Published by Dell on February 10, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Sports, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
When a competitive rower’s losing streak threatens her Olympic dreams, she must train for the summer with a hometown coach to win it all back in this irresistible opposites-attract romance.
Katherine Parker doesn’t just dream of rowing in the Olympics. She has a carefully crafted plan. With a strict training schedule, a meticulous diet, and no one else in her boat to slow her down, she’s as good as gold.
Then her boyfriend breaks up with her at the starting line of a big race and Kath comes in dead last. She’s swiftly kicked off the team and out of the Olympic Training Center—the only place she’s ever felt at home.
With one shot to win back her spot, Kath returns to her hometown to train with a new coach. The upside? Coach Adrian is hot. The downside? Instead of letting Kath follow her own training regimen, Adrian pushes her outside her comfort zone, urging her to try new things and let go of control.
With her Olympic dreams on the line, Kath will have to choose: stick to her perfect plan, or find out if the key to winning—and happiness—is to embrace the part of rowing that makes it fun, one sweaty, sexy training session at a time.
I adore books that feature elite athletes. There is something about their grit, determination, and drive that always hooks me, and Kath had these traits in excess. The story began with her sort of bottoming out. She lost her sponsors, her boyfriend, her residency at the national team facility, and she was destined to lose her spot on the national team unless she made a good showing at the Pan American games. Kath was fond of rituals and regimen, but her coach believed this was to her detriment. She wanted Kath to use the time at home to explore different training plans, and Adrian was the perfect coach to help her with this challenge.
I loved this book from the very beginning to the very end. Kath's personal journey was one I could whole-heartedly get behind, and I enjoyed cheering her on. She grew so much from this experience as both an athlete and a person. She carried a lot of scars from her parents' failed marriage which had a big impact on her romantic relationships. Adrian challenged all the things she thought and believed. He was the polar opposite of her terrible ex and other examples she had in her life, and he was perfect for Kath.
Adrian was a bit broken but total perfection as far as I was concerned. He was kind, thoughtful, caring, [insert any positive thing here because that was Adrian]. He was such a good coach and his rapport with his teen rowers was wonderful. I liked the inclusion of these teens. I thought Adams used the the characters well to give us some comic relief while also allowing me to see a certain side of Adrian.
And you know there was fist pumping. This was a sports romance with a build to a HUGE life-changing event. Of course I was hearing "Eye of the Tiger" as I cheered for Kath. This book was a good time from beginning to end for me, and I cannot wait to read more from Ann Adams.
Published by Berkley on January 27, 2026
Age/Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Rating:
Goodreads
A second chance at love sets sail when a couple on the verge of divorce pretend they’re still together for one last family trip, from the author of Wedding Dashers .
Roslyn and Liam met nine years ago and have been the perfect couple ever since. Through every up and down, every milestone—from Liam’s residency to the publication of Roslyn’s debut romance—they’ve been each other’s rocks. Until now.
Pulled apart by the untimely death of Roslyn’s mom and the undertow of grief, they’re now navigating the final wave in their divorce.
Heartbroken and unsure how to tell her family she’s called it quits with everyone’s favorite son-in-law, Roslyn keeps the impending divorce a secret. But when Roslyn’s grandparents ask if Liam can officiate their vow renewal ceremony aboard a Hawaiian cruise during their annual vacation, Roslyn needs to tell the truth or figure out a way to keep her secret. A week trapped at sea with her ex isn’t ideal, but neither Roslyn nor Liam want to rock the boat, so they concoct a plan—they’ll fake it.
After five years of marriage, they can figure out how to pretend for jungle hikes and mai tais, right? But when reality and make believe starts to blur, and old feelings begin to resurface, Roslyn and Liam have to decide whether it’s sink or swim for their marriage.
It had been three months since Roslyn asked Liam for a divorce, but she STILL had not told her family. Not wanting to ruin the annual vacation, Roslyn asks Liam to come and he agrees! Here's hoping they can fake it til they make it.
Sunk in Love was a solid marriage-in-crisis story. In the present, Roslyn was being torn apart by her grief. She had been struggling since her mother's death, and she felt abandoned by her husband. There were these flashbacks scattered throughout the story which allowed me to learn about some important moments in Roslyn and Liam's love story. Some of these were fun and beautiful while others provided a glimpse into what went wrong. This helped lay the groundwork for me to understand the couple better and made me want to root for them to find their way back to each other.
I know this book is billed as a rom-com, and there were some hilarious moments during their trip, but there were also so many heartbreaking and emotional moments for me to commit to that classification. The story starts off quite light, but it grew heavy as this couple FINALLY took started digging into what went wrong. I don't know if it was just me, but this was where I grew frustrated at times. I felt Liam was all in the whole time. His actions spoke volumes. McBreen did build a case for why Roslyn believed what she believed, but I still wanted to give Roslyn a good shake.
Regardless, I was fully invested in this couple hashing things out and getting back together. I could tell how much they loved one another and how much they meant to each other. The setting was great for forcing Roslyn and Liam to face their issues and repair the broken parts of their marriage. Overall, this was a solid marriage-in-crisis romance which was packed with emotion. I cried more than I laughed, but in the end, I was pleased with both Liam and Roslyn's personal journeys.
*ARCS PROVIDED BY THE PUBLISHER
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