More Than Sunday

by Virginia Kilmartin

For years, Marlowe Shaw convinced herself she was happy. Her relationship was steady. Her future felt certain. And if she kept moving forward, she’d never have to look too closely at the grief she’d spent the last four years trying to outrun. That was, until everything fell apart.

With her relationship over, her career gone before it had the chance to even begin, and nowhere left to go—Marlowe returns to the small Montana town she once thought would become home before her mother died. The place filled with memories she never wanted to face, where heartache still lingers around every corner.

And… it’s the place where Harrison Stallard still lives.

Harrison was once her best friend. Her almost more than best friend. The person she’s convinced she got it all wrong with. After years apart, seeing him again feels less like stepping into the past and more like reopening something that never truly closed. As the two are pulled back into each other’s lives through shifts at the flower shop, Sunday get-togethers, and the kind of closeness neither of them knows how to resist, Marlowe begins to realize that grief has shaped far more of her life than she’s ever allowed herself to admit.

Including the way she’s loved and been loved.

After five years of silence, missed chances, and unresolved feelings, Marlowe and Harrison must decide if the thing between them could ever be love—or if some people are only ever meant to belong to each other in almosts and memories.

466 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 5, 2026

About the author

Virginia Kilmartin writes romance books with all the tension and swoon, but none of the spice. Her goal is to create character-driven stories that feel real, raw, and true to how humans grow, learn, and fall in love.

She loves reading, writing (this one too obvious?), bike rides, cool summer days, dad jokes, dairy (even though it doesn't love her), a good all-over-the-place playlist, waterfalls, random acts of kindness, red velvet anything, and being around people who make her want to be the best version of herself.

Reviews

[Sim-fully Ever After · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75🌟 | 1🌶️

There’s something addictive about a slow burn when the feelings are clearly there, but neither person is quite ready to face them.

Harrison was such a sweetheart, with all the golden retriever energy and quiet yearning I could ask for, and his connection with Marlowe made it so easy to root for them. Their history added an extra layer of emotion to every step toward finding their way back to each other.

I also appreciated how naturally the book handled grief and healing. It felt honest about how differently everyone moves through loss, while still leaving plenty of room for the romance and lighter moments. The supporting characters brought so much warmth too. The pacing felt a little stretched in places, especially when conversations were repeatedly pushed off, but I was still invested in seeing everything play out.

Overall, this was a sweet, emotional second-chance romance with plenty of pining, tenderness, and characters who were easy to care about. The romance takes its time, but watching the tension gradually turn into something deeper made the payoff satisfying.

