CBR Bingo: Repair, although I’m grumpy that most of it happened off-page
Longer review: I have a soft spot for all romance novels that take place in the UK now, especially those that happen in London–like this one does! Our main character lives in Bloomsbury, in a tiny studio (makes sense) that she can barely afford based off of her income writing a series of interconnected romance novels about a fictional Texan town and the adventures of a scrappy city girl who goes back to try and find a home on the ranch that she’s never known–and the man she can’t get out of her mind.
Except neither of those characters (Cassidy and Ethan) are the focus of this story, and honestly our FMC (Gertie Bickerstaff) (yes, that’s not a typo) is not feeling the last chapter nor their HEA in their long-awaited last book. She’s recently been dumped by her long term boyfriend who feels smothered by her neediness, and she’s facing immense writer’s block. One cheesy manifestation ceremony later, and River Oakley, Cassidy’s nefarious half-brother, is sitting on her sofa entirely confused by how he’s in London and how he can get back to make sure that he’s in time to bid on the auction that will save the ranch from rapacious private equity/investment bank/financiers (in every universe, the real villain is capitalism).
Our two main characters go through the romcom stages of denial (this isn’t happening/this is happening but can be easily fixed/this is happening and we’re going to sex about it/this is happening and it’s just sex/oops we’re in love) and I don’t have any issue with that. I found Gertie’s mind a delightful place to be, and the plot hums along in a very smooth way. I got through the first chapters without any ick, and that’s usually enough to keep me engaged throughout.
What lost me most was a one misstep from the world of fantasy–Greenwood tries to explain what’s happening with the whole “River spontaneously appears” thing in-universe, but of course there’s no real answer other than ~*magic*~ so you’re left trying to fit a few paragraphs of magical world building into a world that doesn’t need it. Ruby Sparks went an entire movie without really explaining what was going on with Ruby’s character, and we didn’t need it here either.
I would have also appreciated more character building for River (he feels like he’s stepped out of a book, abs rippling but also flaws missing) and Henry (the boyfriend, who I think had a decent point about Gertie’ neediness and lack of external engagement/stimuli? but then was written as a caricature of a shit boyfriend such that you never really believe Gertie is heartbroken with love nor that he’s a viable route for her).
What I did love–even if it all happened during essentially the epilogue, and in voice over–was Gertie realizing that she needed to learn how to stand on her own two feet and repair her relationship with herself. She processes her grief over her sister’s untimely death, stands up to her shitty boyfriend, gains some hobbies, expands her social circle…basically, all things you want to see in your main leading ladies, such that they’re actually, you know, full fledged characters. But since we’re only in Gertie’s head, we don’t see what’s happening alongside for River, bringing me back to my desire for him to also get some interiority. Oh well, can’t win em all!
