WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — With record temperatures hitting the U.S., pet owners have to protect their four-legged family members from dangers like heat stroke and dehydration.

But keeping an animal the size of a small car cool isn’t as easy as bringing it inside to the air conditioning. That’s why Alicia Grace, owner of Pink Flamingo Stables, has to take extra steps to keep her horses safe and healthy in South Florida’s hot and humid climate.

Blazing saddles

Grace cares for eight full-size horses and three ponies on her Lake Worth Beach property. South Florida has a large equestrian community, especially in Palm Beach County with the National Polo Center located in Wellington. But the climate isn’t ideal for horses, which generally do better in drier, cooler environments, Grace said.

“Not only do we have the heat, but we also have all the humidity,” Grace said. “And with that comes the bugs — flies and mosquitoes — which can actually breed in their cuts and cause all sorts of issues.”

Grace said it’s important to keep the horses hydrated and out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day. All paddocks have shaded areas, and barns are equipped with large fans.

“They always have constant access to water,” Grace said. “We bathe them daily, and we have cooling blankets that you can actually put on after a ride.”

While cats and dogs can be brought inside to cool, conditioned air on especially hot days, that’s not as easy for horses and other large animals.

“They actually do now make air conditioning units for horses, but they are quite expensive,” Grace said. “It is definitely a different animal and definitely requires a lot more care.”

Besides concerns about overheating or dehydration, horses are also vulnerable to algae and fungus that thrive in the South Florida climate.

“We get a lot of flooding during our rainy season, and if the horses are out in that and their hooves get saturated, they can get abscesses, which are pus pockets, and get a lot of problems with their feet,” Grace said.

Hot dogs … and cats

Cats, dogs and other house pets are easier to keep cool, but pet owners still have to remain vigilant during the summer, Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control spokeswoman Arielle Weinberger said. Just like horses, any cats and dogs kept outside need shade and water.

Officials are especially concerned about pet owners leaving dogs and cats inside vehicles. Local laws might vary throughout the state, but it’s illegal to leave animals unattended in vehicles for any amount of time in Palm Beach County, Weinberger said. During hot weather, she said the temperature inside a vehicle can increase 20 degrees in just 10 minutes.

“We want to make sure that no animals are left unattended, and that includes even if the window is cracked, even if the A/C is on,” Weinberger said. “Animals cannot be unattended in a vehicle, it is for their safety.”

Dog owners especially need to check pavement, Weinberger said. Concrete and asphalt can reach temperatures of up to 125 degrees (52 degrees) during the summer months, so finding grass or dirt for pets to walk on is ideal. If that’s not practical, pet owners might need to invest in booties or paw wax.

“If it’s too hot for you to touch with a bare foot or a bare hand, it’s too hot for your pets, as well,” Weinberger said.

People who don’t actually own pets can also help to keep animals safe, whether it’s community cats or local wildlife, by leaving water outside, Weinberger said. Animal control officers will respond to pets and livestock suffering from signs of dehydration or heat stroke, but Weinberger said residents should call local wildlife rescue facilities if they see a raccoon or other wild animal in bad shape.

If an animal seems overheated, it can be cooled down with water on their head, stomach and feet. But if they start to experience symptoms like diarrhea, lethargy, dizziness and vomiting, it’s time to seek medical attention, Weinberger said.

“We want to take them to the vet as soon as possible, because heat stroke can lead to organ failure, and we want to make sure that it doesn’t get to that,” Weinberger said.

Dog days of summer

Matthew Puodziukaitis, 19, of Wellington, regularly brings his mini goldendoodle, Hazel, to the Okeeheelee Park dog area. He said he always brings a bottle of cold water and a bowl for Hazel and any other dogs who might need it.

“The last thing you want is a dog passing out or something bad happening to them out here,” Puodziukaitis said. “They’re basically like a little kid. You want to make sure they’re okay.”

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Romance novels have always spiced up quiet nights. Now, a genre that has sometimes been dismissed as a guilty pleasure is bringing readers and writers together through social media, book clubs and a growing number of romance-specific bookstores.

At a recent launch party for Nora Dahlia’s enemies-to-friends romance “Pick-Up” at Lovestruck Books, a romance-dedicated store in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a crowd of women sipped cocktails from the bar-café as they browsed the shelves.

