ARC provided by the publisher

Audiobook from Storytel

Author: Chloe Liese

Narrator: Jesse Vilinsky

Thanks, @simonandschuster for the gifted copy. 

Thea and Alex never would have met if they didn’t share one uncomfortable thing: their exes are dating. They have nothing in common: Alex is a renowned chef and Thea eats gas station hot dogs (and likes it). But they are both having custody issues (Alex for his kid and Thea for her dog), they are never felt at home in Pittsburgh and they didn’t want to get divorced. 

Two years ago, when their exes started dating, Thea and Alex ended up coming up with a backstory for them as being each other’s first loves. Now the ruse has turned into a true friendship that Thea doesn’t want to analyze further. Everyone thinks they are together and their exes come up with this cockamamie idea of a ‘family vacation’ on the beach. Thea, whose life is lived around and through books. starts to realize that, maybe, living a story is better than reading about it. And Alex has no problem in becoming the main character in hers. If only she lets him…

I have to start by saying that if you are a Chloe fan like myself and have read her previous books, this standalone has a completely different vibe. This is single POV (Thea’s) and told in dual timelines. The timelines help us see how they became actual friends and how true love developed when they weren’t paying attention.

Thea is scared of loving. After all, she has never experienced ‘true love’, not even from her parents. So, she’s protective of whatever it is that she has with Alex and, most of all, she is protective of little Mia, who’s so much like herself. 

I loved the story but I felt that in some moments it was lagging and nothing was really happening to move the plot, but I decided to listen to the audiobook and that made things feel like they were flowing better.

The audiobook is solo narrated by Jesse Vilinsky, who gives an expressive, nuanced and heartfelt performance. 

I always look forwards for anything by Chloe!

Note: very slow burn and very low spice

Content notes (including but not limited to): divorced and separation, strained parental relationships, strained relationships with an ex, parental neglect/abandonment, anxiety and mental health topics

Story

Narration