Review: Tropesick by Lauren Okie
Thank you Avon and Harper Voyager for my copy! All thoughts are my own.
After binge watching all of Summer House this Spring, I was very interested in reading a book set in the Hamptons! I flew through this book and enjoyed it immensely. It was the perfect to kick off my Summer reading. It veered toward angsty, which isn’t my usual cup of tea, but I thought it all worked very well. I was interested to know if it would break through and a “book of the summer” after reading it pre-publication.
Synopsis:
“Katie Caruso is a completely normal twenty-five-year-old girl. At least, for the past eight years, she’s tried to be. She likes glitter and sequins and flirting with cute boys at New York City bars. She’s also a ghostwriter for Meredith Bradford, the bestselling romance novelist of all time. But then Tyler McNally walks back into Katie’s life, and that bedazzled facade crumbles at her platform-sneakered feet.
Katie and Tyler haven’t seen or spoken to each other since the overdose death of Katie’s older brother, a standout MLB pitching prospect. Tyler was her brother’s best friend, and Katie—naturally—was the girl next door. But now, Tyler is a sleeve-tattooed, Ivy League–educated aspiring literary fiction novelist, nine years sober . . . and Katie’s writing partner for the summer.
As genre conventions require, Katie and Tyler soon find themselves removed from Manhattan and instead writing their love story in “forced proximity” at Meredith’s isolated Southampton home. As the summer unfolds, the tropes Katie and Tyler have written into their novel begin to play out in their own lives. Call it destiny, fate, or magic itself: it’s clear their love story isn’t finished. This time, though, they’ll work through the pain that tore them apart—and fight for their happy ending.” —NetGalley
What I Liked:
The Setting—Like I said, I loved being in the Hamptons. I felt like it was a writers version of Ina Garten’s house, which is perfectly my vibe.
The Writing—I thought it was well paced and I really enjoyed getting caught up in the sentences. It was my first book by the author and I’ll definitely read more of her work.
The Pace of the Romance—I was a big fan of how everything unfolded in the second chance of it all. Second chance feels SO summery to me and I just love the nostalgic aspect of a season we all long to relive.
What Didn’t Work:
The Angst—Just not my usual vibe!
Character Authenticity: 4/5 Spice Rating: 2/5 Overall Rating: 4/5
Content Warnings:
Grief, loss of a sibling, loss of a friend