A NOVEL LOVE STORY by Ashley Poston – Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
Published by Berkley on June 25 2024
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Magic realism, Romance
Pages: 384
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Romance rules in this funny, sweet and unexpectedly thoughtful story about second chances.

“I’m not a book boyfriend, you know I’m real.”

Romance fans, this one’s for you! Ashley Poston has once again written an engaging, funny, heartfelt story with a touch of the speculative. After loving last year’s The Seven Year Slip, I knew I had to pick up A Novel Love Story, and I had such a good time with it! This is a true love letter to romance novels, and while some of the writing was a little over the top and too sappy for me, Poston successfully shines a rose colored light on romance fans and the books they love. Plus the title is simply perfect for the story.

Elsy Merriweather and her bestie Pru adore the Quixotic Falls books by Rachel Flowers, a romance series that takes place in a small town full of quirky characters (think Stars Hollow or Virgin River). They’ve even formed a book club centered around the books and call themselves the Super Smutty Book Club. Once a year, the book club members (who are scattered all over) meet at a cabin in the Hudson Valley to drink wine and dish over their favorite characters, but this year, everyone—except Elsy—is busy and has canceled. Elsy is especially hurt that Pru has opted to go to Iceland with her boyfriend instead, even though Pru insists that he’ll most likely propose to her on the trip. I mean, how can you argue with that?

Still, Elsy is determined to do the one thing she loves most, even if she has to do it alone. But during the long drive to the cabin, Elsy takes a wrong turn and winds up in an unfamiliar town. Or is it unfamiliar? The local diner is called The Grumpy Possum Café, there’s a bookstore called Ineffable Books, and when she spots the Daffodil Inn, Elsy is shocked to realize she’s been transported into the world of Quixotic Falls and the fictional town of Eloraton—impossible but true. Even the people who live here are the same characters from the books she’s grown to love. There is one person she doesn’t recognize, though—the supremely grumpy but attractive Anders, the owner of the bookstore. How does he fit into the books? Could he be the hero of Rachel Flowers’ fifth book, the one she never finished? As she and Anders grow closer, Elsy is torn between staying in her happy place or going back to her real life.

This was such a fun concept: to be magically transported into your favorite book world. What reader doesn’t wish that could actually happen? And you can tell that Elsy is absolutely thrilled. Her life for the past couple of years has not been great—her fiancé dumped her a week before their wedding, and even her relationship with Pru suffered from the fallout. So literally being able to interact with a fictional world and characters that she loves is a balm for her soul. What makes this concept really interesting is that the town of Eloraton is “stuck” in time. Because Rachel Flowers never finished the fifth book (due to her untimely death in a car accident), the characters don’t really know what they’re supposed to be doing. The inn is still being renovated from the last book, and no one knows who the book’s romantic couple is supposed to be. Even worse, when Elsy stumbles into Eloraton by mistake, her presence starts to change things, and suddenly the cozy, predictable world of Quixotic Falls isn’t as cozy as it used to be.

Ashley Poston takes all the tropes of romance fiction (and I do mean all) and has a blast incorporating them into her story (there’s a bookshop cat named Butterscotch, for example). She throws in lots of little mentions of fandoms as well, like Twilight (remember when it was cool to be a fan?). I also loved the way she celebrates romance readers. Elsy is a fan of romance in general, but she’ a super fan of Rachel Flowers, and her love shines through as she navigates the town of Eloraton and its residents. Some of my favorite parts of the story take place in the bookstore, and at the end of the story is a wonderful bookish surprise that I wish I could talk about but I won’t.

But as lovely as this celebration of romance is, of course you can’t have the “sweet” without the “bittersweet” to go along with it. One of the main themes of A Novel Love Story is moving on, something Elsy has been trying to do since her breakup, but hasn’t been successful with until she finds herself trapped in a fictional town. There are so many things in Eloraton that are tempting her to stay. There’s Anders, and the possibility of a relationship with him, as well as all the other sweet and quirky characters that she fell in love with before she even met them. But then there’s Pru and her Super Smutty Book Club friends back home, and the thought of never seeing them again is heartbreaking. Poston asks the question, can you have true love and also live the life you want, or does embracing love mean you have to give up everything else? Elsy has some tough choices to make and it’s not going to be easy.

And just like the romance stories you’re familiar with, the author sticks to the tried-and-true tropes and delivers a feel-good ending that wasn’t completely surprising, but it made me happy. Here’s hoping Ashley Poston writes more speculative romance stories like A Novel Love Story, I’m ready for the next one!

Big thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy.