Fun & Spicy Rom-Com
Romantic Comedy
Flatiron Books
June 4, 2024
Hardcover, Paperback, Kindle, Audiobok
336
For fans of Emily Henry, a debut about a rom-com screenwriter who doesn't believe in love and a divorce attorney who does, forced together at their high school reunion fifteen years after their breakup
Molly Marks writes Hollywood rom-coms for a living―which is how she knows “romance” is a racket. The one and only time she was naive enough to fall in love was with her high school boyfriend, Seth―who she ghosted on the eve of graduation and hasn’t seen in fifteen years.
Seth Rubinstein believes in love, the grand, fated kind, despite his job as, well…one of Chicago’s most successful divorce attorneys. Over the last decade, he’s sought “the one” in countless bad dates and rushed relationships. He knows his soulmate is out there. But so far, no one can compare to Molly Marks, the first girl who broke his heart.
When Molly’s friends drag her to Florida for their fifteenth high school reunion, it is poetic justice that she’s forced to sit with Seth. Too many martinis and a drunken hookup later, they decide to make a bet: whoever can predict the fate of five couples before the next reunion must declare that the other is right about true love. The catch? The fifth couple is the two of them.
Molly assures Seth they are a tale of timeless heartbreak. Seth promises she’ll end up hopelessly in love with him. She thinks he’s delusional. He has five years to prove her wrong.
Wickedly funny, sexy, and brimming with laughs and heart like the best romantic comedies, Just Some Stupid Love Story is for everyone who believes in soulmates―even if they would never admit it.
Just Some Stupid Love Story pairs almost perfectly with Taylor Swift’s The Bolter
Molly Marks, a rom-com screenwriter from L.A., is flighty. At the first sign of commitment, she will bolt. Seth Rubinstein, a divorce attorney in Chicago, believes in soulmates and pursues love with overeager earnestness. Molly broke Seth’s heart back in high school, and although neither will admit it, they aren’t over it. Sparks fly when they see each other at their 15th high school reunion, and they end up “reconnecting” for old-time’s sake. True to her pattern, Molly considers it a one-night stand, but Seth thinks is the opportunity to change their ending. Can they get on the same page?
“There’s a large, wicked part of me that wants to tell him to keep sending me soft-hearted, paragraph-lenghed texts about how lovely I am. But his sweetness is the clencher. I’m just not nice enough for him. I wish for a moment that I was. That I believed in the logic of rom-coms. That Seth could sore up my faith and sand down my rough edges, and I could brace him with realism until we evolve into each other’s missing piece. But that’s not how it works.”
Molly
“I know in my soul that we love each other in a way that I’ve never experienced and doubt I will ever experience again. Our love wasn’t a romantic comedy. I didn’t expect it to be. All I ever wanted, was her.”
Seth
The good, the bad & the dirty
I enjoyed this second-story romance. Nobody makes you feel like your first love, and it’s probably my favorite trope. I felt for Molly and her hesitation to pursue happiness. And Seth is the perfect rom-com lead–committed, relentless, and full of love without being a golden retriever. I loved the opportunity to be inside their heads and see how they fell in love. Both characters are well-written, and their love story is fun and has a good tempo. I haven’t read many steamy rom-coms, and this one delivered nicely.
However, I resented that Molly was the only one with baggage and issues, while Seth was just perfect. Also, I know COVID-19 has been a huge part of our lives for years, and we all process our collective trauma any way we can, but I don’t want to read about it anymore, not in the spaces I create to let my mind wander worry-free.
Overall, Just Some Stupid Love Story was a solid debut novel by Katelyn Doyle. I was hooked on it, and it left me feeling happy, hopeful and refreshed.
About the audiobook narrators: Christine Lakin and Tim Paige do a wonderful job narrating this dual POV story. I can feel their chemistry even though they don’t interact because they alternate chapters.
Darienne was 15 when her aunt gave her a copy of Princess by Jean Sasson, and she has been hooked on books ever since. Originally from Puerto Rico and now living in Maryland, she’s always looking to visit new coffee shops and bookstores. Her favorite genres include YA, spicy romcoms, and women’s fiction. Thanks to the Bees, she’s also now obsessed with romantasy series. Other loves include lavender lattes, sassy coffee mugs, sunrises, sleeping in, small-town charm, and big city lights. One day, she’ll write that book that lives in her head.