Love Like The Movies

Wish fulfillment ranks No. 1 in this romance inspired by a top 10 list of classic romantic comedies.

After years of playing the black sheep, Kensington Shaw is finally a leading lady with a man her parents can appreciate. Bradley Connors is handsome and dependable, and Kenzi is sure he’ll make a wonderful father. There’s only one problem: she’s still in love with her ex-boyfriend, Shane Bennett, who happens to be her new client at the advertising agency where she and Bradley work. Shane makes a poor first impression when he hijacks Kenzi’s presentation in front of her boss—especially when he suggests that her agency might not be the best match for his movie theater and restaurant chain. But an odd, secret clause in his contract requiring Kenzi to act out her favorite scenes from romantic movies brings out his softer side. Scenes from Sleepless in Seattle (1993), You’ve Got Mail (1998), and other films weave fluidly through the plot as Kenzi puts the events of her real life in the context of her fantasies. With Pretty Woman (1990), for example, Kenzi skips the part about being picked up on a street corner, but she and Shane have a wonderful moment in a shop and another at the symphony that evoke Julia Roberts at her most graceful. What’s fun about these scenes is that the shopkeepers and other strangers recognize Shane’s attempts at chivalry while Kenzi tries to play it cool for the sake of her fiance, thus validating her conflicted feelings. In the process, Kenzi’s movies help her deal with the resentment she feels for her own family. In one wicked scene, for example, she exacts revenge on her competitive sister-in-law, Ren, in the style of 27 Dresses (2008) after Ren steals her engagement-news thunder. It takes quite a few movies for Kenzi to sort out who’s Colin Firth or Hugh Grant to her Bridget Jones.

Rom-com fans will love the way this novel’s film references transform into an original, heartwarming love story.