losing his job but also losing his heart.

Romona is a fabulous character. She is extremely well developed. It was easy to relate to her despite having no association in the music industry. So much has been brought to light in the last few years about how pop stars are treated and what they go through and Romona's character embodied so much of that.  I was impressed with how Solomon addressed some very difficult topic in this book: abuse. Romona's character was emotionally and sexually abused by those she trusted. It took pulling herself out of the industry and an accusation of assault against her ex-boyfriend to reveal these things to her. She is slowly learning none of what she went through was ok and trying hard to take her life back. She does not expect her attraction to Nick, nor does she expect the friendship they form and now it supports her.

Nick is such a golden retriever but with a bit of a dominant side hiding beneath. I loved his character. His own trauma, while different from Romona's, was just as powerful in shaping who he is. He's experienced so much pain. I really loved how he and Romona had honest conversations with each other that helped them truly understand one another. And I love his relationship with his niece. It's just so sweet that they are so close and she feels like she can come to him and call on him for things.

I'm not going to lie, the plot for this one is messy. It was hard for me to see a good outcome in the distance while reading this. I just could not see how things would work out. And the actual attraction was little on the fast side for me. It was not insta-love, but I wish there was just a bit more build up to it. Thankfully, Solomon does choose to give us happiness at the end (I'm not good at total heartbreak). And she does it without the third act break up which I was very happy about. Solomon explores self-discovery, growth, and resilience. Both characters work through their traumas and help each other realize it's ok to be a little messy.

What this book did was made me realize I need to read everything Solomon decides to write. Her pacing was on point. Not too quick, not too slow. But just enough to have me finishing this in less than 24 hours. And her plot was so much more than just a romance. It's a story about kindness. It's about accepting yourself despite the traumas in your past. Accepting those are part of who you are and will help you grow into who you can be and feel safe doing it. A story that touches on so many deeper themes beyond chemistry and spice. Definitely one of my top reads this year!

Author:

Rachel Lynn Solomon is the New York Times bestselling author of The Ex Talk, Today Tonight Tomorrow, and other romantic comedies for teens and adults. Her books have been translated into more than fifteen languages and optioned for film. Originally from Seattle, she's currently navigating expat life with her husband in Amsterdam, where she can often be found exploring the city, collecting stationery, and working up the courage to knit her first sweater. Connect with her on Instagram @rlynn_solomon. 

Most Anticipated Releases Tuesday July 14, 2026

 

Here are my most anticipated releases for today.

In Stormy Weather by Chelsea Curto

The cover of this one is so cute! I haven't read this author but I got this one as a read now and it was so much fun. THE BANTER! Check out my thoughts HERE.

The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren

I'm down with anything by these authors. I was lucky to receive a copy of this and it was a great book. A bit different from their other romances. Check out why HERE.

Extracurricular by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Another read now book that I was excited to read as I've been wanting to read this author. I really enjoyed this one. Check out my review HERE.

Die for Me by Shirlene Obuobi

This one was sent to me by the publisher and also suggested by a few authors I love. I just finished today and my review will go up tomorrow HERE. It's a great read!

Ruinous Ends (The Souls of Blackwood Academy #2) by I.V. Marie

I loved the first book in this series. I was so excited for this one and I got an early copy but I just started reading it. Hoping to get my review up by the end of the week.

A Forsaken Prophecy (The Artisan Trilogy #2) by Stacey McEwan

I wanted this early so badly but I didn't get it. I was sad since I got the first one early. I cannot wait to see where this story goes. I love McEwan.

The Book Club Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday

I've read one other book by this author. This one looks cute!

A Darker Shore (Six of Crows #2.5) by Leigh Bardugo

I love anything Bardugo. This one is only out in hardcover right now. I cannot wait to read it when it's available digitally!

What are yours?

ARC Review: In Stormy Weather by Chelseas Curto

 

From USA Today bestselling indie author Chelsea Curto comes an academic rivals-to-lovers romance about storm-chasing meteorologists during hurricane season in Florida—perfect for fans of Ali Hazelwood and B.K. Borison.

Nothing can rain on Quincy Monroe’s parade. She’s a woman-in-STEM with a PhD in atmospheric sciences, the host of a successful online weather show, and has one million followers on her meteorology Instagram.

