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Love Story Study Week 7! This week, I read Amy Reichert’s The Simplicity of Cider. It’s cozy and heart-warming. The perfect summer love story or anticipating-fall and back-to-school read. I grew up in Wisconsin, so Amy Reichert’s books have become sort of nostalgic for me. I love her big city and small-town scenery, the Wisconsinite characters she develops and the very midwestern story lines that could easily turn into Hallmark movies. What sets The Simplicity of Cider apart from other love stories is Amy’s attention to detail around making cider (I feel like I learned something) and her attention to detail around Isaac and Sanna’s slow burn character arcs. It’s not enemies to lovers…it’s not sunny and grumpy…it’s, these two people need to heal old wounds before they can fall in love…and wouldn’t it be romantic if they helped each other heal? I love hard-to-describe energetic gifts so Sanna’s magical yet very believable ability to see colors in her cider flavors made me so happy. It’s a family gift, passed down from generation to generation, and it made me believe that Sanna is in tune with the apple trees. If you enjoyed Louise Miller’s The City Baker’s Guide to Country Living or Netflix’s The Lost Husband, you will love Amy Reichert’s The Simplicity of City.

Summary: Sanna Lund, a fifth-generation apple farmer in Door County Wisconsin, is perfectly happy being single and living with her dad, Einers. Her days consist of caring for the apple orchard, fermenting cider and occasionally going on dates with her boring neighbor/childhood friend. Isaac Banks, a web developer from San Jose, is driving around the country with his 10-year-old son Bass, avoiding grieving his ex-wife’s overdose and wondering how he’s going to tell Bass his mom died. While driving through Wisconsin, Isaac and Bass land on the Lund’s farm for the rest of summer, living in a farmhand trailer and helping Sanna and her dad with chores. At first, Sanna resists their help and especially resents having to work with Bass, but after Einers falls off a ladder and breaks his leg, she must depend on Isaac and Bass to keep the orchard in business. This isn’t just a romantic love story, it’s also a nature love story and a family love story. Who are we without our family history?

Tense: past tense third person perspective from Sanna, Isaac, Bass and Eva Drake (the antagonist)

Meet Cute: Sanna is working in her cider workshop when an apple breaks her window and knocks over the bottle of cider she’s mixing. She looks outside the window and sees her dad talking to a handsome man with a kid. When Sanna goes outside to see what’s going on, she’s angry about the broken window and she has sticky apple juice on her hands. Einers tell her that Isaac and Bass will be working on the farm this summer, which Sanna thinks is strange because they don’t hire help until the fall harvest. Sanna isn’t interested in Isaac at this point, she’s just annoyed she must work with a child all summer. After the meet cute, Isaac is focused on getting Bass settled into their new accommodations, so he doesn’t realize he has a crush on his boss’s daughter until their first day of work. He calls it “a full-blown, five-alarm crush.”

Misbeliefs: Sanna believes no one will love her enough to stay on the family farm because it’s isolating, and her mom left them when she and her brother Anders were young. She believes she is happy being single because she has her dad as company and the two of them are so busy with the orchard that they don’t have time for anything else. Less important than the family history, Sanna believes she is too tall, and men aren’t interested in her. Isaac is so wrapped up in protecting Bass and grieving Bass’s mom that he doesn’t open his heart to love for quite a while. He’s holding onto the secret of his ex-wife’s addiction and overdose which builds a wall between him and the Lund’s.

Tropes: WORKPLACE ROMANCE = Sanna is forced to work with Isaac when her dad hires him for the summer season. RESCUE FAMILY BUSINESS = the family orchard is in major debt after Einers invested in Sanna’s cider equipment. Isaac rescues the family business by building out their website and social media. SUMMER FLING = Sanna doesn’t want to fall in love with Isaac because she knows he’s going to leave at the end of summer. No one wants to stay at the isolating orchard during the winter. SWORN OFF RELATIONSHIPS = Sanna is so busy with the orchard that she swears off relationships because she doesn’t have time. Isaac has sworn off relationships because he needs to deal with his ex-wife’s death first. EMOTIONAL SCARS = Isaac is scarred by his ex-wife’s addiction and overdose. REJECTED AS UNWORTHY BY PARENTS = Sanna was rejected by her mother who left her behind at the orchard when she was young. This makes Sanna believe no one wants to stay at the orchard.