The characters, the emotional journey, and all that delicious yearning gave me plenty to enjoy.

~~~~

A sincere thank you to Virginia Kilmartin for the ARC! 🥰📚

I’m so grateful for the early read. As always, all thoughts and opinions are completely my own. ✨

[Lindsey Maguigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am grateful to have received an ARC of this book.

If I could give More than Sundays a half star, I’d give 3.5. First let me tell you what I enjoyed about this book. First, I love a good golden retriever MMC and Harrison delivers. He is so lovely and thoughtful and the yearning is all there. I also think the author does an amazing job describing grief and pain and not only how it doesn’t heal overnight, but it is a different process for everyone. Well done.

As for things I didn’t love, I felt like the story was a bit longer than needed to try to stretch out the yearning and build up the payoff. When the characters say “we’ll talk later” that’s fine, but when it happens numerous times, the reader can grow weary. There were a few places where things dragged but overall the story was very nice.

I would recommend this story and I genuinely liked it. It’s sweet.

[Cristina Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay i just stayed up WAY past my allowed bedtime for work to finish this book so here’s what i have to say

I was blessed enough to be an ARC reader for this book. 81 pages into it I had to order a physical copy as well because this book is so insanely, incredibly beautiful. this may be my favorite 2026 read and the fact that it was written by someone I know and am related to is insane to me. I don’t know if you remember Grandma Vi’s birthday party one year, we were out in the backyard eating those wax soda bottle candies and I never felt so happy to have a friend. I’ve held onto that all these years later.

Virginia you have SOO much talent. Please write a million more books, just post about them so I can make sure to read and order them all 😂 I cannot wait to see this blow up on booktok because I know it will!!

Now onto the actual story. Marlowe and Harrison are just perfect. They’re absolute dolls. Every single character in this book was lovable and I can’t thank you enough for making them that way. The way you spun the breakup to be something necessary and not done out of ill will was genius. i don’t think i can even find the words to explain how beautiful this story is.

I laughed. I cried. I fell in love with people who don’t exist and that is exactly what I want in a book. The right person wrong time was so strong in this one. The grief is so raw and real. Audrey and Val??? I NEVER saw that coming but totally should have. Brilliant.

This was way over 5 stars for me. This is a 10/5 minimum but Goodreads won’t allow me to rate any higher 😭❤️

[bookedwkaitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

arc review!!! 🪻✨☕️

rating: 5⭐️
spice: closed door
tropes: friends to lovers, second chance, lgbtq rep., slow burn

OMG! This book was everything. I was hooked from the start and finished the last 75% in one sitting!

Harrison and Marlowe’s relationship was so pure and full of love, yearning, and beauty. It was soo easy to root for them (even if it was frustrating at times lol)

The subplots were amazing and the conversations around grief, healing, and love were handled with such care. The side characters were so lovable and funny, creating such depth and meaning to Marlowe and Harrison’s story.

This is such a stunning and raw debut and I am so grateful to have read it pre-release! Thank you Virginia for trusting me with your book, I loved every second of it.

[Samantha Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was genuinely amazing and is easily one of my favorites. I love the amount of detail Virginia included and was able to see it play out in my head as the story went on. There was so much emotion in the writing and often pulled at the heartstrings, as well as some laughter along the way. I found it so hard to put the book down and finished it in less than 48 hours! Virginia truly created a beautiful story and did an amazing job with her debut novel! I would highly recommend this book and I can’t wait for it to be released!

[Desiree Zito · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

I really loved this story, I liked the natural chemistry between Harrison and Marlowe. A lot of the banter between characters had a nice fluid to it and felt witty. The progression between moving on from Tobias was not hurried and well written. I’d definitely recommend this book to others. It was authentic, and sweet. A nice weekend read.

*trigger warnings for grief, recreational drug use, alcohol abuse.
Has LGBTQ+ relationships
Mood: Heart warming
Spice: Closed Door

[b ❣️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

An easy five stars. Probably my favorite read of the year. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

While this book was INCREDIBLE to me, I can see why some people have given it 3 stars or less. The slow burn is very slow and if you’re not fully invested into Marlowe and Harrison’s story, and understanding of their hesitation and difficulty to communicate after so long, you probably won’t be able to appreciate the story as much as I was able to. And man oh man, was I able to.

I found every bit of this story perfectly realistic, raw in a lot of ways and beautiful. The way grief is so intricately woven into the romance without feeling overbearing is done so well. The way Marlowe is so avoidant of her grief and her feelings felt like I was reading about myself.

Marlowe is me, I am Marlowe. 🤝🏽

Maybe that’s why I didn’t find the story dragged out or too long (dare I say, I probably would have enjoyed it even longer) because I relate so much to Marlowe and how much she struggles to be open and communicate after everything she’s been through.

And don’t even get me STARTED on Harrison. The perfect MMC. My all time favorite, hands down. I’d read a whole book in his perspective. He’s so attentive, patient and thoughtful with Marlowe and everyone else in his life. The way he loves his mom and takes care of his family through his dad’s struggles? Ugh. Your honor, I love him.