After Dahlia’s reading, patrons stuck around to mingle, swap contact info and trade author recommendations.

It was a particularly social event for a book talk. But the communal atmosphere is typical of events for romance fans.

Dahlia likened romance readers to “Comic-Con folks,” referring to the deep-rooted passion that defines comic-book fandom.

“They’re educated on the genre in a real way,” Dahlia said. “Many of them started reading romance — Danielle Steel, V.C. Andrews, Jude Deveraux — as teenagers.”

At The Ripped Bodice bookstore in Brooklyn, New York, manager Katherine Zofri said romance fans who have connected online frequently come into the store to meet in person. Along with author events, the store hosts three different book clubs and a romance comedy night.

“We’ve had a couple proposals here, we’ve had a wedding here which was really fun,” Zofri said.

She said customers range “from teenagers who are starting to really get into the romance genres to older folks who have been romance readers for their entire lives and remember way back when they were reading the Harlequins and romance wasn’t as widely accepted.

“Now they’re loving seeing how widely accepted romance has become.”

A boom in romance bookstores

Bookstores like Lovestruck and The Ripped Bodice (which has a flagship store in Los Angeles) have begun popping up all over the U.S., from Wichita, Kansas, to Wilmington, North Carolina, to Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

Of the 157 romance-dedicated bookstores in the American Booksellers Association, more than half opened within the last two years, aid Allison Hill, CEO of the group.

“Romance books have been one of the fastest growing book sales categories in recent years, driven by a number of factors including the need for escape reading and BookTok,” Hill said.

And the genre has evolved. “The romance genre is more diverse in every way including character identity and plot,” she said.

Lovestruck’s owner, Rachel Kanter, called the boom “incredible — and honestly, overdue. Romance has always been one of the most commercially successful genres, but for a long time it didn’t get the respect or space it deserved in the literary world.”

Romance-specific bookstores, she says, “are places where readers can feel joy, comfort, and connection — and where love is taken seriously as a literary theme.”

A lifeline during COVID

As with many hobbies, romance fandom solidified and expanded after the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic had pushed so many people toward reading for escape and comfort, and romance became a lifeline for a lot of folks,” said Kanter.

“At the same time, there was a wider cultural shift happening — people were rethinking what mattered, craving joy and softness, and looking to support indie businesses that reflected their values. Romance, with all its hope and heart, met that moment beautifully,” she said.

Reimagining the romantic bond

Romance has countless subgenres — hockey romance, Western romance, LGBTQ romance, even romance set on prison planets. But a common theme is their “inherently hopeful storylines,” says Elizabeth Michaelson Monaghan, a 52-year-old freelance writer and editor in New York who said she’s read “hundreds” of romance novels.

“Romance must have a happily-ever-after — or at least a happily-for-now. Romance writers and readers are very clear on this,” she said.

Romantic fiction that doesn’t end that way? That’s just a love story.

Traits of the romance genre also include strong character descriptions, attraction, conflict, and a satisfying resolution and emotional growth. Expect plenty of steam — some authors deploy it explicitly, others are more tame.

There’s a long-standing culture of (mostly) women reading and sharing these books across generations.

“It is pleasurable to reimagine courtship or the romantic bond,” said Jayashree Kamble, professor of English at LaGuardia Community College and president of the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance. “There is limited risk involved.”

Kamble has been a voracious romance reader since her teenage years in India, where she devoured Harlequin romances.

Romance novels, she said, are “a lovely reminder that individualism and companionship can go together. These are basic bonds.”

Community: online and in real life

Podcasts, too, have become a source for discovering what’s trending. Andrea Martucci, creator and host of the romance-focused “Shelf Love” podcast, said romance bookstores have become places of connection akin, in some ways, to churches — for the romantically devoted.

“I can go to a bookstore and not just find people who love books,” she said, “but find people who love the very same books I love.”

As Annabel Monaghan, author of several love stories including “Nora Goes Off Script,” puts it, “People who read romance want to feel good. And when you gather a bunch of people who want to feel good, it’s magic.”

