When Ros comes home after three years away, she’s ready to pick up with life exactly where she left it. But her friends have moved on, her parents have rekindled their romance, and her bedroom is now a garden shed. All of a sudden, she’s swept up in nostalgia for the way things were.
Then her phone begins to ping, with messages from her old life. Including one number she thought she’d erased for good – the man who broke her heart. Is this her second chance at one big love? Sometimes we all want to see what we’ve been missing…
Release Date: Jul 23, 2020
Heat Level: Warm
Publisher: HarperCollins
Price: $5.99
In Case You Missed It is the latest novel from Lindsey Kelk, about thirty-something Ros Reynolds who’s trying to figure out how to start her life over. When Ros arrives back in the UK after living in Washington DC for years she tries to find solace in familiar things like her hometown, her family, her friends, and maybe her ex?
So when I picked up this book I had never heard of Lindsey Kelk, but I was drawn in by the blurb and the cute cover. I am always a sucker for second chance stories, and especially for anything set in the UK. I’m a lover of dry British wit, a cozy little town, and some entertaining side characters which seem so common in British rom-coms.
This book had all of that in spades. Ros’s parents and friends are entertaining and provide a lot of comedic relief in a story where Ros is honestly struggling with the changes in her life. Kelk manages to balance these light hearted moments with truly deep conversations about love, nostalgia, and bringing down the patriarchy. Much of this comedic work is done by the parents which reminded me a lot of Bridget Jones’ Diary.
What this book lacked for me was the romance. In the story Ros actually has to juggle feelings for both her ex Patrick and another man, John. Also, by my definition this is not a romance, it’s closer to women’s fiction or chick lit with a romantic arc. There is little to no steam, there is a ton of focus on Ros and her growth, the ultimate “hero” of the book gets barely any page time, and the HEA is questionable. That being said it’s a very good example of this type of fiction, it’s just not romance. And it was shelved as romance on Edelweiss. So I guess my ultimate issue is the continued faulty marketing of women’s fiction as romance.
In the end, if you’re interested in some genuine laughs and feels about a truly relatable woman this book is for you. Ros is all of us in our 30’s struggling with expectation versus reality and it’s always endearing to read a story I can relate to. If you are not a fan of chick lit à la Jennifer Weiner or Sophie Kinsella then steer clear of this book and pick up a true romance set in the UK from the likes of Talia Hibbert or Amy Daws. But if you’re looking for something different than the usual romance I recommend then this could be the book for you.
~ Lindsey
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