Love buzz A novel

Neely Tubati Alexander

Book - 2023

A wretched maid of honor. A hangover from hell. Raucous Mardi Gras crowds. There isn't much Serena Khan is enjoying about this four-day New Orleans destination bachelorette party for her semi-estranged cousin, the bride-to-be. UNTIL sparks fly with a handsome stranger, who--like her--is also from Seattle, at the ladies' last stop of the evening, a Bourbon Street bar. After their conversation is cut short, Serena is overwhelmed by the desire to find the charming man with the brooding eyebrows, but her list of clues is pretty short: His name is Julian. He lives on Chamber Hill. He works at a tech company. He loves Lil Wayne and Nirvana. The need to find him is, for Serena, both irresistible and totally irrational. In a few short wee...ks, her college alumni magazine is featuring her in a "Life at Thirty" feature, cementing her as a success story. She will have officially achieved the safe, stable life her late mother insisted upon. Julian is not part of the plan. As she combs Seattle for her New Orleans flame, stripping away the perfectly curated life that would have made her mother proud, Serena must decide if the pursuit of real passion is worth it, and fast, before she destroys the life she always thought she wanted.

Saved in:

1st Floor Show me where

FICTION/Alexander, Neely
0 / 1 copies available
Location Call Number   Status
1st Floor FICTION/Alexander, Neely Due Feb 28, 2025
Subjects
Genres
Romance fiction
Novels
Published
New York : Harper Perennial [2023]
Language
English
Main Author
Neely Tubati Alexander (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
295 pages ; 21 cm
ISBN
9780063292918
Contents unavailable.
Review by Booklist Review

In Alexander's outstanding debut, inspired by the film Serendipity (2001), the right couple meets at the wrong time. When Serena Khan encounters fellow Seattleite Julian at a bar in New Orleans during Mardi Gras, the intense spark between them is undeniable, but they have no time to make a real connection. With her passion for life reignited and few clues to draw from, this formerly practical woman begins a frantic search for the guy who set her heart on fire. She quits her unfulfilling accounting job and dumps her dependable yet boring boyfriend. She starts doubting that love at first sight exists, yet the universe keeps sending her signs that it does. Like when her best friend Clarence meets the love of his life after a car accident, a police officer named Terrance, who could be the key to tracking down Julian. Readers will be swept away by Serena's emotional journey as kismet determines when these star-crossed lovers are ready to be reunited. Alexander's inclusive representation of diverse backgrounds and sexual identities in lovingly crafted characters with rich and unique personalities is truly impressive. Readers will hope for more from this exciting new romance writer.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

A chance encounter derails the meticulously planned life of Serena Khan, heroine of Tubati-Alexander's charming debut. At 30, Seattle accountant Serena is right where her Indian immigrant mother would have wanted her to be: stable (but bored) in both her job and her relationship. While begrudgingly attending her cousin's destination bachelorette party in New Orleans, Serena meets fellow Seattleite Julian, in town for a friend's birthday, at a bar and feels an instant connection--but both of their parties get out of hand, separating them before they can exchange either numbers or last names. Serena can't stop thinking about Julian even after returning home, however, and recruits her best friend, Clarence, to help find him. Along the way, Serena questions her life choices, realizing that she's been chasing security instead of happiness and that she must let go of her mother's expectations. Endearing side characters that readers won't get enough of round out this moving tale of embracing life's imperfections. Tubati-Alexander will win plenty of fans with this. Agent: Elizabeth Weed, Book Group. (May)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review

DEBUT Growth, change, and a little bit of luck are at the center of Alexander's romantic debut. The story follows Serena Khan, who feels an instant spark of attraction with a man named Julian in a Bourbon Street bar, 2,000 miles away from their homes in Seattle. Their chance meeting--during which they never exchange contact details--causes Serena to rethink her career, her boyfriend, and her relationship with her family, which fractured after her mother's sudden death. The novel technically ticks all the romance boxes, but while love--or at least a love interest--is at the center of the story, the focus is more on Serena reevaluating her life for the majority of the book. Still, the novel and its characters are well-written, though a few of the more serendipitous moments may strain credulity. Many readers will forgive the more unbelievable moments, though, in service of an emotionally satisfying conclusion for Serena's story, in multiple areas of her life. VERDICT Will appeal to romance readers who like their books with a hefty dose of personal growth and women's fiction aficionados seeking a happily-ever-after.--Jenny Kobiela-Mondor

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.