Title: Relative Fiction
Author: Alaina Rose
Source: Netgalley. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Genre: Romance
Explicit? Yes.
Trigger Warnings: Cheating
Summary: Thomas Callaghan’s return home to Starling Hills, Michigan is meant to be temporary. But he’s not ready to go back to New York City yet either—back to his three jobs, sky-high rent, and the dream he’s been running down since high school—because he’s home to care for his sick dad. Add on his tumultuous career as a romance author and crippling writer’s block and…maybe he’s ready to admit that he’s not quite happy anymore.
Enter his ex-best friend, Julia Ward, who he hasn’t spoken to in twelve years.
Julia’s stuck, her trust in herself shredded, and she’s left in proverbial and actual ruin by her cheating ex-fiancé. So she does the only thing she can do: throws herself into her corporate job. And unfortunately moves back in with her parents in Starling Hills. But seeing Thomas stirs up parts of her that she’s lost. Her fingers begin to yearn for the keyboard, like back when she wrote fan fiction and the two planned to study in New York City together and become writers.
One awkward get-together later and Thomas is desperate to rekindle their friendship, despite his lingering attraction to Julia and looming deadline for his next book. So they make a bet to see who can write 50,000 words first before Thomas returns to NYC, while studying romantic comedy films for inspiration in their writing…and in life.
As their deadline grows closer, they learn that happiness is relative and fleeting. But between the loss of a parent and career shake-ups, past secrets and new betrayals, they realize this could be their second chance and that their love is worth fighting for.
My Thoughts:
- There is so much pining in this book I’m surprised they didn’t get a lost in a forest.
- This book feels like it’s been written for a very specific generation from a very specific time period (and I love it).
- The casually bisexual main character with no one making a big deal about it felt amazing.
My heart hurt from the beginning of this book until a good while into it, mainly because cheating is one of my big no, unforgivable things for various reasons. Julia manages to handle it so much better than I ever would, and there is one triumphant moment between her, and her ex-fiance that I will admit had me cheering out loud.
Thomas’ circumstances really got to me as well, and were extremely well written, as I am someone who knows what it’s like to worry about a parent to the extent it makes you feel a little bit ill.
The fact that their friendship was built around their love of writing, and the fandoms they found themselves in with nothing but support warms my heart. And that their friendship, and relationship begins to flourish because of that again made me so happy.
The heated moments were enough to make me blush, and I don’t do that very often.
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