Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Falling for Trouble
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Maguire, Susan
BIRTHDATE: 1977?
WEBSITE: http://www.sarahtitle.com/
CITY:
STATE: WV
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/Life/201304190238 * http://www.wvliving.com/Web-2014/Home-Sweet-Home/ * https://vq.vassar.edu/issues/2014/03/mixed-media/ * https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6937669.Sarah_Title
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: no2016077629
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/no2016077629
HEADING: Title, Sarah
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035 __ |a (OCoLC)oca10495540
040 __ |a IAhCCS |b eng |e rda |c IAhCCS |d DLC
100 1_ |a Title, Sarah
370 __ |e West Virginia
372 __ |a Writing |a Romance fiction |2 lcsh
373 __ |a Vassar College |a Indiana University |2 naf
374 __ |a Authors |a Librarians |2 lcsh
375 __ |a female
377 __ |a eng
670 __ |a Delicious, 2013, 2005. (title page: Delicious by Sarah Title)
670 __ |a sarahtitle.com, accessed June 6, 2016: |b (By day, Sarah Title is a (sort of) mild-mannered librarian in West Virginia, and by night, she writes funny, steamy, comfort reads. Sarah holds a B.A. in English from Vassar College and an M.L.S. from Indiana University. Her first book, Kentucky Home, was released by eKensington in April 2013. The follow-up novella, “Kentucky Christmas”, came out, surprisingly, the following December. She also contributed to the anthology, Delicious, with Lori Foster and Lucy Monroe.)
PERSONAL
Born c. 1977.
EDUCATION:Vassar College, B.A.; Indiana University, M.L.S.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Librarian and writer.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Sarah Title is a librarian and romance novelist, and she grew up reading romances. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English at Vassar and completed her library sciences degree at Indiana University. As she explained to an online Kobo interview, “I started young, with beat-up paperbacks left behind at Girl Scout camp that all featured mustachioed heroes. I did not understand half of what they were doing (why was she tossing her head back and seeing fireworks??), but I was hooked by the drama of it. Then I went to college and was a Fancy English Major, and didn’t rediscover romance until I went to library school.”
Title published her first novel, Kentucky Home, in 2013, and the book serves as the first installment for her “Southern Comfort” series. The second installment, the novella Kentucky Christmas followed six months later. Title added to the series again with Home Sweet Home in 2014. Two installments, Snowed In and Two Family Home, followed in 2015. The sixth addition to the series, Practice Makes Perfect, came out in 2016. Title began her second series of novels, “Librarians in Love,” the next year, and the first three installments, Falling for Trouble, The Undateable, and Laws of Attraction, were all published in 2017. Notably, the series combines Title’s day-job with her creative job, and each romance follows a different librarian on their path to true love.
Falling for Trouble
Falling for Trouble follows punk rocker Joanna Green, who grew up in the small town of Halikarnassus, New York. Joanna hasn’t lived in Halikarnassus for a decade, and her punk band has been doing moderately well. Then Joanna starts struggling with stage fright, and her bandmates want to sell their music for jingles. Joanna quits the band and decides to lick her wounds in her home town, and when she arrives, she learns that her beloved grandmother has just broken her leg. Joanna’s grandmother raised her, and now she needs help getting around, so Joanna decides to stay. Because her grandmother works to raise funds and support for the local library, Joanna meets Liam, the handsome town librarian. The town’s mayor want to reassign half of the library’s budget and put it toward a football program instead, so Liam, Joanna, and Joanna’s grandmother mobilize for a fight.
