I HAVE TO SAY…

SYNOPSIS

Black cardiologist, Sean, has seen her colleagues divorce their wives for younger women, including her best friend’s husband, and she was in an abusive relationship herself, so she’s good off love. Then she meets younger, mysterious, Julian, who has a way about him that is unnerving but irresistible and though there are things she can’t explain, like weird dreams, flu-like symptoms, and bone-crushing exhaustion, she can’t deny their chemistry.

What could happen?

RECAP AND REVIEW

Thank you to Viking Books and Penguin Random House, NetGalley, and the author for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Published July 14th, 2026

This is currently a standalone paranormal romance book told in the first person of Sean. Though the book has both romance and paranormal elements, the paranormal and fantasy parts of it are more prominent towards the end. I would also argue that this book is a little genre-bending because to me, it felt like a different, but connected story depending on what part of it you’re at.

Overall, this book is sensual and seductive and mysterious and tense and I really loved it.

There are some parts where I couldn’t tell where the story was going and the pacing is a little slower in those parts to build the foundation of the story, but I was still locked in, being seduced by the story the same way Sean was by Julian. The chemistry and banter between Julian and Sean was undeniable and was written so well; it’s left a lasting impression on me. I was also in the same boat as Sean, trying to figure out what was going on with all the weird circumstances and with Julian and the whiplash he was giving her, and I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Towards the end of the story, the tone shifts and it has a different feel than what came before it. What was seductive and full of chemistry became suspenseful. I’m not mad at it because the fantasy was broken in a sense, but it could be jarring to some readers. I do wish we got more explanation behind some of the backstory that’s explained though. Though the stakes were very high and I was on the edge of my seat in some parts, in other ways the reveals kind of felt inconsequential for certain characters.

The fun of the book (aside from the romance and banter), to me, is not really knowing what’s going on, so there’s not much more I can say about it without spoiling it!

Read for:

😴 Paranormal Romance

😴 Mystery/Suspense

😴 Sensual & Seductive

😴 Cardiologist FMC

😴 MMC with Secrets

😴 Banter on Banter

OVERALL

The romance and chemistry between Sean and Julian were the best parts of the story for me and based on that alone, I highly recommend this book! This is the first I’ve read by this author, and I will be checking out her other work.