Favorite Quote: “As she sipped each one, an unmistakable color came to mind – different for each juice – and she finally understood the watercolor apple portraits above the fireplace. They were proof she wasn’t the only family member who could see the colors. After she explained it to her dad, he smiled. “I thought you might have the gift.””

Second Favorite Quote: “Part of me says I should go back to the house. I’m too tired, this is too complicated, and I’ll only be sad when you leave. No good can come of knowing you better.” “But the other part – the part that’s winning – wants to stop time so this moment never ends. For so long, I’ve been just a cider maker, a daughter, a hermit. I’ve never really been a woman. I never really knew I wanted that. But I do. You make my heart reckless.”

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Love Story Study Week 6! This week, I read Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us. In the past 2 weeks, 3 friends suggested I read Colleen Hoover so on the 3rd suggestion, I marched down to the local bookstore and bought what they had in stock. I expected a beautifully written love story. What I didn’t expect was to have my heart ripped out of my chest, cut open, sewn back together, then cut open again. Thank goodness Lily gets her happy ending. For a moment, I wasn’t sure if I could put my heart back into my chest where it’s safe and sound. Lily and Atlas’s story moved me; it left a scar on my heart just like most childhood romantic relationships do. I can’t wait to read more of Colleen’s stories so I can feel this emotional roller coaster again. Have I mentioned I’m Cancerian (born in July) and I consider my ability to experience the full spectrum of human emotions my superpower? What sets It Ends With Us apart from other romantic dramas is Lily and Ryle’s tumultuous, abusive marriage. Their story (and Colleen’s Notes from the Author) educated me; I learned empathy for individuals (particularly women) head over heels in love with their abuser. And how difficult it is to leave the relationship that fills them with both joy and pain. Some ‘bookalikes’ for It Ends With Us are The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls and Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren.

Summary: Lily, a well-spoken and entrepreneurial woman in her twenties, falls in love with Ryle, a handsome, family-oriented neurosurgeon. Forged in Boston, their relationship is off to a quick, steamy start, and Lily’s confidence grows. She experiences success at her flower shop, she makes a new best friend who happens to be Ryle’s sister, and she repairs her relationship with her mother. But when Lily bumps into her high school sweetheart, a chef named Atlas, she begins rereading her childhood journal, a series of never-sent letters to Ellen DeGeneres. The pain of witnessing her father’s physical abuse of her mother awakens Lily’s caution and points to red flags in Ryle’s behavior. Reading her childhood journal also revives the heartbreak that came along with Atlas moving out of their hometown in Maine to Boston. Did Lily choose the wrong guy?

Tense: present tense from Lily’s perspective + letters written to Ellen DeGeneres in past tense

Meet Cute: It Ends With Us has 2 meet cutes, neither very cute. First, Lily meets Ryle on the roof of an apartment building. She’s sitting on the ledge, 12 stories up, contemplating suicide and her father’s funeral. Ryle barges through the roof-access door and begins manically kicking a chair. Red flag, red flag, red flag! Their initial dialogue is sarcastic and full of naked truths – the kind of brutally honest statements one only says to a stranger they never hope to see again. The second meet cute is even less cute, it’s full of pity and confusion. When Lily realizes Atlas is living in the abandoned house next door, she puts food on the back porch for him. He whispers ‘thank you’ before getting on the bus the next morning. Then after school on the bus ride home, he sits next to her because there aren’t any other seats available. They have an awkward exchange establishing that Atlas is homeless, unwelcome at his parents’ house, and Lily invites him in for a shower and The Ellen Degeneres Show.

Misbeliefs: Lily judges her mother for staying with her abusive father until his death. Even after his funeral, Lily has trouble reconciling her relationship with her mother because it’s rattled with resentment. She goes so far as to say she will never behave like her mother; therefore, she misses the opportunity to offer her mother love and support. Throughout the story, Lily learns that sometimes the person you love the most is also the person who hurts you the most. She learns empathy for her mother and all the other individuals stuck in the cycle of abusive relationships.

Tropes: BEST FRIENDS BROTHER/SISTER = Lily doesn’t think she will ever see the hot guy from the roof again, but when her coworker/new best friend brings her brother by the flower shop, the couple reconnects. This trope adds a lot of depth to Lily and Ryle’s relationship because the reader sees and feels how intertwined their lives become, making it harder for Lily to leave the relationship when it’s no longer safe. SECOND CHANCE LOVE = Lily doesn’t know what happened to Atlas, her high school sweetheart. When they see one another in Atlas’s restaurant, the devotion and intimacy of their relationship is tangible. I cheered for this relationship to work out the entire story and boy does Colleen make you work for it.

