AUTHOR: Jayne Denker GENRE: Adult Romance PAGES: 320 pages RELEASED: 10 January 2023 SYNOPSIS: You know how the story's supposed to go... but love makes its own plans. STEP 1: Find yourself Leah Keegan is used to being alone, especially after taking care of her sick foster mother for the past year. But now there’s nothing keeping her in the sweet town of Willow Cove. It’s time to move on. Again. STEP 2: Win back the one who got away Eli Masterson thought he and Victoria were meant to be together until she decided to jet off to Rome for a year. Eli is determined to win her back. But how? STEP 3: Become a romantic hero Changing Eli’s physical appearance is easy, but to turn Eli into the sophisticated-yet-vulnerable ideal man, his girl pals force him to watch classic rom-coms. And take notes. STEP 4: Fall in love? Inadvertently drawn into the makeover scheme, Leah ends up being Eli’s guide through the wild world of meet-cutes and grand gestures. Even though she believes Eli doesn’t need to change a thing about himself. Even though she just might be falling for Eli . . . and Eli falling for her. A list of rom-coms is the key to falling in love…
After being dumped by his ex Victoria before she flitted off to Rome to study, Eli is heartbroken but hopeful that the pair can reunite once she returns to America. Sick of his wallowing, his friends suggest that a makeover is in order if he wants to really show Victoria he’s the one for her. And it’s not just a physical makeover they’re planning - Eli has been given a long list of romantic movies with heroes he needs to learn from. Drawn into operation makeover is Leah, who has spent the last twelve months taking care of her dying foster mother and is now working several jobs in order to get out of Willow Cove. Through her many jobs, she keeps running into Eli and his friends, and it’s not long before she’s helping him get through some of the movies on his list. Leah has never really had friends or any ties to Willow Cove, but between Eli and his friends, she’s finding it hard to want to leave. Except that Eli is still determined to win Victoria back, and her heart just won’t accept that… Right off the bat, I had a little trouble getting into this book - I just wasn’t really gelling with the writing style at the beginning, and it took me a bit to differentiate the voices of all the characters, especially when we were introduced to Eli and his friends. Jayne also was a bit overly descriptive at times, which isn’t a bad thing since her descriptions were actually really eloquent and interesting, but they just didn’t fit the vibe of a romance novel. Despite all this, once I did get into everything, I did really enjoy the story that Jayne crafted. While I’m not a fan of the whole ‘changing myself in order to be with someone’ trope, I think Jayne tackled it in a way that really reinforced the idea that you don’t need to change for anyone, and that you’ll be a lot happier if you find someone who loves you for who you are. Granted, Eli’s chapter’s and mindset for most of the book really did frustrate me with his determination to change, even when it as so blatantly obvious that he and Victoria didn’t have a strong connection. But it was also good to see how he slowly became more and more conflicted by his growing feelings for Leah when he thought he should be focusing on Victoria. There was some good character growth, even if it was frustrating at times. The romance between Leah and Eli was super sweet, and their relationship is definitely more-so about Leah finding the family that she’s always dreamed about, and finally having the opportunity to make meaningful connections and put down roots in a place that finally feels like home. Their friendship-to-romance is also a big learning curve for Eli, who comes to realise that love feels and comes so much easier when you get to be yourself, rather than pretending to be someone else. One of the things I loved about this book was that it is essentially a love letter to rom-coms and our favourite heroes and heroines, particularly those from the 80s and 90s - I clocked up a pretty good list of films I need to finally watch or to revisit, and I just enjoyed seeing some of my favourite rom-coms mentioned and discussed by the characters. It was interesting to see some of these films and characters being dissected, reinforcing why these heroes have become so popular and well-loved, and why the villains of their story are still trash all these years later. Despite my initial struggles with this book, it was still an enjoyable read and one that all romance fans definitely need to check out, especially if you love 80s and 90s romantic comedies. |
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