HOLDEN

Ivy Carter writes contemporary romance with strong family threads, and Holden gives the title character his own book in what’s been an ongoing series. He’s the brooding one in the family. The book opens with him in a bad place and works through the slow process of letting someone in.

The heroine has her own story. She’s not just the magic woman who fixes him. Carter is good about giving both leads their own arcs that have to come together rather than run in parallel.

The romance heat is moderate to high depending on your scale. The emotional work is honestly done. The supporting cast from earlier books in the series shows up in ways that returning readers will recognize.

For readers who follow Carrie Ann Ryan or Jay Crownover for similar found-family contemporary romance, this fits the same shelf.