Quincy has spent endless hours forging her path in this male-dominated field, becoming one of the best in the industry. And with a new job opportunity, nothing can derail her success. Except for the ill-timed arrival of Sebastian Dunn.

Sebastian is her best friend’s brother, her long-suffering academic and professional rival, and a flashy TV weatherman from New York City that everyone swoons over. Everyone but Quincy.

Over a scorching Florida summer and record-breaking hurricane season, Sebastian and Quincy are forced into close proximity. Setting aside their grudges to chase storms and stay alive is one thing, but can they weather the inevitable collision of their hearts?

Title: In Stormy Weather

Author: Chelsea Curto

Publisher: Atria

Expected Publication Date: July 14, 2026

Review:

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

This is my fist Chelsea Curto book. I've seen this author's name around in my book groups and I was always curious about her books so I grabbed this as a read now and I was not disappointed. This book was so much fun.

Quincy is a woman in weather who is always fighting to be seen as an equal to the men in the field. This includes her old time high school/college enemy, Sebastian. Despite her one million followers and her smarts, she still gets looked down on. But she just wants to report the weather and keep people safe. Sebastian has a great job with notoriety. But he's missing what initially pulled to weather, being in the thick of it and helping others. When Sebastian takes a sabbatical to do a docuseries and returns to his home town, it's unsurprising that he and Quincy bump into each other and bump heads.

Curto can do banter! I absolutely adored the back and forth between Quincy and Sebastian in this book. It was the best part of the romantic build up and really helped solidify the chemistry between them. It's truly what kept the book moving for me. I loved them together. The author did a great job developing the characters and making them unique. I could truly feel how hard it was for Quincy to be a woman in her field, fighting to be heard and recognized for her expertise. And Sebastian really came across as a man who loves on all those who are important to him. His relationship with his friends, Cooper and Nate, was really fun. 

The side characters were also great. They really helped round out the story. I'm hoping Curto decides to move forward with the two characters who definitely seem to have a connection. It would be fun to see their story. 

I loved the inclusion of all the weather stuff. It was interesting to see what it all meant. It was also great to learn a bit about how it works. I can see Curto did a good amount of research for this book given the words and explanations she used.

The pacing in this book is really great. I kept wanting to turn the pages to find out what happened. The action, emotional, and sexy times are balanced really well. I never felt like any of it was overdone. It's a really great summer read with fun characters, a good plot, and amazing laugh out loud times. I cannot wait to see if Curto writes more in this world!

Author:

Chelsea is a flight attendant and romance author who writes fun, fresh and flirty love stories with plenty of spice. When she's not making fictional characters banter for twenty chapters before they finally kiss or serving chicken or pasta on an airplane, you can find her trying to pet as many dogs as she can.


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Fat Stack Friday July 10, 2026

I thought it would be a slow week because I'm on vacation. I was totally wrong. So many great new titles for review!

NetGalley/Edelweiss/Bootrovert:

A big week for books from publishers! Lots of read nows for holiday books which is really exciting as I build my holiday reading list!

Big Bad Wolf by Laurie Gilmore

This one is a re-release. I never read it when it was indie so I'm excited to get the chance now. I love Gilmore's Dream Harbor series and I'm looking foward to seeing what she does with this retelling!

Game Over (Oakwood Ranch #1) by Bella North

This one was sent to me by the publisher because I enjoyed another title they had. I hope I like it. It's second in a series and I'm not sure I can read it as a stand alone so I'm going to give the first one a go before I jump into this one.

Just in Time by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka

I've read all the books by this duo. They do speculative fiction. Some I've loved, others not so much. Hoping this one hits well.

A Christmas Getaway by Debbie Mason

Read now on NG and I'm building that list so I jumped on it. Haven't read this author before.

The Holiday House Swap by Lauren Appelbaum

Another read now for a holiday book. This one looks really cute!

The Santa Claus Con by Lauren Kung Jessen

New author for me but also I love a good cat and mouse chase and this seems like it will not only hit that but also my holiday spot! Another read now I could not pass up.

Too Cold for Comfort by Nisha J. Tuli

I tried another book by this author but didn't get very far. I'm hoping this one hits better. It was read now and I slipped it onto my holiday reading list.

Trust Fall by Lynn Painter

I love everything Painter writes, YA and adult. I cannot see what she does with this one.

What did you get this week?

