MEET ME IN TAHITI

A travel writer reunites with her first love when she realizes he’s the owner of a resort she’s covering in French Polynesia.

Though nearly 28 and an accomplished traveler, Zoe Tayler often feels like she’s at the mercy of her helicopter parents. When she was 18, she was in an accident that left her using a wheelchair, and despite her efforts at independence, she feels constantly undermined by her parents’ worries. Now her regular travel companion, Cristina, is hovering, too, making it hard for her to enjoy her latest assignment at the Poerava resort in French Polynesia. Finn Doherty was the bad boy in Zoe’s hometown of Hawke’s Cove, and while he may have had a chip on his shoulder due to a tough upbringing, he always had a soft spot for Zoe. It broke Zoe’s heart when Finn left town, but in the decade they’ve been apart, he’s become an accomplished businessman, owning several resorts around the world. When Zoe realizes that Finn is the owner of Poerava, her feelings for him come flooding back. Toffolo has created an aspirational setting—what better place to rekindle an old flame than on an island paradise? Zoe’s friends are the main characters of Toffolo’s previous romances, including Meet Me at the Wedding (2022), so readers new to the series will struggle with some lost context. Both Zoe and Finn feel like victims of arrested development—the hormones run high here, as do the constant miscommunications. There isn’t enough depth to the romance, with meaningful conversation too often tabled for lustful encounters.

This novel is high in romantic settings and raging hormones but low in substance.