Maybe once, maybe twice A novel

When Maggie's gynecologist informs her that it won't be easy for her to get pregnant, she's glad she has a plan for marriage and babies. Both loves of her life entered into pacts to marry her if they were not married by her thirty-fifth birthday. She has been pursuing her music career, which has been limited to tiny venues and children's birthday parties. Now, she faces her last chance. She can't marry her good buddy Garrett because he's just become engaged. Her first love, Asher, a gorgeous, famous actor she met at arts camp when they were teens, is producing a movie based on her favorite book. She knows she is the best person to write the soundtrack. All looks on track for love, success, and parenthood until one tiny lie and a Harvey Weinsteinesque character threaten to ruin it all. The story jumps back and forth between the past and present. Like Greenberg's debut, Bad Luck Bridesmaid (2022), this nonformulaic romance is strong on friendship and the importance of being true to oneself.

Greenberg (Bad Luck Bridesmaid) serves up some irresistible romantic angst in this page-turner. Struggling New York City musician Maggie Vine made a pact with her summer camp boyfriend, Asher Reyes, that they would get married if they were both still single at 35--and later she made a similar pact with her longtime on-again, off-again lover Garrett Scholl. On her 35th birthday, both men reenter Maggie's life. Garrett shows up at her birthday party and kisses her, giving her hope, but then announces that he's engaged to someone else, breaking her heart. Meanwhile, Asher, now a famous actor, puts out a press release that he's bought the rights to Maggie's favorite book, hoping she'll see it and track him down. She does and demands that he let her write the music for the film adaptation, putting them back in close contact after all these years. As Maggie navigates her complicated feelings for both men, she also faces career struggles--including a sexually abusive music producer from her past--and evaluates what she wants out of the new life phase she's entering. Steamy sex scenes and big emotions propel the story forward, and it's easy to root for Maggie in both love and life. This is a knockout. Agents: Cait Hoyt and Alex Rice, CAA. (Oct.)