The unexpected, highly requested sequel to the Love Equation.
Plot: Fizzy is a successful romance novelist who has hit a brick wall, inspirationally speaking. She absolutely loves love, but at 37, she’s only had one real relationship under her belt, and as it turned out, she was the other woman in it. She wasn’t in love, and she is starting to wonder whether she ever will be. So how is she supposed to write about it? So when this cardboard cutout of a Hollywood producer offers her a chance to date a bunch of guys on TV, she decides the only way a show like that has any chance to be good is to be part of it. And maybe she’ll find her inspiration again. She did not bargain on the cardboard cutout having depth. Shenanigans ensue.
This book is like a love story to people who love love stories. Is that too niche? I had a fantastic time with it, but I could see it being a little hard to follow if you’re not deep in the genre already. And why not? Why does everything have to be accessible to everyone? How does any area develop depth without always trying to appeal to the lowest common denominator?
There are a lot of fun things happening here. The role reversal is a favourite – while Connor is the Relationship or Nothing, Responsible Adult character, Fizzy gets to be the Sleeps Around A Lot Because She’s Scared of Commitment But Is Also Wildly Successful character. Fizzy then goes on a personal journey we typically see the Heroes go through. It takes her a while to process the ways in which she has chosen to avoid connection through the way she dated and own up to what she actually wanted. On the other hand, with the arc generally given to Heroines, Connor’s journey is mostly one of letting go of control and waiting for the person they care about to get their head out of their ass.
There’s nothing revolutionary here, but it’s fun, funny, fast paced, and spends a lot of time just enjoying being in this genre. If you’re hunting for a good read to bring on vacation, this is a great one.
Some reviewers took issue with the fact that Fizzy and Connor were sort of getting together during the filming of the show. To this, I have two points to make. One, unscripted TV is the biggest pile of lies in the universe. No one is going on those dating shows to date people, they’re trying to get “exposure”. Two, she is literally dating multiple people at once. There is no betrayal here. So yes, they did a thing that was likely in breach of their contract, and there were no real consequences. If breaches of contract are a trigger for you, I guess this may be an issue for you here.