Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This sentimental and lightly fitness-themed sapphic romance, Dugan's adult debut (after the YA novel Some Girls Do), centers themes of social class and found family. Gym attendant Lizzie McCarthy agrees to accompany personal trainer James Madalay--her best friend, coworker, and the son of her bosses--to his sister's wedding, largely in hopes of getting on his parents' radar for a promotion. She meets an attractive and distressed drunk woman in the bathroom at the rehearsal dinner and advises her to leave her unappreciative partner, not realizing that she's speaking to the bride, Cara, who then walks away from the wedding. Cara crashes with James in the wake of this catastrophe, and James encourages Lizzie to act as her distraction, not expecting the connection between the women to turn to romance. It's a cute premise, but the antagonists--James and Cara's snooty parents and Lizzie's dysfunctional mother--are disappointingly flat. Meanwhile, Lizzie's shift from thinking "My home isn't a person, my home is the gym" to making grand romantic gestures feels a bit abrupt. Still, the endearing dynamic between James, Cara, and Lizzie as they brave fear of intimacy in both friendship and love carries the story. There's plenty to enjoy here. Agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties. (May)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Hearing a woman sobbing about her boyfriend in the bathroom, Lizzie gives her a supportive pep talk and convinces her it's okay to break off a relationship that's causing her pain. They share a nice moment of solidarity--only for Lizzie to quickly discover that the woman, Cara, is her bosses' daughter and the bride at the wedding they had all gathered to attend. What follows is a mix of subterfuge and self-discovery as Cara tries to sort out her post-breakup life, and Lizzie tries to keep the origins of their friendship secret from her bosses. Then a burgeoning romance between Lizzie and Cara brings together two women who each need a change--both romantically and professionally--from their initial early-adulthood choices, a theme that is often present in romance but is explored more deeply and directly here. The plot is propelled more than once by characters making rash decisions while drunk, which feels underexplored in connection with Lizzie's difficult relationship with her mother, who's addicted to alcohol. VERDICT This adult debut from YA novelist Dugan (Melt with You) has a strong mix of humor and emotional depth; book clubs will likely find a lot to discuss.--Katelyn Browne
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A woman who inadvertently convinces her best friend's sister to ditch her own wedding finds herself falling for the runaway bride. It's no exaggeration to say that Lizzie McCarthy's entire life revolves around the gym--it isn't just where she grew up and learned responsibility at a young age, but a gym called The Fitness Place is also her current professional home. She's never been able to score the promotion she thinks she deserves, though, and it seems that the Manderlays, who own the gym, are determined to keep her staffing the front desk for the foreseeable future. When their son, James, Lizzie's best friend, begs her to be his date to his sister Cara's wedding, Lizzie reluctantly says she'll do it--primarily to get some face time with her employers, since she's hoping to become the manager of their gym's new branch. One too many cocktails later, Lizzie stumbles on a crying woman in the bathroom and gives her a drunken pep talk only to discover much too late that the stranger she's just helped out is Cara--and that Lizzie has convinced her to ditch her wedding. Lizzie is determined to do everything she can to make sure her bosses don't learn she had a role in this mess, but now she's getting pushed into entertaining Cara while the newly single woman is hanging around trying to figure out what to do with her life. As the weeks pass, Lizzie discovers that she has a pretty strong crush on Cara, but with a promotion on the line and secrets stacking up all around them, is there a way she can both fulfill her aspirations and get the girl? The book's premise has so much potential, and the developing romance between Cara and Lizzie is the strongest component, but the toxic family relationships drag the book down, making the eventual resolution less effective. A clever rom-com that loses some of its spark by the end. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