 

ARC Review: The Paddock Club (Slipstream #2) by Madge Maril

 

A Formula 1 romance set in the Slipstream universe following Cat Cromwell, a fashion influencer on a secret mission to ruin a driver’s reputation, but she may fall for his rival instead.

"This is the steamy rom-com every F1 girlie has been waiting for." —Sarah Adams • "Deliciously addictive!" —Ellie K. Wilde • "The Paddock Club is one of my top reads of the year." —Tarah DeWitt • "Madge Maril is a delightful voice in romance!” —Chelsea Curto • "Cat and Faust are a masterpiece in on-page chemistry." —Peyton Corinne

As a professional heartbreaker, Cat Cromwell knows she’ll never fall in love—but she’ll pretend to, for a price. A former fashion model in New York City with a side hustle charming and then dumping the World’s Worst Men, Cat is offered the chance to pull off her biggest con yet: date and dump F1 driver Bernard Baudelaire… who recently left his very angry ex at the altar.

Raised on Formula 1 by a single father herself, Cat is excited to infiltrate the ivory tower that is the Paddock Club through fashion, and also to get back at another powerful, spoiled man who feels entitled to treat women like playthings, something she has undertaken for women and girls since her early modeling days and her family’s financial struggles. But Cat’s perfect plan hits the brakes when Bernard leaves the racing team—and she’s assigned to work with Faust Ferreira Sanchez instead, a moody F1 driver recovering after an apocalyptically embarrassing year in his career.

Faust is nothing like the men Cat is paid to date and loves to hate. He’s quiet. Honest. And absurdly hot in an all-black suit. Worse, Faust is convinced that Cat isn’t who she claims to be. And he’s particularly interested in why she's flirting with his ex-teammate and biggest racing rival.

As flying between fashion shows and racing circuits wears Cat’s carefully crafted mask thin, she finds herself drawn further into Faust’s steamy game of cat and mouse, and the dangerously real passion they ignite in each other. But with shadows from Cat’s checkered past looming in the pit lane, can she find a way to break her target’s heart without losing the first honest man she’s ever known? Or will staying in the Paddock Club be the first scam she can’t pull off?

Title: The Paddock Club (Slipstream #2)

Author: Madge Maril

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Expected Publication Date: July 14, 2026

Review:

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for providing me wtih a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

I was pleasantly surprised with the first book in this series. The publisher sent it to me and I love F1 so I was excited to try it out. I've had some ups and downs with F1 romance. Most times I've found the balance is not great between the romance and including what happens in the sport. Maril did a great job with this in the first book so I was looking forward to seeing what happens in this book.

If you didn't read the first book, no worries. You can totally read this one as a stand alone. There are some cross over characters but you honestly don't get enough from them here to ruin the first book. Just enough to see there are other things that happened in the past you might want to take a look at.

The tone and cadence of this book is completely different from the first book. I will be honest and say it felt like a totally different author wrote this. Mostly this was because of how Maril chose to build out her characters. The FMC, Cat Cromwell, and the MMC, Faust Ferreira Sanchez, are both on the side of a bit quirky. The writing in this installment truly reminded me of something I'd read from Ali Hazelwood (who I love). Cat is literally cat fishing: being paid to target the world's worst men to fall in love with her and then break their hearts. She's a former model who knows just how to use her looks and whiles to get what she wants. And Bernard Baudelaire is in her line of sight. She earns herself a job on his team as the person who dresses the drivers throughout the season. But in a unseen turn of events, Bernard leaves the team and Cat has to work with Faust, a moody driver trying to recover from a bad driving year.

Cat is a very interesting character. At first I found her rather flat. I didn't see she would have any emotions at all and wondered how I would connect with her. She is very closed off, but I see now that is part of how her characrter was being built out. As the story unfolds and her layers slowly start to appear. Her past and why she does what she does. Her need to care for her family. Her worry her family will find out just how she funds their schooling and keeps them in the black. Every time she does her job, she risks being seen for what it truly is. Enter Faust, who sees right through her. He's meticulous in finding out who she truly is and what she's doing almost to the point of being obsesses with her. Their relationship is fraught with moments of pure tension and attraction. Faust quietly broods and takes it all in. His quiet demeanor totally threw me off. Cat and Faust play a cat and mouse game throughout the story which is the perfect mix of flirty, smart, sassy, tense, and fun.