Favorite Quote: “Cycles exist because they are excruciating to break. It takes an astronomical amount of pain and courage to disrupt a familiar pattern. Sometimes it seems easier to just keep running in the same familiar circles, rather than facing the fear of jumping and possibly not landing on your feet.”

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Love Story Study Week 5! This week, I read Emily Henry’s Book Lovers. I pre-ordered this book months and months ago, as soon as it dropped on bookshop.org. I adored Emily Henry’s Beach Read and I gifted People We Meet on Vacation to six girlfriends last year, so I knew this story, loosely (very loosely) inspired by You’ve Got Mail, wouldn’t disappoint. Emily’s stories drum up the full spectrum of human emotions, including a couple of my favorites - mirth and nostalgia. Book Lovers stirred up hopefulness too, which feels especially important at this time in history. What sets Book Lovers apart is the setting (a family-owned bookstore in a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains), the slow build of sexual tension between the main characters Nora and Charlie, and the perspective of New York City book agents and editors. This book reminded me of Amy Reichert’s The Kindred Spirits Supper Club (minus the ghosts) and Virgin River (but way funnier). In my opinion, it’s a perfect example of ‘forced proximity’ meets ‘work opponents.’

Summary: set in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, Nora Stephens is on a month-long vacation with her little sister Libby, who is pregnant and desperately in need of rest before bringing baby number three into the world. They choose to vacation in Sunshine Falls because a novel that Libby is obsessed with is set there. The novel is by one of Nora’s authors, she’s an esteemed New York City literary agent. Nora expects to run, read, and watch movies with her sister. She doesn’t expect to bump into her work opponent, Charlie Lastra, in the small mountain town. Nora describes herself as the evil big city girlfriend that attempts to ruin the romance between a Hallmark movie’s hunky, businessman protagonist and a small town’s wholesome country cowgirl, but throughout the story, Nora learns that Charlie loves her for being a shark in a sea full of fish.

Tense: present tense from Nora’s perspective

Meet Cute: Nora and Charlie meet at a restaurant moments after Nora’s boyfriend breaks up with her over the phone. He’s just become a romance novel trope, a wealthy businessman who visits a small town and falls in love with the hotel owner’s daughter. Because of this call, Nora is six and a half minutes late to her meeting with Charlie, which Charlie disapproves of. Nora is an agent and Charlie is an editor and they are meeting in hopes of potentially working together. Charlie rubs Nora the wrong way when he describes one of her client’s latest books as ‘unreadable.’ Their witty banter goes back and forth over martinis followed by passive aggressive emails.

Misbeliefs: Nora believes she needs to take care of her sister, financially and emotionally. She believes she can’t have the job of her dreams (editor) because it’s too risky to change careers when Libby has another baby on the way. She believes that being a shark makes her a great literary agent, but a terrible romantic partner.

Tropes: FORCED PROXIMITY = Nora is spending a month in Sunshine Falls and the only place that she can work remote is the local bookstore/coffee shop which happens to be where Charlie works. WORK OPPONENTS = Nora and Charlie’s relationship got off to a rough start because Charlie offended Nora with his comments about her client’s book, which ended up becoming a bestseller. Nora thinks Charlie is cold and heartless, but it turns out he prioritizes his family, especially his family’s bookstore.

Favorite Quote: “Maybe love shouldn’t be built on a foundation of compromises, but maybe it can’t exist without them either. Not the kind that forces two people into shapes they don’t fit in, but the kind that loosens their grips, always leaves room to grow. Compromises that say, there will be a you-shaped space in my heart, and if your shape changes, I will adapt.”

***Another Favorite Quote: “I have to marvel at my own unprofessionalism. Over the years, I’ve developed a finely tuned filter – with pretty much everyone except Libby – but Charlie always manages to disarm it, to press the exact right button to open the gate and let my thoughts charge out like velociraptors.”

