A Novel Love Story
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4.4 • 17 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ∙ A professor of literature finds herself caught up in a work of fiction . . . literally, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Year Slip and The Dead Romantics.
Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost in a good happily-ever-after. The fictional kind, anyway. Because at least imaginary men don’t leave you at the altar. She feels safe in a book. At home. Which might be why she’s so set on going her annual book club retreat this year—she needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures—no matter what.
But when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a novel . . .
Because it is.
This place can’t be real, and yet… she’s here, in Eloraton, the town of her favorite romance series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It feels like home. It’s perfect—and perfectly frozen, trapped in the late author’s last unfinished story.
Elsy is sure that’s why she must be here: to help bring the town to its storybook ending.
Except there is a character in Eloraton that she can’t place—a grumpy bookstore owner with mint-green eyes, an irritatingly sexy mouth and impeccable taste in novels. And he does not want her finishing this book.
Which is a problem because Elsy is beginning to think the town’s happily-ever-after might just be intertwined with her own.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
The idea of getting lost in a great novel takes on new meaning for the heroine of this fantastical romance. Abandoned by her friends, frustrated at work, and still stinging from a broken engagement, Elsy has taken off on a solo road trip when an accident lands her in the alarmingly quaint town of Eloraton. Alarming because Eloraton isn’t real—it’s the place where Elsy’s favorite romance author, Rachel Flowers, sets her novels. Ashley Poston nails the whimsical, openhearted vibe here perfectly. None of the townspeople seem to realize that Elsy’s presence is finally breaking them out of the endless cycle they’ve been stuck in since Rachel Flowers died while writing their current novel. Well, nobody except for Anders, the gorgeous and irresistibly grumpy bookstore owner. The way that Anders sees Elsy for who she is made our hearts flutter, but Elsy’s journey to discover her own self-worth is what makes this magical read both sweet and incredibly satisfying.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stranger Than Fiction meets Virgin River in this incandescently clever meta rom-com from Poston (The Seven Year Slip). English professor Eileen "Elsy" Merriweather feels frozen in place after her fiancé breaks up with her a week before their wedding. Thankfully, there's the promise of a "week of wine and happily ever afters" when her Super Smutty Book Club vacations together in a cabin in the Catskills. When Elsy gets lost in a storm on the way there, however, she winds up in Eloraton, the fictional small-town setting of bestseller Rachel Flowers's hit Quixotic Falls series, the romances that brought the Super Smutty Book Club together in the first place. Flowers died before she could finish the series and Eloraton is stuck at the point where she stopped writing. The owner of the local bookstore, Anderson Sinclair, is the only person aware there's anything odd about the town. He warns Elsy not to make ripples or change things, but she feels compelled to help her favorite characters find the happy endings their author planned for them. Poston gracefully walks the line between women's fiction and romance—with just a hint of magic—providing an inspirational story of personal growth and second-chance romance alongside a fascinating exploration of transformative fiction, how readers and writers cocreate and share stories, and the value and purpose of escaping into one's favorite novels. Readers will want to escape into this one again and again.
