Mr. Wrong Number is a fun romantic comedy that features a heroine prone to great misfortunes. Olivia Marshall moved back home to Omaha from Chicago after she was fired, dumped by her boyfriend, and then she accidentally set fire to her apartment building and all of her belongings. So she temporarily moves in with her brother – and his roommate, Colin Beck, whom Olivia has hated since she overheard him calling her a “little weirdo” when she was 15.
Colin is even hotter now, she realizes when she sees him on her first morning there, when she is drunk and messy. Her day doesn’t get any better as she starts her job hunt online and then stops at her parents ’house to get some of her old clothes as well as a lecture.
So when she gets a random text during an ugly crying session that asks what she’s wearing, she sadly replies, “Your mom’s wedding dress and her favorite strap.”
She and Mr. Wrong Number falls into a humorous back-and-forth and develops an anonymous friendship over texts.
Naturally, the mystery turns out to be for Colin, who is torn between continuing the text or ghosting Miss Misdial, especially since the attraction between him and Olivia heats up IRL. But despite his doubts, he continues his textual conversations with Olivia, who is vulnerable and needs a friend, even anonymous one.
Of course we all know that a traumatic revelation is coming (including Olivia’s less-than-honest offer to get her dream job). And despite the hilarious chaos that inevitably follows Olivia, the two begin to realize that their relationship may be the real thing.
St. Martin’s Griffin, $ 17, 331 pp.
The debut novel by Philadelphia dentist and neurodevelopmental author Mazey Eddings is a humorous and touching romance about Harper Horowitz, a student working to gain housing in the top oral surgery program. She has a terrible anxiety and deals with it following a regimented schedule and concentrating on her studies.
But her life is literally turned upside down when she stumbles down a flight of stairs and crashes into fellow student Daniel Craige. She is stunned by his fall and by the beauty of Daniel. Daniel finds himself intrigued and affected, and a friendship is formed.
As they grow closer, the needy Harper wants to remain just friends, despite being furiously attracted to him. She knows she is ready to leave Philadelphia for her apartment. And she is also desperately trying to hide her overwhelming anxiety from him and her friends.
But then all the stress reaches Harper and things come to a disastrous head. You root Harper to contract her life back together and for Daniel to come to terms with his family problems. Spoiler’s warning: The climactic scene only begs for a romance-comedy film treatment.
St. Martin’s Press, $ 28, 344 pp.
Pamela Dorman Books, $ 28, 380 pp.
Two new books depart from the usual pattern for romances – one was bittersweet and emotional, the other a mystery / thriller involving an already married couple.
The Next Thing You Know is about New Huston, an ultimate doula who helps end customers prepare for a “peaceful transition” on their own terms. Her new client is Mason Shaylor, a songwriter who has a deteriorating condition that now makes performing his music impossible.
Initially sharp and resistant to Nova’s attempts to learn about his life and his illness, Mason and Nova later bond. Soon their connection deepens, but a shocking turn of events has Nova under scrutiny for her relationship with a client, and Nova questioning herself. Strawser wrote a touching story of love, friendship, and redemption.
I stayed up until dawn to end The Love of My Life, occupied by the mystery surrounding Leon and his wife, Emma. Leo is an obituary in a London newspaper. Emma is a well-known marine biologist fighting cancer. While they wait for the results of her last round of chemistry, Leon is tasked with writing a pre-obituary for his wife. He is distressed by such a morbid duty, but he assumes that he knows Emma best and is the most qualified to write it. He starts writing in secret, not wanting to burden his already strained wife. However, he soon discovers things he never knew about her, leading him to realize that Emma has kept some huge secrets from him, and he begins to delve into her past.
The story changes between their views, between present and past, slowly discovering all the giant secrets Emma has kept. Walsh continues to snap the tension, revealing more twists and turns in the story, until a surprisingly satisfying ending is reached.
With Lover Arisen (Gallery Books, $ 28), the newest in J.R.’s paranormal series Black Dagger Brotherhood. Ward, we get the story of Balthazar, a newer member of the fraternity. But it’s the reappearance of an old enemy and the heartbreaking sacrifice of a longtime fan that leaves you stunned and faces a torturous wait for answers in the next book. It’s another exciting entry into the long-running series.