I also adored the side characters. I feel like a lot of contemporary romance books use side characters as plot devices and don’t give them any substance. That was not at all the case here. Every side character was loveable and given their own happy ending, which was refreshing to read. Delaney was so funny and sweet. Audrey and Valerie? Didn’t see that coming but oh my gosh, what a beautiful twist.

Virginia Kilmartin, please never stop writing books. You’re an immediate auto-buy author for me and I can’t wait for your next release. 💙

[katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Thank you, Virginia, for giving me the opportunity! 🫶

I want to start by saying that I've followed the author on Instagram for years and have seen many posts about her wanting to write a book. I am so incredibly excited for and proud of her for this accomplishment. So many of us want to write a book, or say we're going to, and never do. That in and of itself is cause for celebration.

What's in it?

• grief
• found family
• lgbt characters
• no spice/closed door romance
• second chance romance
• childhood best friends to lovers
• miscommunication
• mentions of alcohol abuse and getting high


What did I like about 'More Than Sunday':

• the discussion of grief: as someone whose father passed from cancer two years ago, I could definitely relate to Marlowe as she navigated her grief of losing her mom. I appreciate the care and truth that grief was handled with.

• the characters: y'all, the characters in this are so good. I can tell that this is meant to be a character-driven story, rather than plot (and not in a negative way). Each of the characters had their own story and things they were dealing with. There weren't any characters that I asked myself why they were there.

• the dialogue: when there were characters together on the page, I loved the flow of the story. I thought that the characters bounced really well off each other.

• it's closed door!!!

• the overall premise


What I didn't like as much:

• I felt like the story itself is too long. I didn't start getting really into it until about 45% of the way through. There were areas where I felt the same thing was being said numerous times and could've been cut.

• the edible scene: I understand its purpose in the story, but I didn't enjoy it.

• the constant "we'll talk later". I'm honestly not a miscommunication hater in fiction: give me a little drama. HOWEVER, after the 3rd time of their conversation getting put off, I was a little over it.

Overall, I think this is a promising debut and I'm very excited for Virginia and what she's accomplished. Thank you, again, for the opportunity to read your debut.

[Emmalee Greene · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this debut romcom after finding the author on Instagram, and I fell in love with the quotes and sweet, closed door style characters I saw there. The two main characters are so lovable and the attraction and slow burn style best friends to wanting to be more is so well done.

However, I DNFed at around 80% through. I didn’t anticipate the inclusion of several LGBTQ characters, and there was a surprising amount of language (s-word, a-hole, f-word, etc) There is also inclusion of drugs and alcohol and a few characters making decisions and learning from them in that area. Not all of these are bad, and can aid storytelling, but I was surprised as that’s not what I have typically found in books marketed as a sweet, closed door style rom com. Specifically the language really threw me off, as I did not see anything about there being language in the book.

Other comments I would share include the overuse of the word “deadpan” when the characters were being sarcastic, and generally repetitive word phrases.

I would love if there was a trigger warning bit at the beginning mentioning that some of these themes and language are included in the book, just so readers are aware going into the book. It definitely stayed closed door from a romance perspective but there was no warning on other more adult themes like language, heavy topics such as drugs and alcohol, and alternative lifestyle romance being included as part of the plot.

[Charlee Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very excited to read this book by new author Virginia Kilmartin. The description sounded right up my alley with a slow burn, second chance at love, friends to lovers vibe. I must say the book did not disappoint.
I loved watching every moment of Marlowe and Harrison rekindle their friendship and the angst and yearning that was building as both avoided being honest about their true feelings.
I have seen several reviews discuss frustration of dragging out of "we will talk later". But honestly, as an anxious girl who avoids being honest with my feelings and lay them out to someone, I felt every time the discussion of friendship and eventually love was put off for another time.
I absolutely loved the side love story of Val and Audrey. As a queer woman, it is nice seeing these women get their moment.

Overall the book was really well written and thought out. I never had a moment of "was this chapter necessary let's get to the point". The connections the characters made, the glimpse into the lives of this small town, the budding love stories throughout, it was all a happy and heartwarming read.

The only error I noticed that stuck with me was a date discrepancy going from chapter 25-26. 25 is a Saturday and chapter 26 is a Monday but is reflecting on the happenings of 25 as if it was the previous day. I went back a few times to see if I had missed something, but somehow a sunday just disappeared. Only qualm i had with the book though :)

[Hannah Suarez · Rating 5 out of 5]

More Than Sunday was SO good. The slow burn was genuinely painful in the best possible way. I spent so much of this book desperately waiting for things to happen, and somehow that just made every little moment between the characters hit even harder when it finally did.

What really impressed me was how quickly the story made me feel something. Without spoiling anything, I was already PISSED OFF in the first chapter. It immediately got an emotional reaction out of me, and that continued throughout the book. I was invested in these characters and what was happening to them very early on.

I also have to give Virginia Kilmartin a ton of credit for the writing itself. Knowing she’s an independent author working without an editor made me even more impressed by how well written and engaging the book was. It never felt like I was reading something I had to give extra grace to because it was indie. I just genuinely enjoyed it.