As Shelley Mosley put it in her Booklist assessment, “lots of humor, snappy dialogue, and a hunky library director make this romance an entertaining read.” An online Harlequin Junkie correspondent was more reserved, asserting: “I found Joanna to be a bit too standoffish and selfish at first. Everyone thought she returned because her grandmother had broken her leg, but, in fact, she didn’t even know her grandmother was hurt.” Nevertheless, the correspondent went on to conclude: “Overall I enjoyed the book, I just wished Joanna was a little more likeable than she was. I would recommend this book for readers who enjoy small town romances or books about returning home to rediscover oneself.” A Kirkus Reviews columnist was even more positive, declaring that “Joanna and Liam’s attraction sizzles on the page, even without much in the way of explicit encounters,” which results in “a contemporary romance that’ll win over any library lover.” A Publishers Weekly contributor was also impressed, stating that “Joanna and Liam mesh like a good jam session, and their low-key courtship is a delight.” An online All about Romance writer simply announced: “I feel like I should make no bones about it at this point; I love Sarah Title.” The writer added that “the novel manages to feel like it’s just the right length while making you yearn for more. And yes, the book does contain many of Title’s classic tropes – bold heroine, a nerdy beta hero, sassy older women, the battle between government bureaucracy and people on its lower levels who wish to help out those around them… but it still feels smart, fresh and romantic. Falling for Trouble is a delight. Don’t miss it!”
The Undateable
Melissa “Bernie” Bernard, the protagonist of The Undateable, is a librarian in San Francisco who unfortunately embodies the stereotype of stern librarian. A picture of her has even been turned in a viral meme because of it. This leads fashion magazine editor Colin Rodriguez to work on an article concept that may just rescue his failing career. Colin convinces the stubbornly single Melissa to go on thirty first dates in as many days, and Colin will cover the results for his magazine. The idea is to offer a softened perspective on the digitally vilified Melissa. Of course, most of the dates are terrible, but the chemistry between the librarian and her editor is filled with sparks.
Praising The Undateable in Publishers Weekly, a reviewer advised that the “story is funny, engrossing, and delightfully witty.” Thus, “readers will be eager for the rest of the series.”
Laws of Attraction
The third “Librarians in Love“ installment, Laws of Attraction, follows a law librarian named Becky. The heroine has just gone through another in a long series of breakups, so she decides to pickup a hot guy for a one-night stand and never see him again. Unfortunately, it turns out that her supposedly disposable paramour, who called himself Deke, is actually Foster Deacon, the firm’s newest hire. Foster is ecstatic at the coincidence and wants to date Becky, but Becky doesn’t like dating lawyers. While Becky avoids Foster at work, she runs into him at her friend’s dog shelter, and it turns out that Foster’s younger sister has been sentenced to community service at the shelter.
Commending the novel in All about Romance a critic stated that it is “a delightfully frothy concoction of a romantic comedy that often had me smiling.” The critic then remarked that “Laws of Attraction is a fast-paced, funny and light-hearted read featuring a likeable, well-matched central couple, witty dialogue and a nice bit of steam on the side. I haven’t read the other books in the series, so it works perfectly well as a standalone; and while it’s not something that’s going to stick with me, it was a lot of fun and might be just the thing if you’re looking for a pick-me-up on a grey Autumn afternoon.” Jennifer Rothschild, writing in Booklist, offered more strident praise, and she found that, “refreshingly, the romantic conflicts [between Becky and Foster] don’t stem from easy-to-solve misunderstandings or an inability to admit their feelings.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, June, 2017, Shelley Mosley, review of Falling for Trouble; October 15, 2017, Jennifer Rothschild, review of Laws of Attraction.
Kirkus Reviews, May 1, 2017, review of Falling for Trouble.
Publishers Weekly, January 30, 2017, review of The Undateable; May 15, 2017, review of Falling for Trouble.
ONLINE
All about Romance, https://allaboutromance.com/ (February 22, 2018), reviews of Falling for Trouble and Laws of Attractions.
Harlequin Junkie, http://harlequinjunkie.com/ (February 22, 2018), review of Falling for Trouble.
Kobo, http://news.kobo.com/(February 22, 2018), author interview.
Sarah Title Website, http://www.sarahtitle.com (February 22, 2018).
By day, Sarah Title is a mild-mannered(ish) librarian. By night, she writes funny, warm, romantic comedies with a dry, dry wit. Also, smart ladies. And, hunks. And, frequently, dogs.
And she actually writes in the morning before work.
She has lived all 'round the country, but now calls the South home, although she is still pretty homesick for Appalachia. And, yes, those are different things.
She has an elderly, ten-pound poodle who was supposed to be a foster because Sarah is bad at commitment but, well. They've crossed state lines together; no turning back now.
