Book Review: "Summer in the City" by Alex Aster

“There are moments in life, I think, that make you grateful you didn’t just stay in your room.”

Elle is a successful screenwriter, but no one knows it, because she writes under an alias. She’s just gotten the chance for her big break, to write a big-budget rom-com set in NYC, so she moves to the city for inspiration.

She has the summer to write the script, but she has writer’s block. Bad. To make matters worse, she discovers that her neighbor in the apartment next door is Parker, the tech billionaire she met two years ago. They hooked up at a nightclub and he offended her, so Elle has hated him ever since.

Parker doesn’t seem to remember Elle, but their constant interactions fuel her anger, which in turn spikes her creativity. What happens when you realize your nemesis is actually your twisted muse, helping you do some of your best work?

When Parker needs a girlfriend to attend events while his company is in the midst of a crucial negotiation, he asks Elle. In exchange, he offers to accompany her to the different locations featured in her script. It’s just for the summer—and no feelings will be involved. (Sure…)

I’m a complete sap and this book hit all the right notes for me. It’s full of great banter, hot steam, and real emotion. Elle’s stubbornness was irritating at times but I still rooted for the two of them.

Book Review: "What is Wrong with You?" by Paul Rudnick

Trone Meston is a tech billionaire (think of a hybrid of Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and Elon) who is about to get married on his private island off the coast of Maine. He’s engaged to marry Linda, a former flight attendant and the ex-wife of Sean, a fitness mogul and former TV superhero.

A motley crew of invited guests and hangers-on have gathered not only for the wedding, but for Trone’s promised unveiling of a major technological breakthrough. Sean is hoping to convince Linda not to get married and instead reconcile with him. But can he compete with a billionaire for Linda’s hand?

Sean has invited one of his personal training clients, Rob, to be his plus one at the wedding. Rob has been mourning the death of his longtime partner, Jake, and is dealing with the end of his career as a book editor at the hands of Isabelle, the publisher’s “sensitivity associate.”

Tremble, the writer that Rob was working with, is an outspoken yet talented genius whose perspectives on the world are shockingly blunt. When she learns Rob has been fired, she too heads for Maine to try and get his job back.

I enjoy the way Paul Rudnick skewers social conventions and looks at love, grief, and relationships. This book tried to shoehorn so many characters and issues together and it was almost thisclose to going off the rails completely. I liked the character development, but I just found the plot got too silly after a while.