If you love a real slow burn, especially the kind that makes you want to grab the characters by the shoulders and yell at them, absolutely read this one.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely LOVED More Than Sunday! I give it a 4.5 stars ⭐️! I ATE THIS BOOK UP in just 5.5 hours that’s how good this book was!

More Than Sunday is a closed-door, small town, second-chance romance between Marlowe and Harrison. Let me tell you: the yearning and pining between these two is insane! The tension between the two is incredible! The story is lovely and it’s exactly what you’d want from a good romance book. There’s much more to it than just the romance though, so if you love drama, plot twists, and heartbreaking scenes, you’ll love More Than Sunday just as much as I did!

For the sake of not putting spoilers, that’s all I will say about this book. You’ll just have to wait for September to roll around to get your hands on this book because it was everything I wanted and MORE!

[Lindsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to be an ARC reader for this book and I am so grateful to get to experience Marlowe and Harrison’s story early 🥹✨.

If you like small town romances, complicated healing journeys, and main characters that make you want to (lovingly!) grab them by the shoulders and shake them while yelling “Open your eyes!” you’re going to love this book.

It’s so easy to love each new character as they pop up (minus one… he knows who he is) and they all fit together just right. You really find yourself cheering for all of them, not just the main two.

Oh to have a beautiful man like Harrison pining after you 😩. Consider my trip to Magnolia Springs booked and busy this fall, I can’t wait for my physical copy to arrive and be added to the bookshelf.

[FiftyShadesofDani · Rating 5 out of 5]

ARC Review:

Wow, wow, wow, wow. You absolutely MUST read this book. Virginia is a brilliant writer and this story really comes to life as you're reading.

The FMC in this book is Marlowe, she thought she has a perfect life with her future all figured out. Spoiler, it goes to crap😅

This opens her up to new possibilities as she decides to move back to a place she used to love, Montana. This move brings up old memories and some old friends, including Harrison😏

I loved the relationship between these two, and their chemistry is undeniable. This is definitely a must read!❤️

[Alyssa Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

To start, I am overwhelmingly grateful to have received an ARC copy of this book.😇

I would rate this book a 3.5/5⭐️. It is a very promising debut and I love how the story doesn’t only center the romance but also grief and healing. It was difficult not to fall in love with Harrison as you read, I thought he was a very well-written character. I unfortunately did feel as though some parts were overextended and I wish there was a faster pace to the novel. But I am not a typical slow-burn fan so take that with a grain of salt!

Overall, this is a sweet and refreshing read. Would recommend!

[Kayla Challburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book! The slow burn, the tension, the emotional vulnerability of the characters was top tier. I love the growth and message behind Marlowe’s story and coming back to her home town. The way Harrison never questioned or doubted Marlowe and was able to effortlessly trust her even with his family history is amazing. The story is genuine and so sweet.

If small town, friends to lovers, childhood best friend, and found family are your vibe this book is 100% for you!!

[Virginia Kilmartin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Completely unbiased opinion from the person who spent years writing this book and has read it front to back a million times: five stars. 🌟

I hope you love Marlowe and Harrison's story as much as I loved bringing it to life. Thank you for giving my debut novel a chance. <3

[Brandy Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book!! I love how Marlowe and Harrison had the spark all along and how Val and Audrey helped them reconnect that spark they've always had. Everything about this I absolutely loved! I could not keep this book down! I cannot wait to see what Virginia has in store next!

[Ariel · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a debut novel, this was really great! The writing was smooth and easy to follow, the characters were well rounded and had plenty of emotional depth, and the plot was well developed and entertaining! It had a few of my favourite tropes like childhood friends to lovers, second chance romance, only one bed, with plenty of tension and yearning and no spice! I love how grief was represented in this story and how it was showed that healing can be different for everyone.

The primary reason I rated this book 3 stars was the fact that the main characters didn't have miscommunication, but the fact that they refused to communicate in general. Constantly reading "we will talk later" or "I will bring it up another time, I don't want to ruin our time right now" was a little exhausting and became repetitive. The story began to feel dragged out after about 50% and I was becoming a little impatient. I will say the love confession, "it's always been you" was absolutely perfect, but I would have appreciated if it was a little sooner. Otherwise, this was a really great debut novel and I'd be interested to read more of this author's work in the future!

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating of an advanced reader copy

This book was very sweet. I loved how the characters expressed their feelings to one another through different acts of service and in subtle ways rather than out loud.
However, it was incredibly slow. What happened in the last 10% of the book should’ve been happening throughout the whole book. When it said the slowest of slow burns, that was not an exaggeration. If that’s your vibe, you’ll like this. It was also a little side character heavy for my liking.
But that being said, it was cute. I knew the characters would get together at the end, and it had a sweet backdrop.

[Cara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Verrrryyyyy cute and wholesome!!! A little longer than it needed to be but such a lovely read. Harrison is the best