WWW.PUBLISHERSWEEKLY.COM 53Review_FICTION
with his brothers and adopted family, he
resides in the nearby town, which is where
CPA Jessica Blair asks his help with locating
her aunt. It’s completely out of character
for Aunt Nola to marry out of the blue
and vanish on a honeymoon without a
word about her whereabouts; Jessica sus-
pects Nola’s new husband is a con artist.
When someone nefarious begins targeting
Jessica, she’s quickly brought into the
Monroe family embrace and household,
cheerfully helping with ranch chores and
cooking while Finn attempts to untangle
the mystery. Series fans will welcome a
reunion with the Monroe family, who
lovingly support one another while enjoying
elaborate (and elaborately described) meals.
Finn’s reluctance to initiate a relationship
with his client is a minor barrier to his
and Jessica’s predictable, but enjoyable,
love story. This is a pleasant conclusion
to the series. Agent: Susan Ginsburg, Writers
House. (Dec.)
London’s Late Night Scandal
(Midnight Secrets #3)
Anabelle Bryant. Zebra, $7.99 mass market
(320p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4647-9
Bryant’s magnetic final Midnight
Secrets novel (after London’s Best Kept Secret)
unites two Regency-era amateur scientists
with a powerful attraction. Lord Matthew
Strathmore, Earl of Whittingham, travels
from his London home to Oxfordshire to
meet with the
Earl of Talbot,
who wrote a
journal article
with a question-
able hypothesis.
Shortly after
Matthew meets
Talbot’s grand-
daughter,
Theodosia
Leighton, he
realizes that she’s the author of the article.
Talbot’s once astute mind has become
muddled, and Theodosia is trying to keep
her grandfather’s ailment a secret.
Matthew and Theodosia share some scien-
tific interests, and their budding friend-
ship blossoms into a romance, leading to a
magical shared excursion through
London. Fans of thoughtful female charac-
ters will adore Theodosia’s joy in her
intellectual pursuits. Bryant’s fast-paced
and seamless plotting make this a novel to
be savored in one sitting. (Oct.)Faker
Sarah Smith. Berkley, $16 trade paper (336p)
ISBN 978-1-984805-42-3
Smith’s debut aims for romantic
comedy, but misses the mark. Emmie
Echavarre is an expert at faking confi-
dence. She’s one of five women working
at a power tool company, and one of the
few nonwhite employees. Her white male
co-workers mansplain at her and harass
her, and she has to project toughness to
survive. Cruelest of them all is the social
media manager, Tate Rasmussen, who
never seems to have a kind word for her.
After they begin working together on a
project to build interest in their compa-
ny’s charitable ventures, Emmie has a
health scare, and Tate’s response threatens
to disrupt everything Emmie believes
about her tall, blond, and grouchy co-
worker. This enemies-to-friends-to-lovers
romance hinges on a ton of miscommuni-
cation that may frustrate readers. The
steamy scenes scattered across its second
half aren’t enough to convey why Tate sud-
denly becomes appealing enough for
Emmie to risk a workplace romance when
she’s already being hassled by co-workers.
In addition, the subplot about Emmie’s
anxieties over being Filipina doesn’t gel
with the rest of the story. Emmie is
appealing on her own, but readers will
have a hard time believing in her union
with Tate. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy
Yost Literary. (Oct.)Down Too Deep
J. Daniels. Forever, $14.99 trade paper
(400p) ISBN 978-1-5387-4347-8
Daniels (the Alabama Summer series)
rounds out her Dirty Deeds series with
this middling single-parent romance.
Workaholic restaurant owner Nathan
Bell has been struggling since his wife
committed suicide two years ago, leaving
him alone with their newborn daughter,
Marley. His parents stepped in to raise
Marley, but they’re done with covering
for him, so he needs a contingency plan.
Luckily, Jenna Savage and her adorable
eight-year-old twins, Olivia and Oliver,
come to his rescue. Jenna offers to watch
Marley while looking after her own kids,
and soon sparks are flying between Jennaand Nathan.
They acknowl-
edge their
attraction, but
they both have
more than a few
past scars
keeping them
from fully
giving away
their hearts, and
they also need
to consider how their kids might feel
about them starting to date. Some plot
twists and obstacles meant to keep the
couple apart sometimes feel a little
forced, and the juxtaposition of Nathan
and Jenna’s sexual relationship with their
business relationship is disconcerting,
but the payoff is worth the wait. The
children truly make this novel shine, all
the way to the family-size happy ending.
Agent: Kimberly Brower, Brower Literary.
(Oct.)The Truth About Love and Dogs
Lilly Bartlett. Notting Hill, $9.99 e-book
(398p) ASIN B01LW80PF7
Despite the seemingly winning combi-
nation of love, heartache, and dogs, this
tale of a rekindling marriage is muffled
with fluff. Scarlett and Rufus are in the
marital doldrums, and tirelessly trying to
get pregnant has not exactly kept the
romance going. At least Scarlett’s busi-
ness—training hopelessly disobedient
dogs with her best friend, Shannon—is
going strong. The mischievous pups and
their eclectic owners keep the women
busy. But Scarlett loses her ability to bury
herself in work after Rufus calls out
Shannon’s name in bed. Shannon, who has
never thought of Rufus that way, is
appalled, but that doesn’t stop Scarlett
from questioning their friendship or from
kicking Rufus to the curb. Once she’s
alone, though, she realizes she misses
them both, and the three have to find a
way to move forward. The sympathetic
looks into everyday hardships are over-
shadowed by clunky, hollow chapters of
puppy training quasi-comedy and Rufus’s
self-centered angst. Fans of feel-good
romance will find the story touching if
they can get through the unnecessary
drama. (BookLife)