January 6, 2025
This bewitching queer contemporary from Janovsky (You Had Me at Happy Hour) finds 40-year-old Ethan Golding, the divorced owner of the fairy tale–themed Storybook Endings Resort in the Catskills, looking forward to hosting his daughter Samara’s Sweet Sixteen party. Enter Taylor Frost, Ethan’s ex-wife Amy’s efficient personal assistant, who arrives in advance to help prepare for the festivities. Ethan is exactly Taylor’s type, and Ethan falls for Taylor just as fast, despite acknowledging that he is “the most off-limits person possible.” The men agree that “business and pleasure do not mix” and vow not to give in to their mutual attraction. However, their fireside bonding soon escalates into flirting and sharing sexy fairy tale readings—and when a fallen branch damages Taylor’s Snow White–themed cottage at the resort, Ethan invites Taylor to stay with him. The cozy domesticity soon has Ethan and Taylor revealing their feelings for each other and becoming increasingly intimate. But their bliss is cut short when Amy and Samara arrive, and the guys vow to keep their weeklong situationship secret. Also threatening their possible future together is the fact that ironically Ethan “doesn’t believe in happily ever after.” Janovsky lays on the fairy tale aesthetic thickly, which may strike some readers as a bit too precious, but others will find it irresistible. This is a charmer.
March 21, 2025
Ethan Golding doesn't believe in happily-ever-afters, not since his own marriage crashed and burned, which is ironic, since he and his ex-wife are still involved with Storybook Endings Resorts, a family-friendly destination that regularly hosts weddings. When his ex and their daughter left five years ago to start expanding the business on the other side of the country, Ethan kept the dog (a St. Bernard named Nana), his job managing the original resort, and the cottage he built for his family. Taylor Frost has been working as Amy Lu's personal assistant for three years. When he was hired, it was with the promise of future promotion, but here he is in the Catskills, putting the finishing touches on the 16th birthday party for Amy and Ethan's daughter. Taylor knows it's time to start putting himself first, and he will. If only the resort manager wasn't so distracting--and if only he wasn't Taylor's boss's ex and therefore totally off-limits. VERDICT Janovsky's (You Had Me at Happy Hour) latest is an age-gap, forbidden romance that blends fairy-tale romance with sexier bedtime stories to deliver pure enchantment to its readers.--Rebecca Moe
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