The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Do you have a favorite romance novel trope? Some examples of the most common tropes are friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, forbidden lovers, secret identities, forced proximity, second chance, and fake relationships. This is by no means an exhaustive list of all the romance tropes, instead these are ones that have popped up in the romance books I have read in the past couple months. My latest romance read, The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon, featured two of these tropes: enemies to lovers and fake relationship.

Shay Goldstein has been working at a Seattle public radio station for almost a decade. Hired on for an internship when she was 19, Shay has worked her way up to producing her own show. Working at PPR is her dream and she can’t imagine working anywhere else. The one wrinkle: working with Dominic Yun, her newest colleague who just graduated with his masters in journalism and who will not shut up about having his masters. He’s the hot new thing at the station and Shay can’t stand him.

At a pitch meeting for new ideas, Shay proposes a new show where two exes talk about their relationship and deliver relationship advice on air. Their boss decides Shay & Dom should host, despite the fact that they have never dated and frankly can’t stand each other(though the hatred feels more fueled by Shay than Dom). Their new show, The Ex Talk, skyrockets to fame, their popularity soars, and their lie grows bigger and bigger. The more time Shay and Dom spend together, the more they realize they might not actually hate each other. Their deception looms, leaving the two knowing that if the truth comes out, their careers and budding relationship will end.

This title is loosely related to the book, Business or Pleasure by the same author, which I read last year and LOVED. I have yet to read a title by this author that I haven’t enjoyed.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

I had read Celests Ng’s first book, Everything I Never Told You, when it first came out and it captivated me. The story of a family torn apart by the disappearance and death of the middle child, Lydia, captures the rifts and examines the ways that family members struggle to try to understand each other. When I saw that Ng was coming out with another book entitled Little Fires Everywhere, I knew I needed to read it because Ng has the ability to craft domestic fiction that is both engaging and realistic that I simply can’t put down.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng tells the story of the residents of Shaker Heights. Shaker Heights is a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, that prides itself in its ability to plan. This progressive suburb has rules for everything: the colors of the houses, the layouts of the roads, the types of houses, the schools, etc. Every little thing is laid out, even the jobs and lives that residents are expected to lead.

This highly structured, yet surprisingly calm and tranquil, community is normal to the residents that live there, especially longtime resident Elena Richardson. Leaving for college, coming back with a husband, raising four children, and working at the local paper are all things that were expected from Elena. The order and sense of community are both major appeals for Elena in Shaker Heights. She believes that the rules are there for a reason and lives her life making sure everyone around her follows the rules.

Elena’s sense of security is shaken when Mia Warren and her teenage daughter Pearl move into town. Mia is a single mother who makes a living as an artist. She and Pearl move around every couple months, but Mia promises Pearl that Shaker Heights is the place they will stay forever. Arriving in town, Mia rents a house from the Richardsons and soon both families become tangled together. All four Richardson children find Mia and Pearl to be mysterious and are quickly drawn to the pair. The closer the two families become, the more questions come to the surface.

Mia’s arrival in Shaker Heights begins to unsettle the delicate balance of rules and order that the community relies on to survive. To start, Mia has an untraditional job, a very mysterious part, and a disregard for the standard of living that Elena holds dear. Mia keeps part of her past hidden for good reason and some of the Richardson family members take it upon themselves to figure out why.

Mia’s disruption of the status quo comes to a head when Mia and Elena find themselves at opposite sides of a custody battle that’s splattered all over the news. An old family friend of Elena’s is trying to adopt a Chinese-American baby. Mia finds herself championing the biological mother, while Elena is firmly on the side of the adoptive parents. Elena is determined to do anything for her friend, even if that means digging into Mia’s past to discover her secrets and motives. Little does she know that her obsession will quickly unravel her life and the lives of everyone around her in abrupt and unforeseen ways.


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