For more insight and sentence fragments, visit Sarah on Facebook (fb.com/sarahtitlebooks), Twitter (@titleauthor), Instagram (@titleauthor), and her blog (www.sarahtitle.com).
Happy reading!
About Sarah
Photo by emily bacon
Photo by emily bacon
By day, Sarah Title is a (sort of) mild-mannered librarian in West Virginia, and by night, she writes funny, steamy, comfort reads. Sarah holds a B.A. in English from Vassar College and an M.L.S. from Indiana University. Her first book, Kentucky Home, was released by eKensington in April 2013. The follow-up novella, “Kentucky Christmas,” came out, surprisingly, the following December. She also contributed to the anthology, Delicious, with Lori Foster and Lucy Monroe.
Her newest book, Home Sweet Home, was released by eKensington in April 2014.
Sarah is represented by Louise Fury with the Bent Agency.
Praise for Sarah Title’s work:
“Quite a sexy book.” —USAToday.com on Kentucky Home
“The funny, down-to-earth characters who fill the pages are wonderfully sympathetic and their chemistry is delightful, but it is the added dose of magic featured in each story that lends this book its unique charm. With subtle flair, Foster, Monroe and Title walk the narrow border between genres to great success.” —RT Book Reviews on Delicious (4 stars)
“I hope there are many more from this author.” —My mom, in her Amazon review of Kentucky Home
With Love Q&A: Sarah Title
POSTED BY KOBO APRIL 12, 2016
sarah_title_smallerSQUARE
When did you first fall in love with romance as a genre? I started young, with beat-up paperbacks left behind at Girl Scout camp that all featured mustachioed heroes. I did not understand half of what they were doing (why was she tossing her head back and seeing fireworks??), but I was hooked by the drama of it. Then I went to college and was a Fancy English Major, and didn’t rediscover romance until I went to library school, where I learned Fancy Reading isn’t the only reading, and reading’s not much fun if you’re not reading what you like. So. I came back to romance, and like a great second chance love story, this time it’s even better.
Fill in the blank: romance is EMPOWERING.
What makes a good romance novel, hero or heroine? To me, the most important thing in a romance novel (aside from the HEA) (and varying levels of smoochin’) is that both characters become better because of their love for the other. The stories that make me all swoony are the ones where love is mutually transformative – the hero gets the heroine to come out of her shell while she shows him the joys of quiet contemplation, the hero teaches the other hero how to be comfortable in his own skin, the heroine convinces the hero to adopt a sweet dog whose raucous shenanigans teach them both a little something about responsibility. Also, no romance novel was ever hurt by the presence of a dog. So: make each other better, get a dog. The end.
the-undateable
Tell us about your newest book? It has a dog in it! And shows the transformative power of love! The Undateable features a librarian whose lack of poker face makes her the unfortunate subject of an unflattering meme, and a writer whose cushy job depends on this big story about finding dates for said librarian. There’s a makeover, resistance to the makeover, an anonymous advice columnist, and thirty terrible dates all around San Francisco. And some smoochin’, too.
What’s your all-time favourite fictional love story (it doesn’t need to be a book!)? Sometimes when I’m feeling low, I re-read the end of Persuasion, when Anne Elliott is talking to her friend about love and constancy, and Frederick Wentworth can’t take it and he scribbles a note to her that is all, I STILL LOVE YOU AND SORRY FOR BEING SO STUPID AND BLIND AND IF YOU DON’T HATE ME LET’S GET MARRIED AND STUFF. Something like that. You spend the whole book seeing Anne’s goodness and kindness and humility, and watching her get the love that she deserves is like…swoon.
What are you reading now? Right now I’m reading Jo Goodman’s latest, THE DEVIL YOU KNOW. I just love love love her writing. Her characters have such subtle, wry humor and there’s such a crackle between them...I could probably reread any of her books and be happy. But I’m reading a new one now so I’m even happier.
Also, INSERT GROOM HERE by KM Jackson, which also has a heroine getting set up for love, but it’s so different from mine and I’m loving it.
