THE BOOK PROPOSAL

A romance writer reconnects with her high school crush and uses his past relationship drama as inspiration for her next book.

After a few too many drinks, Gracie Landing, miserable after her fiance left her for their wedding planner, pulls out her high school yearbook and, on a whim, emails Colin Yarmouth, high school athlete–turned–estate attorney. He may have been responsible for giving her the nickname Elvis back then, but she still pined for him and wrote him anonymous notes. Although her email is less than kind, he writes back, and soon their easy banter sparks a friendship. Colin also had a recent hurtful breakup, which he encourages Gracie to put in the book she’s writing. Their flirtation evolves into a romantic relationship, but just when they both think everything is going great, the book in progress stirs up drama that puts everything at risk. Told through Gracie’s and Colin's alternating first-person narratives, the story goes for the comedy part of rom-com, but most of it falls flat. The juvenile body-related humor feels out of place and adds nothing to the story. The leads’ thoughts about others can be mean-spirited, and while maybe this makes them suitable for each other, it doesn’t endear them to the reader. The expositional chunks of Gracie explaining her book are a clumsy way to frame the story within a story and halt any momentum. At best, the book is a mess, but it also veers toward problematic with its framing of gender and body image.

The story is as much of a wreck as its heroine.