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Love Story Study Week 4! This week, I read Josie Silver’s One Night on the Island. I know, I know. I just did Josie Silver’s One Day in December, but I couldn’t resist reading Josie’s newest book as soon as possible. This book is for all the ‘coastal grandmothers’ out there. It’s equal parts winter beach and rainy forest perfect for snuggly sweaters and hot cups of coffee. I swear it made my heart grow two sizes. Like Yinka, Where is your Huzband?, One Night is as much a story of self-love as it is a story about romantic love. What sets it apart is the Irish island setting, the thirtieth birthday celebration, the flamingos and the hospitality of the people of Salvation. This story reminded me of Emily Henry’s Beach Read and Amy Adam’s movie Leap Year. It’s enemies to lovers, more like imperfect pairing to lovers, done well.

Summary: Set on a remote island in Ireland only accessible by ferry, this is the story of searching-for-love columnist Cleo and healing-from-heartbreak photographer Mack. Crestfallen by the dating scene in London, Cleo visits Salvation (that’s the island’s ironic name) to find peace, quiet and inspiration to marry herself on her thirtieth birthday. Defeated by the deterioration of his marriage in Boston, Mack visits Salvation to get acquainted with his mother’s family roots. Unfortunately, the cabin where Cleo plans to spend several weeks soul-searching is already occupied by Mack. Due to Ireland’s stormy winter weather, the two are forced to share the cabin for several weeks.

Tense: first person present tense split between Cleo and Mack, mostly Cleo.

Meet Cute: Cleo and Mack meet the night Cleo arrives on Salvation Island. She’s sweaty from hiking up a mountain (hill?), freezing from the cold and wet from the rain when she realizes her remote cabin is already occupied by Mack. The two are instantly at odds and irritated with one another’s presence in their meant-to-be solitude, but there’s nowhere to go as Otter Lodge is the only visitor’s accommodation on the island and the next ferry doesn’t leave for a week.

Misbeliefs: Cleo believes the dating pool is so dire that she needs to marry herself and commit to singlehood until the absolute perfect man comes around. No more wasting time on bad first dates just to write an enticing column. Mack believes there isn’t room in his life for a significant other because he’s heartbroken by his ex-wife and so devoted to his children that he doesn’t want another woman to get in the way of their time together.

Tropes: FORCED PROXIMITY = Cleo and Mack are forced to share a cabin together for several weeks. Usually, I enjoy this trope, but it was hard to believe Cleo would agree to this for so long. One night in a cabin with a stranger would be scary enough for me! FRIENDS TO LOVERS = this story begins as ‘imperfect pairing to lovers’ which evolves into friends to lovers. For me, this trope worked because Cleo and Mack share intimate details about themselves gradually over the course of the book. It’s the classic case of ‘you share more about yourself on vacation because you may never see the person again and they don’t know who you’re talking about anyway.’ SWORN OFF RELATIONSHIPS = Cleo is on Salvation Island to swear off marriage and marry herself…literally! Mack is on Salvation Island to give his ex-wife space so he can ultimately spend more time with his children. Neither main character is looking for love!

Favorite Quote: “And for a little while, he made me feel as if I’d swallowed stars.”

***Title: I feel it’s necessary for me to point out the title of this book, as romantic as it is, isn’t an accurate representation of the plot. Cleo and Mack don’t fall in love ‘one night.’ It takes weeks of getting to know one another and months of healing their broken hearts. Yes, their first kiss is magic, but the rush of love doesn’t happen ‘one night.’ I’m not sure if the publishing house was playing off Josie’s book titled One Day in December, but I think a lovely, more accurate title for this heartfelt love story could have been ‘One Month on the Island’ or ‘Love on Salvation Island.’

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Love Story Study Week 3! I chose Lizzie Damilola Blackburn’s Yinka, Where is your Huzband? after hearing her interview on the Friends & Fiction podcast. It’s better than a happily-after-ever fairytale because unlike a typical romance novel, it reminds readers that self-worth is remembered, not earned, and self-love is more important than romantic love. The main character Yinka is likeable because she’s so relatable. Have you ever changed the way you look, behave, or talk to impress someone? We’ve all been there, and we all regret it. It makes me cringe to think about those memories! So yes, I cringed a lot reading Yinka’s story, but the tropes and Yinka’s self-love speech at the end made it all worth it. This story is unique because Yinka is a British Nigerian Christian woman living in South London. She’s constantly bouncing between British culture and Nigerian culture, which educated me a lot about a British Nigerian person’s experience. Like Jasmine Guillory’s book The Wedding Date and Debra Messing’s movie The Wedding Date, Yinka reinforces the tale as old as time that you are loveable just the way you are, even if you don’t have a love-of-your-life date to a wedding.