What are some common misconceptions people have about romance readers or writers? Hm. How do I answer this question without cursing and throwing things at the wall? That we are dumb, that we fill our minds with fluff and unrealistic expectations, that what we read or write is not worthwhile because the emphasis is on the story and the characters rather than whatever self-congratulatory white guy stuff they’d prefer we read. (Ooo, girl, I’m gettin’ het up.) Also, the phrase “mommy porn” makes me SO RAGE-Y. How dismissive and insulting is that! And it just reveals the prudishness of the accuser - if you have to clutch your pearls at the idea that women have sexual desire and that they might enjoy about other women who have sexual desire, well, I can’t help you.
Speaking of dates, if you could choose anyone, living or dead to have a coffee with, who would you choose? Jane Austen. Is that a cliché? But wouldn’t it be fun to sit in Starbucks with her with an iPad and show her all the stuff her legacy hath wrought?
Print Marked Items
Laws of Attraction
Jennifer Rothschild
Booklist.
114.4 (Oct. 15, 2017): p30.
COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
* Laws of Attraction. By Sarah Title. Oct. 2017. 356p. Zebra, paper, $4.99 (9781420141870); e-book
(9781420141887).
After yet another break-up, law librarian Becky follows her best friend's advice to pick up a hot guy for one
night of action. Come Monday morning, Becky is horrified to find out that Deke-from-the-sports-bar is
Foster Deacon, the firm's new hotshot intellectual property lawyer. Foster is thrilled to find his mystery girl,
but his caseload and their families complicate things, not to mention Becky's rules for dating: no geniuses
and no lawyers. The third in Title's Librarians in Love series, following Falling for Trouble (2017), has the
same witty dialogue, laugh-out-loud humor, and realistic depictions of library life that made the previous
installments fan favorites. An excellent subplot involving Foster's troubled younger sister doing community
service at the dog shelter run by Becky's best friend creates opportunities for interaction outside the office
while adding depth to both characters. Refreshingly, the romantic conflicts don't stem from easy-to-solve
misunderstandings or an inability to admit their feelings but from rather subtler realistic barriers. A funny
and enjoyable read for all fans of contemporary romance novels.--Jennifer Rothschild
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Rothschild, Jennifer. "Laws of Attraction." Booklist, 15 Oct. 2017, p. 30. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A512776124/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=444d0229.
Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A512776124
Falling for Trouble
Shelley Mosley
Booklist.
113.19-20 (June 2017): p67.
COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist_publications/booklist/booklist.cfm
Full Text:
Falling for Trouble. By Sarah Title. July 2017. 352p. Zebra, $4.99 (9781420141856); e-book,
$3.99(9781420141863).
In the second book in Title's Librarians in Love series, following The Undateable (2017), rebellious teenager
Joanna Green left the small town of Halikarnassus, New York, to become a punk rocker. After some initial
successes, she freezes onstage, and leaves her music career in disgrace. Joanna's quick visit home turns out
to be longer than expected when she finds out the grandmother who raised her has broken her leg. Liam
Byrd, the new library director, loves his job but hates the politics that go with it. With a mayor who wants to
take half the library budget for football, Liam is desperate to find ways to keep his funding intact.
Unfortunately, one of his strongest, most vocal supporters is laid up with a broken leg, and her sexy
granddaughter has become a distraction. Lots of humor, snappy dialogue, and a hunky library director make
this romance an entertaining read for all romance fans and library lovers.--Shelley Mosley
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Mosley, Shelley. "Falling for Trouble." Booklist, June 2017, p. 67. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A498582756/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=0c2cc43c.
Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A498582756
Title, Sarah: FALLING FOR TROUBLE
Kirkus Reviews.