I loved how Maril tells this story from Cat's POV but we get these journal entries from Faust where we get to know a different side of him. You see his obsession with knowing Cat and taking care of her. You see his need to be in control but at the same time give that control to Cat. This is especially evident during their romantic and sexual encounters. Maril weaves in a part of sexual play that I was not expecting. And what I really loved about how she approached spicy was the build up. If you're expecting spice around every corner, you won't get much of it. But what you do get is immense tension and build up until you think you might burst if they don't fall into bed with each other soon!

This book is full of fast paced scenes and scenes that will keep you chomping at the bit. There are so many times Cat can be found out. There are so many people who look at her and wonder just exactly what she's doing. And when a mistake she made in the past is revealed and her entire plan unravels before her eyes, you see her family step in and take care of her like she never knew they would.

I will say there were some scenes I had to read more than once to get the idea of what was going on. I'm not sure if that was just my mind not working write and the writing itself. But overall I really enjoyed this installment in this interconnected series. With small guest appearances from characters I already know and the introduction of so many new characters who were interesting and unique, I'm looking forward to seeing what story Maril will write next. While I am not a fan of Bernard's, I would love to see a redemption story done right for him!

4.5 rounded to 5 stars

Author:

Madge Maril is a writer and Byronic hero enthusiast whose work has been published by Harper’s Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, and more. Previously a beauty and fashion journalist, Madge fell back in love with fiction through fandom and has been writing stories about big feelings ever since. She lives in Ohio with her husband and cat.

ARC Review: The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren

An unforgettable novel in which one fateful accident erases a troubled marriage from memory—and love gets one extraordinary do-over.

Three years ago, Emery Finch did something completely out of character: She got married. To Luca—the impossibly charming landscaper she met on one blistering night in Vegas who made her laugh, made her dance, made her feel.

But now, Emery is consumed by her top-secret job, missing dinners, forgetting anniversaries, and promising herself Luca will understand once her cutting-edge research comes to light. Until the unthinkable happens: A tragic accident takes Luca from her.

Desperate not to lose him, Emery breaks every rule to bring him back. And Luca would probably thank her for it, if only he could remember her. Their first kiss, their Sunny Sundays at the beach, the life they built together...all of it is gone.

It may be a miracle of science, but for Emery it’s her one shot at a second chance. And this time, she won’t waste it—because true love is always worth reviving.

Title: The Romance Revival

Author: Christina Lauren

Publisher:

Expected Publication Date: July 14, 2026

Review:

Thank you to Gallery Books and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.

Christina Lauren has yet to write something I don't love. And this was no exception, I was expecting their same awesome romance trope, which I got with the second chance they wove into the story. But what I wasn't expecting was the STEM part of it and the mystery part of it! I will admit, I had my doubts they could pull it off. I was sure this couple would fizzle and leave me devastated. But Lauren would never dare to do that!

Emery is a scientist married to Luca. The two had an amazing meet cute at a wedding and were inseparable ever since. But when Emery's work secret overlaps with her real life she's faced with only one choice: save the man she loves. But there is so much more to the accident that lead Emery to change her ways and she needs to solve the mystery in order save her husband's and her own life.

I absolutely adored Emery and Luca. They are so well done. Great character development and growth. Typical of Lauren's characters they come with a bit of baggage. But this one added the extra suspense of them both holding big secrets from each other. How this relationship initially developed, then fell apart, then was mended was a roller coaster of a ride.

The pacing kept me turning pages and staying up way past my bedtime while the plot kept me on my toes. I had my thoughts about who done it, but I was shocked to find I was only partially correct. And the build up to the action was great. I loved how science was woven in. There are so many emotions in this one, as well. And some moral decisions being made that really make you think about what you would and would not do to save the one you loved.

Christina Lauren will always be an auto-read author for me. Their works never fail to surprise me. They give romance but there's always some kind of twist to it. And, while I know they will cone through with the HEA, I'm always on the edge of my seat trying to figure out how they could ever possibly get there.

Authors:

 

Christina Lauren is the combined pen name of long-time writing partners/best friends Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings. The coauthor duo writes both Young Adult and Adult Fiction, and together has produced twenty New York Times bestselling novels. Their books have been translated into 30+ languages. (Some of these books have kissing. Some of these books have A LOT of kissing.)


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