Summary: This is the heart-warming story of Yinka, a woman in search of a date to her cousin’s wedding. On paper, Yinka has it all; independence, a great job, a beautiful home, and a tight-knit family, but to her mother and aunties, that’s not enough. To meet the expectations set by society and reinforced by the women in her family, Yinka doubles down on her search for true love with a spreadsheet detailing exactly how she’ll meet the love of her life, but as we all know, a spreadsheet isn’t going to allow someone else to fall in love with you especially if you don’t love yourself first. The story begins with Yinka being publicly shamed for being single followed by unexpectedly losing her job. Yinka decides to focus on dating and starts her search for love with a man at her church that her aunties suggested. Unfortunately, she can’t be herself around him and when she changes her hair and pretends to love Nigerian cooking for him, she upsets her best friend/roommate and accidentally sabotages her relationship with an old friend from study abroad who is trying to get her an interview at a non-profit. Yinka goes through all the classic growing pains of women in their early thirties, but it’s interesting and unique because she has her overbearingly loving (and funny!) family around to express their judgment and concerns.

Tense: first person present tense from Yinka’s perspective

Meet Cute: there are two meet cutes in Yinka, Where is your Huzband? but neither one will satisfy your typical romance novel or romantic comedy movie meet cute desire. The first one isn’t cute at all. When Yinka meets the man from church that her aunties want her to date, the reader is disappointed in Yinka’s need to chase him, to impress him. The second meet cute is anti-climactic because Yinka didn’t enjoy Donovan’s company while studying abroad. When she bumps into him at a volunteering event, the reader isn’t sure if he’s a potential partner or a foil.

Misbeliefs: Yinka doesn’t believe she is loveable because of her skin color, her hair style, and her lack of hobbies. She compares herself to her best friend Nana as well as her sister and cousins who are all a part of the wedding party of the wedding Yinka is trying to find a date for. Every group text and social event reinforces Yinka’s insecurities.

Tropes: WEDDING = the deadline of cousin Rachel’s wedding makes Yinka hurry to find a date to the wedding. Because of familial expectations, Yinka forces herself to date. LOVE TRIANGLE = Yinka is chasing after the man from church who Yinka believes is chasing after a younger girl at church, but he’s really interested in her best friend. SECOND CHANCE LOVE = while studying abroad, Donovan irritated Yinka with his combative questions and snarky remarks. When they meet again as mature adults, Donovan’s questions evolve into thoughtful get-to-know-each-other-better conversations.

My Favorite Quote: “I realize how freeing it is to say what I think. To stand up for myself. I realize how much less of an effort it is to be my authentic self, as opposed to trying to be someone else.”

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Week 2 of Love Story Study! I chose ‘One Day in December’ by Josie Silver because it’s my all time favorite love story (such a satisfying ending that you have to work hard for) and although this was my fourth time reading it, I’ve never ‘studied’ it before. Why do I enjoy this book so much? Why do I love this book so much that I gave a copy to everyone in my bridal party? I want to find out! Also, I love stories about female friendships, especially the stories that cover college years through the character’s 20′s. This decade of life is jam packed with learning opportunities and silly mistakes so Laurie and Sarah’s relationship journey was just as lovely to follow as Laurie and Jack’s relationship.

Summary: One evening in December, on her way home from work, Laurie sees a man at a bus stop that she knows is ‘the one.’ His name is Jack and he, too, feels like he was struck by lightening at the bus stop that day. It was love at first sight. Laurie looks for ‘bus boy’ for a year, but has no luck finding him until her best friend, Sarah, brings her new boyfriend to their holiday party. It’s Jack and it turns out he is better than Laurie’s dreams. Over the next ten years, Laurie travels to Thailand, lands her dream magazine job and marries a charming man named Oscar. Jack dates Sarah, gets in a horrific motorcycle accident and eventually moves to Edinburgh for a fresh start. Laurie and Jack’s lives ebb and flow, but one thing is consistent, their steadfast friendship.

Tense: first person present split between Laurie and Jack. I adore how the honesty of these characters’ thoughts. Sort of a blend between Bridget Jones and Carrie Bradshaw.