(May 1, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Title, Sarah FALLING FOR TROUBLE Zebra/Kensington (Adult Fiction) $4.99 6, 26 ISBN: 978-1-4201-
4185-6
Dewey meets dive bar.Being a small-town library director isn't for everybody, but Liam Byrd is content with
his choice to move out of Boston. That is, until Joanna Green comes back home to Halikarnassus, New
York. Smarting from a public humiliation onstage with her rock band, she's embarrassingly glad to have the
excuse of helping her Granny recover from a broken leg to put her life back together. When she finds out
that Granny broke her leg ogling Liam in running shorts, she's astonished--until Joanna sees him running,
too. It doesn't take long for Liam and Joanna to start a fling that surprises both of them in its intensity. But
Liam's small-town life and Joanna's big-time ambitions aren't nearly as compatible as the rest of them, and
with a library budget on the line, their new love may be put on hold. As with The Undateable (2017), the
first book in the Librarians in Love series, Title's realistic depiction of life in a library adds charm and
humor to this nearly perfect story. Fans of small-town stories will love Halikarnassus, its colorful cast of
characters, and the small subplots throughout. Holding all the chaos together, Joanna and Liam's attraction
sizzles on the page, even without much in the way of explicit encounters. A contemporary romance that'll
win over any library lover.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Title, Sarah: FALLING FOR TROUBLE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 May 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491002944/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=b4299139.
Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491002944
Falling for Trouble
Publishers Weekly.
264.20 (May 15, 2017): p44.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Falling for Trouble
Sarah Title. Zebra, $4.99 mass market (356p)
ISBN 978-1-4201-4185-6
Title's charming second Librarians in Love contemporary continues the good-natured verve and engaging
upbeat voice established in The Undateable. Gorgeous librarian Liam Byrd has taken to the small town of
Halikarnassus, N.Y., much as the ladies of the town have taken to his running shorts. But the library budget
is under threat from a football-loving meathead mayor, and Liam's job as library director is looking like a
bleak future of stagnation and layoffs. Then the town's notorious onetime juvenile delinquent, Joanna Green,
returns after 10 years away. She's fresh from a dramatic split with her punk rock band after the others sold
out to corporate music interests, and the last thing prickly Joanna wants is to stay in little Halikarnassus
forever. But as Joanna thrashes her way through her reunion with her hometown. Liam tempts her to stick
around. Joanna and Liam mesh like a good jam session, and their low-key courtship is a delight. Agent:
Louise Fury, Bent Agency. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Falling for Trouble." Publishers Weekly, 15 May 2017, p. 44. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A492435637/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=94d84e4b.
Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A492435637
The Undateable: Librarians in Love, Book 1
Publishers Weekly.
264.5 (Jan. 30, 2017): p187.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* The Undateable: Librarians in Love, Book 1
Sarah Title. Zebra Shout, $4.99 mass market (352p) ISBN 978-1-4201-4183-2
Title (Practice Makes Perfect) launches her Librarians in Love contemporary romance series with a hilarious
and charming first installment. San Francisco resident Melissa "Bernie" Bernard doesn't mean to be a cliche,
but when a picture of her is turned into a viral "Disapproving Librarian" meme, she becomes the poster child
for the uptight and unhip. Colin Rodriguez is the token straight guy at a growing fashion magazine, and his
job is on the line: either he turns the disapproving librarian into a successful article series, or he's out on his
ear. Prickly and at odds from the first, Bernie and Colin spark off each other as he persuades her to
participate in 30 first dates in 30 days. Delightfully mouthy Bernie ("Totally not looking at your butt, Mr.
Patriarchy") accepts the challenge to prove she's single by choice, not because she's undateable, and endures
a gut-busting succession of dates gone wrong. Meanwhile, Colin gets a crash course in dating from a
woman's perspective, an experience that forces him into maturity. Their story is funny, engrossing, and
delightfully witty. Readers will be eager for the rest of the series. Agent: Louise Fury, Bent Agency. (Mar.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"The Undateable: Librarians in Love, Book 1." Publishers Weekly, 30 Jan. 2017, p. 187. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A480195208/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=79a05946.
Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A480195208
Desert Isle Keeper
Falling for Trouble
Sarah Title
Buy This Book
I feel like I should make no bones about it at this point; I love Sarah Title. After indulging in her playful novel Practice Makes Perfect, she’s become one of my favorite authors, so it’s no real shock that her latest Falling for Trouble is an immensely enjoyable read. What, I just know you’re asking, makes this story so special?
