Frequent fliers A novel

Complex personal struggles, family drama, and a slow-burn romance are the ingredients for Kirwan's tepid second novel (after Long Past Summer). Melanie "Lanie" Turner's life is a mess: her best friend and lifelong crush is marrying her cousin, and she'll be spending the months leading up to their U.K. wedding flying back and forth over the Atlantic to fulfill her duties as "their best mate of honor." Anxious, heartbroken, and convinced of her own inadequacy, she doesn't expect to find an connection with her handsome--but rude--seatmate, medical researcher Ridley Aronsen. Focused on his job, which frequently takes him from London to New York, and stepdaughter after the death of his wife two years prior, Ridley does not have finding love on his life's plan. But as his path continually crosses with Lanie's mid-air, their initially inconsistent and awkward interactions evolve into a deep friendship and eventually love. The romance moves at a snail's pace as the plot mostly focuses on Lanie's and Ridley's painful backstories and lives away from each other. Readers will need considerable patience to get through this one. (Aug.)

Travel buff Lanie never expected that her first pandemic-era flight would be to the UK to attend the festivities around the surprise engagement of her longtime crush to her cousin. Lanie's coerced wedding-planning participation, combined with her grandmother's precarious health, necessitate frequent trips between NYC and London. On that first trip across the Atlantic, Lanie finds herself seated next to Ridley, a physician and researcher who's frustrated that he cannot trust his New York colleagues with his latest project. A widowed father who is uncertain how to relate to women, Ridley is ambivalent about adding a romantic partner to a life where he already juggles the demands of parenting and his work. Based on her experiences, Lanie believes that she cannot have what she really wants, so it's difficult for her to take chances, while Ridley is in a sensitive position when it comes to custody of his daughter and is concerned about adding more upheaval to her world. Kirwan (Long Past Summer) adroitly shows the intimacy and sexual tension that build between Lanie and Ridley with each in-person, digital, and telephonic encounter. VERDICT This sparkling novel is highly recommended for all collections.--Nicole Williams