by Emily Henry

“Soulmates?” She laughs. “No. I’m saying your ex is the little boy looking over someone else’s shoulder, trying to figure out if the kid next to him has a better lunch. Only, the lunch box is shut, so even though he knows what his parents packed for him is pretty good, he’d still trade it just to open up that rusty little Batman lunch box.”

I shrug. “I’ve always been kind of a tagalong, I guess. Only lately I haven’t had anyone to tag along after.” “You’re not a tagalong,” she says. “You’re a we-girl.” “Like a wee lass?” I ask. “No, like, We love that restaurant. We always vacation there. We don’t really like scary movies. A woman who’s more comfortable being a part of a whole, who never goes anywhere without a partner.”

Emily Henry is a good writer and she is very popular. Rom-Com/chic-lit readers seem to just love her. I like her and I have read 4 of her other books. One was a 4 1/2 star read for me but another, I couldn’t finish, I was so not entertained. This one started off great. The description of the plot drew me in. Daphne is dumped by her fiance for his lifelong best friend, Petra, whom he realizes is his true soulmate at his bachelor party. When he asks Daphne to move out of his apartment, she has no place to go and moves in with Petra’s ex-boyfriend, Miles. It is not long before the two sad castoffs decide to pretend to be a couple partly for their self-protection. This trope is a favorite of mine. It provides lots of opportunity for comedy, drama, and the promise of justice served-because often the dumpees become the dumpers at the end when the chastened ex(es) come crawling back.

I liked the heroine’s first-person voice. She was heartbroken by her fiance’s betrayal but seemed smart, down-to-earth, and funny while she told her story. I liked Miles too despite him being described as “a stoner without a college degree.” He was very nice and easygoing. And I do like unconventional heroes. His reaction to his predicament was to watch the Chaka Khan scene in Bridget Jones’ Diary on a loop. So that was endearing. And of course, there was bound to be an intriguing story behind his evident loser-dom. We soon learn that Daphne has been pretty damaged by an absentee father who was fun and charming but unreliable and unstable. His negative influence was not helped by her mother being forced to move from place to place for her career. As a result, she is socially closed off, craves stability, feels unworthy of love, etc. When she finally found Peter, an emotionally available (for once) guy, who actually loved her back, she allowed herself to be absorbed into his life instead of making one of her own. So when he dumped her she found herself with no friends of her own, no place to live, and in a strange tourist town in northern Michigan far away from her beloved Mom. She really has nothing but her job, which she loves, as a Children’s Librarian.

The book got off to a great start as we got to know Daphne and her background. The stage was set up well for her growth and healing. Miles’ background remained somewhat of a mystery for a while, but we saw that there was more to him than at first met the eye. I really liked him, and was interested in their inevitable romance. But around the 40% mark just when things started to heat up between Daphne and Miles, the book started to bog down and get boring in its predictable pattern. Daphne did too much describing and analyzing. Do we really have to be reminded that Miles smells like ginger 7 times? (It seemed like a lot more than that.) There were enough interesting happenings to break up the monotony and keep me reading, but somehow, they seemed like blips on a radar screen. Daphne’s only friend is not supportive! Daphne finds a new friend! She runs into Peter in a parking lot! Miles’s sister shows up unannounced! It turns out Miles and his sister were raised by a sociopath which is why he is so nice! (?!) Her father shows up with an eccentric new wife! And breaks her heart once again! Daphne stands up her new friend just like her father always did to her! Miles stands her up! This last is never justified adequately by the author and is a problem.

Eventually, Daphne and Miles navigate misunderstandings, hurt feelings, psychological breakthroughs and insights and find their happy ending. Enough shit finally happens for them to rise above their childhoods and more recent traumas and become well-adjusted at last. The high point was Daphne finally telling off her father. Epic take-down. Unfortunately for the reader Miles does not get the same satisfaction with his seriously disturbed mother. We don’t even get to meet her, more’s the pity.

Despite losing enthusiasm for the book midway, it was well-written, amusing, insightful, and still a pretty good read. I like Emily Henry’s voice, but she just is not in my top tier of authors.
**3 1/2 stars**