SEE YOU AT THE SUNSET

Two New Yorkers with a complicated history clash when they run into each other at their grandparents’ Palm Springs, California, retirement community.

When Jia Chung is out celebrating a potential promotion and meets Henry Shin, the pair click immediately, sharing a night of passion. But with no names exchanged, neither knows Henry is the lawyer who signs off on Jia’s termination the following morning. After Jia barters with her overbearing parents for the chance to spend a month in Palm Springs, applying for jobs from her beloved grandmother Mimi’s home in the Sunset Hills retirement community, the last thing she expects is to run into Henry, moving his own grandfather in across the street. While Jia is free-spirited and caring, excitedly getting Mimi’s neighbors to join walking clubs and Zumba, Henry is stilted, closed off, and aggressively protective of his grandfather. As they discover more about themselves and each other through silent sunsets and senior shenanigans, they begin to open up and turn to each other as complications arise from both coasts. A delightful dive into a summer of community-building, self-discovery, and irresistible chemistry, this book is light on deeper romantic feelings. Each protagonist’s personal growth is heavily explored, but the actual romance relies more on tell than show; that’s not always a bad thing, but in this case, it takes away from the emotional payoff the reader is waiting for. What we get instead is a satisfyingly tied-up story with a cute ending but not enough clarity regarding how Jia and Henry reached the point where they could feel the things they do for each other, let alone express them so clearly in so short a time.

A flawed but enjoyable story of self-discovery and romance in the California desert.