A pure delight of a debut, this tornado-chasing contemporary romance should appeal to a large audience of readers.

The heroine is a tall, independent eldest daughter who gets stuff done and is a professional in a dangerous field of work with misogynistic colleagues. The hero is a risk-taking popular figure, and despite their fiery banter, he’s got a soft spot for the FMC.

This has a forced proximity road trip plot, so expect a lot of them driving back and worth and taking photos of storms. This may feel a bit redundant, but you get to see their relationship develop. The MMC definitely falls first and is a yearner. It is great to see the respect he gives the FMC and the support he offers. Get me a man who takes care of things without asking me a bunch of questions. The MMC certainly knows how to ease the burdens of an eldest daughter.

As someone who loved Twister as a kid, the only thing that was missing for me was a big dangerous tornado moment. We do get some injuries, but nothing crazy. However, I understand the intent was probably to keep the story grounded.

This is a wonderful new release perfect for your summer reading.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It ripped my heart out. Some may call this a romance, but I’d call it dramatic fiction with romance, like The Favorites. It’s not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, and personally, I would have liked to see some trigger warnings.

It’s deeply profound, angsty, and even spicy; just know you’re going into a heavy read.

A thrilling read that's extremely topical and has surprising reveals.

This hockey romance will pull you right in, but it doesn’t top Unbound, the previous book in the series.

Undone focuses on a second chance romance between Torren, a tattooed, pierced, motorcycle-riding hockey player with a reputation for fighting, and Lily, an extremely sheltered, struggling student with a passion for art. Expect lots of angst, jealousy, and a heavy helping of spice.

What I like about Undone is that there’s no doubt that Torren and Lily are meant to be together. Yes, they hurt each other emotionally, but there’s no real other woman or other man drama (Carson doesn’t count, in my opinion). They’ve been bonded like soulmates since childhood.

I also appreciate the representation; Lily is partially deaf, suffers from depression, and is neurodivergent. She has a controlling parent. Torren grew up in the foster system.

What I didn’t like is that Lily does not have more of a growth arc. I understand how her disabilities may affect her, and that how she grew up shaped her, but she’s weirdly infantilized by the writing and by the other characters. We’re told frequently how tiny Lily is (especially in comparison to Torren, who’s so tall and broad). She likes to stick out her tongue at people (which Torren repeatedly comments is childish). She doesn’t know how to purchase things online, or drive safely, or find a classroom, etc.

In addition to size kink, there’s somnophilia here without consent explicitly stated prior to that, which isn’t my cup of tea and seems questionable in this day and age. I also find it hard to believe that Torren hadn’t slept with anyone other than Lily despite being apart from each other for years, but he went ahead and pierced his “intimate parts” for funsies during their separation. It just seems like a way to get a piercing in the spicy scenes in the book.

I understand Lily’s neurodivergence has her locked in on Van Gogh, but it’s almost overboard. It’s hard to get a sense of Lily’s personality outside of she really, really likes Van Gogh, she has depression, and she’s so little. There are also quite a few music references throughout, as was the case with Unbound, but I prefer reading writing that doesn’t pull you out of the story with references or rely on them to set the tone of a scene.

Torren is bi or at least queer, as seen in his past and his kisses with his teammate and bestie, Holden. Holden seems like a third wheel, though I loved the representation. I think it’s important to show Lily and Torren finding friendship outside of each other, but I wish Holden had more of a story of his own. He definitely feels like a side character instead of a fully developed one.

These are detailed notes on what struck a wrong chord with me, but that’s not to diminish how enjoyable and easy to devour the book is. Undone has a Wuthering Heights flair and should appeal to any hockey romance readers out there.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.