Why we’re excited
Addie works for January Knox, a Texas influencer who was her childhood rival. When an old schoolmate, Denton Hayes, emails January from a penguin research station in Antarctica, Addie answers as January. The letters turn romantic, and then Denton comes home to Texas expecting to meet the woman he has been writing to.
Katherine Center wrote Things You Save in a Fire and The Bodyguard, and her romances lean warm and funny. A catfishing plot with penguin facts sounds like her at her lightest. Readers who like a letters-based romance with a lie at the centre should look for it.
On our most-anticipated list since 21 October 2026. See all the most anticipated books →
What to know about The Lovebirds
We have reviewed 3 of Katherine Center’s books, with an average score of 4.0 out of 5. Our highest-rated so far is The Shippers (4★).
Readers have saved it often enough to put it at No. 14 on our list of May 2027’s most-anticipated releases.
From the publisher
The newest swoon-worthy novel from one of the hottest, fastest-rising Rom Com stars, Katherine Center!
Addie Mitchell has her dream job (or is it a nightmare?) working as an assistant to her grade-school frenemy who is now one of Texas's biggest social media influencers. January Knox isn't quite as obnoxious as she was years ago, but she's a very demanding boss and her manager/mother could easily make life a living hell. Still, it pays the bills and Addie has already chased enough impractical dreams. When January receives an email from a mutual childhood friend, Denton Hayes, she tells Addie to ignore and delete it.
Denton Hayes, middle school heartthrob, is now working in Antarctica as a penguinologist and there is nothing he can do for January, so she doesn't want to give him the time of day. But Addie writes back, beginning a correspondence where she poses as January and Denton writes to her about the loneliness and isolation of the Arctic. Plus, he has really fascinating details about birds!
Slowly, Denton and Addie become more and more attracted to each other through their letters, but the lie has grown so big that Addie can't own up to it. Besides, what's the harm in corresponding with a man who is literally thousands of miles across the planet? But when Denton leaves the Arctic and arrives in Texas expecting to take up with January where they left off, Addie is in a pickle of her own making. Can a love built on a lie actually last? Or will Denton find out the truth and fly the coop? Told with Katherine Center's legendary wit and heart, THE LOVEBIRDS will make your heart beat as fast as a hummingbird's!
Description supplied by the publisher.
We haven’t read The Lovebirds yet. When our review goes up, it will replace this page.
