Author: Catherine Walsh
Year published: 2026
Category: Adult fiction (romance)
Pages: 352
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Location: (my 2025 Google Reading map): USA (NY) and Ireland
Summary: One writer, one editor, one hot summer . . . Will this be a romance for the books?
Ciara Sheridan’s father has left her with three things: a sprawling and distinctly ramshackle estate on the Irish coast, the outline for the finale to his bestselling epic fantasy series that he wanted her to finish—and writer’s block.
Enter Sam Avery: Frank Sheridan fanboy and hotshot editor, sent from the New York publishing house direct to Ciara’s doorstep—red pen ready.
At first, Ciara and Sam butt heads with crackling energy. But with the deadline looming, Ciara and Sam have just a few weeks to stop bickering, write this novel, and secure Frank's legacy.
As the summer heats up, so, too, does the tension between them. Will their own love story be the plot twist neither of them see coming?
Review: I really enjoyed this novel. Yes, it's a romance, but it's also much more. It's a study of friendship, a small town, and the publishing world.
Books about books and publishing are always interesting. I liked that we got to see the role an editor can play in getting a book to the finish line, how authors and their editors talk about books and the writing process, and one version of life as an author. This author has the added pressure of finishing her very famous dad's book series. Talk about pressure!
I liked all of the characters in this book, from the only-seen-a-few-times to the main. Sam and Ciara are smart, interesting, emotional, needy, and good for one another. We know they will end up together (it is a romance, after all), and I enjoyed the slow build, the missed opportunities, and the heat when they got together. There aren't a lot of sex scenes, and they are much less salacious than in many romance novels. I think that's because the rest of the story is more important.
Challenges for which this counts: none
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