Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for giving me the opportunity to be an early reader of a digital review copy. This one hit shelves on October 7th.

Drake and Ellie are getting married next year. Drake is in construction, while Ellie is a successful writer who has also had a television series (that was, admittedly, a bit of a flop). She writes about hidden gems in such a detailed and transporting way that her work has saved the life of several businesses, bars, restaurants, and shops. When she and Drake take a detour one night down a cobblestone street, they happen upon an old-timey cinema featuring one film: “The Story of You.” Inside, their own memories starting at childhood begin to play. What is this magical place and can Ellie and Drake handle long held secrets being revealed?

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the digital review copy in advance. This book hits shelves today, September 9th.

Within the first couple of chapters, I could tell this book would be something special. The story revolves around a small town in Wisconsin where a boy weights 18 pounds at his birth and only grows more giant over time.

This is one of those books that if I share a synopsis, it spoils the whole thing. I’d recommend going in blind, so how to review this book?

Lana Lord is famous. She’s been acting in Hollywood on a prominent drama that is produced like and often feels like a soap opera. No one even knows her real name is Meg Bryan. No one knows that she and her best friend, Aimee, had planned to study acting in Ireland but ended up staying in Florida. No one really knows Meg at all.

Blake is a sideline reporter for the NFL. She's graduated from USC and landed her dream job back home for the team she grew up watching with her dad. The problem is, as a female, she's constantly questioned about whether she's there "for the right reasons." Does she even like football? Is she here to distract and flirt with the players?

Tilda is fifty-two years old when she suddenly realizes her little finger is missing. Well, it isn’t missing, but it isn’t… visible? At a visit to the doctor she’s diagnosed with invisibility, a disorder that is common among women her age, but rarely discussed. What follows is a magical realist story of Tilda’s journey to rediscover herself.

This was an interesting take on a second-chance. While I wouldn't categorize it as strictly romance, more contemporary fiction, it centers on Charlie and Vivian now in their sixties, who were married forty years ago.

This book was like a fever dream at times. It was quirky and weird and often delightful.