ooooh...this is a lovely slow burn with a couple that defies easy categorization. Cole is what you might call a "recovering himbo." He's an actor clawing his way back from the good-time-boy image he inflicted on himself from his time on a Degrassi (?) type show. Maggie, a former high school drama teacher who was run out on a rail by conservative reactionaries whose political blind spots had no regard for facts, is reinventing herself as a Hollywood intimacy coordinator.

It took me a hot second to see how her career progression would happen, but honestly? It makes perfect sense. As a former theatre kid (and theatre professional), the truly thoughtful people in the high school theatre space are the ones most concerned with safety, appropriateness, and boundaries. Full marks, chef's kiss, all the yes.

The rest of the story is such a lovely slow country dance of these two and their colleagues and friends coming together and making something wonderful (think: Bridgerton meets Outlander). There's some Hollywood bullshit and the bleak moment is a soft one (which I, for one, appreciated).

Some of the best romances leave you wanting books for the secondary characters, so let me go on the record as wanting Tasha's book.

Emma Barry gets better and better with every new book, and this was SUCH a total win from beginning to end, immersive and heartfelt, starring a couple who are older than the usual romance pairing (38 and 41, IIRC), trying to figure out the next act of their lives in the midst of a perfectly-realized and fascinating setting.

Cole is an actor who’s spent the last 16 years trying to make up for his thoughtless teen years, when he starred in a hit show and did a lot of stupid teenage stop, and torpedoed his career for a while. He’s not just trying to improve his career, though; he’s trying to make up for his years of not noticing what was happening around him, after a recent documentary brought out the toxic awfulness that happened to actresses on his show (not from him, but from the adults in charge). He’s just gotten his best role in years, starring in a season of Waverly - in this world, it’s the new hit show that’s an equivalent to Bridgerton, full of gorgeous costumes and romance and sex, and based on Sir Walter Scott’s Waverly novels (given happy endings). He’s desperate to prove himself as an actor and as a person.

(Can I just note that I LOVED that whole concept and was so pleased Emma included a fun set of details about the show after the end of the book? I would totally devour every episode if it were real.)

Maggie spent the last 16 years as a drama teacher and thought that would be her life forever - until a nasty rightwing parents’ group got her fired for putting on a supposedly “inappropriate” play. She won the lawsuit to get her job back, but the toxicity meant she couldn’t take it anymore. Now she has a second chance, as the intimacy coordinator on Waverly, and she’s desperate to make her new life and career work.

So it’s the worst timing for both of them to fall in love with each other…but it is the most satisfying slow burn, because they’re both grown ups who take their responsibilities and ethics seriously. Around 60% of the way in, I had to take a couple hours away because I was so full of EMOTIONS - I mean, they were SO PERFECT for each other! I needed them to be together! But also, I understood why they couldn’t, and I didn’t want them to throw away important things. Augh!

I loved the ending, and I just loved THEM, along wiht every fabulous moment along the way. And they were surrounded by SO many great characters in the cast and crew of Waverly. I loved every single vivid detail of the filming and prep work! And seriously, I want this show.


I really loved this book and will definitely be re-reading it!