The 2025 Kia Sorento Hybrid and 2025 Toyota Highlander Hybrid are two three-row SUVs with compelling attributes if you’re shopping for a family-oriented vehicle. First, they’re both hybrids and get excellent fuel economy. They’re also smaller and less expensive than many other three-row SUVs, such as the Kia Telluride and Toyota Grand Highlander. Not everyone needs a giant vehicle with a third-row seat that can fit full-size adults — something for occasional use by bigger kids or teens can easily suffice.

If any or all of that sounds like what you’re looking for, the Sorento and Highlander hybrids should fit the bill. But which one should you buy? Edmunds’ car experts have tested both to find out.

Interior space

We’ve already indicated that the Sorento and Highlander have less third-row legroom than bigger three-row SUVs. They also have less cargo space when you raise their third-row seats. Of these two vehicles, the Highlander is bigger on the outside, although that doesn’t entirely translate to a bigger interior. It’s wider and comes standard with seating for six people. You can get a Highlander Hybrid with an optional second-row bench seat that increases capacity to seven.

The Sorento Hybrid only comes with second-row captain’s chairs and, as a result, it has a maximum six-passenger capacity. The Highlander can also fit slightly more stuff behind its third row — think an extra duffel or big grocery bag — and its advantage increases with each row lowered.

On the other hand, the Sorento has slightly more third-row legroom and headroom. That’s relative since only small people can fit in the way back of each. Indeed, the Highlander’s advantage isn’t that significant, and the Sorento’s smaller exterior size is a benefit in terms of parking and maneuverability — two reasons one can contemplate this smaller three-row subset to begin with.

Advantage: Toyota Highlander Hybrid

Fuel economy and performance

The Sorento Hybrid gets an EPA-estimated 36 mpg in combined city/highway driving in its standard front-wheel-drive configuration. Opting for all-wheel drive drops that slightly to 34 mpg combined. Every Highlander Hybrid has all-wheel drive and gets an EPA-estimated 35 mpg combined. You can pretty much consider this a tie.

Performance differs, however. At the Edmunds test track, an all-wheel-drive Sorento Hybrid accelerated from zero to 60 mph in 7.6 seconds, which is a respectable time for a three-row hybrid SUV. It feels quick, too, thanks to the ample torque provided by the turbocharged engine and electric motor. It also has a six-speed automatic transmission that shifts quickly and smoothly. Having front-wheel drive standard is also nice as it lowers the cost of entry for those who don’t need the winter-ready traction of all-wheel drive.

The Highlander Hybrid went from zero to 60 mph in 8.2 seconds, which is slower than non-hybrid SUVs by about a second. Power is readily available and smoothly delivered, but Toyota’s more typical hybrid powertrain features a continuously variable automatic transmission that makes the engine drone under hard acceleration. That engine is also not turbocharged.

Advantage: Kia Sorento Hybrid

Value and Technology

The Kia Sorento Hybrid starts at $40,105, or about $8,000 less than the $48,315 Highlander Hybrid — adding all-wheel drive to the Kia only reduces the gap by $1,800. The Highlander does come with a few extra standard features to partially offset its higher price, but we don’t think they fully justify the price premium. Moreover, the Highlander continues to be similarly more expensive when you compare each vehicle’s more well-equipped trim levels.

The Sorento also has a better infotainment system as standard, with a 10.25-inch touchscreen packing integrated navigation. The Highlander’s standard unit is only 8 inches and lacks navigation. You can, however, add the 12.3-inch touchscreen that’s standard on upper trims to the base trim as a stand-alone option. Feature content within the infotainment systems is comparable, but the Kia has multiple USB ports in each row whereas the Highlander has none in the third row. In terms of functionality, we score both the Toyota and Kia tech interfaces similarly strong in terms of usability.

Safety technology content is similarly robust in both SUVs, but the Sorento’s are superior in terms of performance, especially the adaptive cruise control system.

Advantage: Kia

Edmunds says

The Sorento and Highlander hybrids are similar in concept, but our testing team ultimately scores the Kia higher. Moreover, the Toyota is so much more expensive regardless of trim level that it makes the Kia look like that much stronger of a choice.

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This story was provided to The Associated Press by the automotive website Edmunds. James Riswick is a contributor at Edmunds.