e-Audio, 11:06:00
Narrated by: Katharine Chin & Andrew Eiden
Release Date: April 9, 2024
Published by: HarperAudio (Avon)
Read from: April 29-May 1, 2024
Stand-alone
Source: Library’s Libby
Content Warning: Death of a Sibling (Suicide), Grief, Car accident, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Misogyny, Racism
For Readers Interested In: Romance, Movies, Books about Books, AdultTwo writers with a complicated history end up working on the same TV show… Can they write themselves a new ending? A sexy and emotional enemies-to-lovers romance guaranteed to pull on your heartstrings and give you a book hangover from brilliant new voice Yulin Kuang.
Helen Zhang hasn’t seen Grant Shepard once in the thirteen years since the tragic accident that bound their lives together forever.
Now a bestselling author, Helen pours everything into her career. She’s even scored a coveted spot in the writers’ room of the TV adaptation of her popular young adult novels, and if she can hide her imposter syndrome and overcome her writer’s block, surely the rest of her life will fall into place too. LA is the fresh start she needs. After all, no one knows her there. Except…
Grant has done everything in his power to move on from the past, including building a life across the country. And while the panic attacks have never quite gone away, he’s well liked around town as a screenwriter. He knows he shouldn’t have taken the job on Helen’s show, but it will open doors to developing his own projects that he just can’t pass up.
Grant’s exactly as Helen remembers him—charming, funny, popular, and lovable in ways that she’s never been. And Helen’s exactly as Grant remembers too—brilliant, beautiful, closed off. But working together is messy, and electrifying, and Helen’s parents, who have never forgiven Grant, have no idea he’s in the picture at all.
When secrets come to light, they must reckon with the fact that theirs was never meant to be any kind of love story. And yet… the key to making peace with their past—and themselves—might just lie in holding on to each other in the present.
*MY THOUGHTS*
Oof this one might be a doozie to review. Because I honestly don’t know what to say about this? In a few ways it was perfect. In others ways I was supremely mad. Like as a character driven reader, her and her family were pissing me off. And Grant had me so confused. But the writing style and the romance once they finally got together?! *chef’s kiss*
Ok so I guess I’m going to start with the characters. I had such a love hate relationship with them. I hated Helen because of the way she treated Grant. She basically was blaming him for killing her sister, when in realiity, I’m sure Grant would have preferred what happened to have happened to literally anyone else. She never stopped to think that this person was also fucked up about this whole situation and I thought that was truly effed up. And then Grant, Idk wtf he was thinking. Idk how they went from hating each other to doing what they were doing. It was like blink and you miss it. I don’t know when he forgave her, but I was glad as hell he did lol
The romance kind of came out of nowhere. They were enemies and then all of a sudden she was like having sex dreams about him. I remember rewinding it (since I read the audio) and was like Whoa Nelly where did this come from” lmao I was that confused. With him coming to the funeral I knew he had a soft spot for her so it was less confusing. I just thought he was finally acting on those feelings. With her tho, she literally hated his guts. It was very weird.
Everything else tho ate. I heard that the author is the screen play writer for Emily Henry and I keep thinking my gawd this movie is going to eat lol I was immediately, and I mean IMMEDIATELY sucked into this book. I was listening to it with my airpods in, outloud during dinner, out loud while working, etc. I had to like stretch it out so that I didn’t finish it overnight. It took me three days, but I also finished it in 3 sittings. Even Grant’s voice seemed so authentic. Idk it was captivating.
The only other thing I didn’t like was the ending. It dragged on until the end. And just when I thought I was going to get a really good groveling scene and maybe even one more smex scene, it was over. I just really felt like it was a bad place to stop. And that grand gesture was grand gesturing. I think she should have let him find that part on his own, but that would probably have given him control of the grand gesture and I kind of like the way it played this time.
This book was quite a surprise for me. I wasn’t going to read it because it was too close to the last book I read, but I saw it everywhere and just requested it from my library. It just so happened that it came right after that book, but I still read it. And I’m hella glad, because I would have been on the hold list forever lol That book ended up being picked for Reese’s book club. Which means I never would have gotten it lol
Overall, I give this
