The provocative opening takes a dark turn when Lily receives a warning about Ryle’s intentions from his sister, who becomes Lily’s employee and close friend. They meet on a rooftop in Boston on the night Ryle loses a patient and Lily attends her abusive father’s funeral. Hoover’s ( November 9, 2015, etc.) latest tackles the difficult subject of domestic violence with romantic tenderness and emotional heft.Īt first glance, the couple is edgy but cute: Lily Bloom runs a flower shop for people who hate flowers Ryle Kincaid is a surgeon who says he never wants to get married or have kids. Her new novel goes in a slightly different direction from her recent titles, creating strife without any external suspense devices-to great effect.

James is a contemporary romance superstar, known for intelligent characters and quick, witty dialogue that ratchets up intense sexual tension. As best man and maid of honor, Sidney and Vaughn are thrown together to help plan a quick marriage (her sister is also pregnant, though they're keeping it secret from everyone but Sidney), while their simmering attraction boils over, creating a whole new set of conflicts and obstacles to their shared happiness. This guy was a bad investment.” Rejecting his come-on in no uncertain terms, Sidney heads off to meet her sister’s new boyfriend and is shocked to discover that the two are engaged-and that the sexy agent is the boyfriend's brother. Which almost makes up for the fact that the man she thought was her perfect match cheated on her two weeks before they were supposed to get married, six months ago: “As a director at one of the most successful private equity firms in the country, she had great instincts when it came to determining whether a company was a good or bad investment.Now she simply needed to apply those same instincts to her personal life.” After a disastrous blind date in a coffee shop, a sexy FBI agent hits on her, and every one of those instincts tells her the man isn’t a good bet for long-term commitment: “Because, in truth, any woman who allowed herself to be swept up in the romantic fantasy of dating this kind of guy would be ignoring one crucial fact. Professionally, Sidney has reached the pinnacle of her career, moving back from New York to Chicago to accept the position of her dreams. Attraction sparks between FBI agent Vaughn Roberts and Sidney Sinclair when they meet, but she’s looking for a relationship, not a player-a situation that becomes increasingly complicated when they're forced to plan a wedding together.

It Happened One Wedding by Julie James