Meet Cute: Laurie is sitting on the bus and out the window, she sees Jack sitting on a bench. He doesn’t get on the bus and she doesn’t get off the bus. As a reader, Laurie’s lack of action is pretty frustrating, but you know it’s a life changing moment so you continue to read to find out if they ever meet. Another important meet cute is when Laurie meets Oscar in Thailand. At a cafe on the island of Koh Lipe, Oscar asks her what her plans are for the day and she responds, ‘nothing beyond floating in the sea and reading my book.’ Oscar spends the day with her and gives her the nickname ‘starfish.’

Misbeliefs: Laurie believes she is a terrible person for falling in love with her best friend’s boyfriend first so she doesn’t admit to Sarah that Jack is ‘bus boy’ until a very inopportune moment. Jack suffers from self-doubt. He doesn’t believe in himself to have everything he wants all at once so he self-sabotages by working too hard or isolating himself.

Tropes: BEST FRIEND’S BOYFRIEND = Laurie avoids hanging out with Sarah and Jack because the secret of Jack being ‘bus boy’ is too heavy to hold. FISH OUT OF WATER = Laurie feels like Oscar is ‘marrying down’ by choosing her. She doesn’t fit into his upper class world. UNREQUITED LOVE = both Laurie and Jack deny feelings for each other throughout the book. Because the story is told in first person, the reader knows that Jack’s feelings match Laurie’s feelings even if their actions suggest otherwise. It’s important to note how Josie Silver doesn’t use the expected tropes of FORBIDDEN LOVE and LOVE TRIANGLE. I think this keeps Laurie and Jack likable and relatable. They aren’t sneaking around or disrespecting Sarah behind her back. They are trying to behave like mature adults who prioritize work and dating other people.

My favorite quote from the book: ‘ “I choose you too,” he whispers, wrapping his arms around me. I hold him, and I feel as if we’re wrapping our arms around our marriage; cradling this precious, fragile thing between our bodies.’

[lovestorystudy]

For my first Love Story Study, I chose ‘The Heart Principle’ by Helen Hoang. I adored her first book, ‘The Kiss Quotient,’ and I admire her writing style so I knew this would be a great place to start. Helen is honest. Her writing is profound. She covers topics that aren’t usually featured in the romance genre such as autism and dating again after beating cancer. I know I can’t spend a day seeing the world through someone else’s eyes, so I read/listen to books to get inside a stranger’s head and hear, feel and experience their reality. This book provided sexy romance as well as a new perspective on how others digest love. I loved it.

Summary: One half of ‘The Heart Principle’ is about Anna, a young musician who has a love/hate relationship with the violin. Halfway through the book, she learns she’s on the autism spectrum. Her parts of the book are as much about learning to love herself as falling in love with tattooed Quan. Right after she learns about her autism diagnosis, she begins caretaking for her dying father and has to learn to stand up to her family, especially her tough sister, Priscilla. The other half of the book is about Quan, a confident children’s clothing company owner recovering from testicular cancer. I love his emotional side as well as his motorcycle riding and running side. He learns to accept his body while opening his heart to Anna. His sidekick/cousin Michael is a great cheerleader.

Tense: first person present split between Anna and Quan

Meet Cute: messaging on a dating app about ‘The Octopus Teacher’ documentary

Misbeliefs: ‘Just because something isn’t perfect doesn’t mean we have to throw it away.’ This is true for both Anna and Quan. Anna prioritizes her family’s idea of her perfect match (Julian) over her own needs and desires. She's also a perfectionist which is why she plays music in circles. Quan hasn’t dated since he finished cancer treatment and his body is different than before. He has an all or nothing mentality when it comes to love and business.

Tropes: FLING = Julian wants to be in an open relationship to make sure Anna is the one. This is how Anna meets Quan in the first place, by opening her dating app and searching for someone to spend one night with while still in a relationship with Julian. OPPOSITES ATTRACT = Anna and Quan seem to have nothing in common except their love of documentaries. SCARS = both Anna and Quan are working through insecurities and injuries. Also, the SOUL MATE trope in which Anna and Quan are meant to be together, but everything gets in their way such as their own misbeliefs, Anna’s parents beliefs and career changes.

My favorite quote from the book: “All I can do is go forward, and to do that, I must stop chasing perfection. It doesn’t exist. I can never please everyone. It’s hard enough just pleasing myself. Instead, I must focus on giving what I have, not what people want, because that is all I can give.”