Joanna Green was well on her way to superstardom. Lead guitarist for an all-female rock band named Bunny Slippers, she’d just had a top selling record, been signed to a major label and was headed out on tour as the opening act for The Penny Lickers when Joanna froze up onstage at the first stop and then threw an onstage tantrum after realizing what the commercialization of the band’s sound was doing to its quality. This led to her being kicked out of the band she’d founded and guided to the big time, and then dismissed from both label and tour. When Joanna’s grandmother, Peggy, breaks her leg while walking her elderly poodle, Starr – and chatting with/ogling her hunky acquaintance, Liam Byrd – Joanna is called home to look after Peggy and uses it as an opportunity to contemplate her next move. Joanna knows that she doesn’t want to own up to her failure in front of anyone from her hometown; the people of Halikarnassus, New York have never looked kindly upon the rebellious Joanna, and they would be all too smug to learn about their least favorite daughter’s latest fall from grace.
Liam – jogger, library director, and Boston transplant – is the apple of the eye of every single lady in Peggy’s neighborhood – not that he notices. The one thing he does take note of is that Joanna is a pretty kickass musician. She was a member of his favorite local post-punk band, the Slutty Brontes – and while he’s less than impressed with the basic straightforward rock sound of the post-big time Bunny Slippers he’s still a pretty big fan. Which is why he’s shocked when his idol shows up on her grandmother’s doorstep while he’s checking in on Peggy.
Joanna and Liam soon find themselves bonding over the library’s book club, nights at rock clubs, and evenings at Peggy’s house. As Joanna plans to get her high school band back together with her best friend Trina, and rediscovers her authentic voice, Liam has own battles with Mayor Hal Klomberg Jr., who wants to axe the library’s funding from the town’s budget and funnel it into the town’s (terrible) high school football team. When Joanna is invited to rejoin Bunny Slippers after they lose their replacement guitarist and Liam finds himself caught between Hal’s personal needs and the library’s possible closure, they’re forced to choose between their romance and their dreams.
I cannot tell you how glad I am that we have a heroine like Joanna in the romance world! I’ve read about so many rock star heroes who are guided away from the debauched big time and toward the light of monogamy and a comeback by the purity of a heroine who happens to be a fan. To have Joanna be the mischievous, punkish, true-to-her-art musician and Liam the adoring fan makes a perfect reversal of roles that are all too rare in the genre. Joanna is a great, funny, messy, sympathetic heroine; her music is her true passion, is part of her soul, and Ms. Title uses it to explain both who she is as a person and where she’s coming from. Joanna names her beloved guitar after Sister Rosetta Tharpe. You will love her.
Liam joins Title’s line of funny and sexy beta heroes; a man who hates being thought of as boring, with a big crush on the intimidating Joanna; a man who’s awkward, tends to blurt things out and has an alphabetized record collection yet has horrible taste in fashion and is passionate about good books. He’s her counterpoint in a lot of wonderful ways, and the chemistry between them is wonderful.
And their relationship is relatable, romantic and totally ludicrous. Liam waives fines for anyone who knew Joanna way back when! Liam and Joanna fall in love while playing refrigerator Jenga and sobbing over cheesy clichéd World War II novels! They make love in the library and argue about Sunday morning music!
And the supporting characters! Peggy, who’s clinging to her youth; Trina Flunderman, Joanna’s high school best friend, who may have married an insurance agent and settled down to have two kids and build furniture instead of following her punk dreams to LA, but is still the same sassy girl who was just as wild as Joanna back in the day, and her appropriately ridiculous children; football-obsessed Hal, who is a bubblehead jerk; Gus, the walking music encyclopedia with a thing for Peggy; Peggy’s team of fellow elderly ladies, who ply her with terrible casseroles while she’s on the mend; even the dogs have personality, especially Starr, who loves Peggy but has to learn to love Joanna, to Joanna’s dismay. Even Kristen, who might be a stereotype in someone else’s hands, springs forth with wit and personality to the novel’s forefront.
The story’s minor problems – chiefly an unnecessary third act conflict between Joanna and Liam over some overheard words – don’t detract from its grade. In fact, the novel manages to feel like it’s just the right length while making you yearn for more. And yes, the book does contain many of Title’s classic tropes – bold heroine, a nerdy beta hero, sassy older women, the battle between government bureaucracy and people on its lower levels who wish to help out those around them… but it still feels smart, fresh and romantic.
Falling for Trouble is a delight. Don’t miss it!