Variation A novel

Bestseller Yarros (Fourth Wing) takes on the high-stakes world of professional ballet in this explosive second-chance romance. Alessandra Rousseau, part of a ballet dynasty, first met Coast Guard rescue swimmer Hudson Ellis when they were teenagers on Cape Cod and Hudson saved Alessandra from a leaky rowboat. They became fast friends--until a tragic accident killed one of Alessandra's sisters, tearing the budding couple apart. A decade later, after Hudson's sister Caroline is widowed, Hudson changes his duty station to be there for Caroline and her 10-year-old adopted daughter, Juniper. The move unexpectedly reunites him with Alessandra, who is on the Cape recovering from a potentially career-ending injury. While their small beach town seems normal on the surface, family secrets abound, including the truth about Juniper's parentage and the shocking details about the accident that killed Alessandra's sister. Yarros keeps the twists coming as her complex but lovable characters find their way back to each other in the face of impossible odds. Readers who like their romance on the soapy side will be more than satisfied. (Nov.)

When an elite ballerina returns to her summer home to nurse an injury, she's greeted by many ghosts from her past. Everyone expects perfection from Alessandra Rousseau. How could they not, when she's the daughter of the renowned dance teacher Sophie Langevin-Rousseau and sister to the ballerinas Lina, Anne, and Eva? At 27, Allie has landed a principal spot in New York's Metropolitan Ballet Company. But perfectionism like hers can shatter in an instant, along with her Achilles tendon. Forced to return to the privacy of her Cape Cod summer home for rehab, Allie is suddenly confronted with memories she buried long ago. Ten years ago on the Cape, her sister Lina died in a car crash that Allie survived--and which her mother blames her for. Something else died with Lina that night: Allie's relationship with Hudson Ellis. Hudson, now a rescue swimmer for the U.S. Coast Guard, was Allie's best friend for two summers until he left for basic training without a word after the accident. Allie never thought she would see Hudson again, but his return brings an even bigger surprise: a niece she hadn't known about, a child named Juniper whom Hudson's sister, Caroline, had adopted as a baby 10 years ago. Juniper has the looks and the DNA test to prove that she's not only a full Rousseau, but somehow Lina's child. All Juniper wants is to practice ballet, but Caroline forbids her. Begrudgingly, Allie agrees to fake date Hudson to get on Caroline's good side and help her niece train for a competition. Returning home proves more complicated than Allie could have foreseen: How could she have not known Lina had a daughter? Why did Hudson ghost her after Lina's death? And even after all the hurt he caused her, how could she be falling for him? Yarros brings the heat with passion, drama, and page after page of plot twists. The Rousseau family weaves a twisted knot throughout the story, and Yarros inundates the reader with enough curveballs and steamy scenes to keep them interested (if not a little bewildered). A tumultuous, tension-filled romance that'll leave your head spinning. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.