DEALBREAKERS

A London coder with a long list of relationship deal breakers finds out that true love might appear in the unlikeliest place when she’s paired up with her work nemesis.

Marina Spicer is behind schedule. All she wants is a safe, predictable relationship with the kind of man who wants to have kids, get a dog, and live happily-ever-after. But when her high school sweetheart dumps her, saying they want different things, she realizes she’s 30 years old and her biological clock is ticking louder every day. Enter Dealbreakers, an app she designed to help other efficient women weed out the men who just won’t work. It pulls data from other dating apps, then allows users to leave notes explaining what their date was really like—thus allowing people like Marina to avoid wasting time on someone who doesn’t fit their criteria. But the app isn’t Marina’s only work—her day job is at a website called LetsGO that helps people book interesting activities, and she wants to take on more responsibility. And then copywriter Lucas Kennedy shows up. He has tattoos, he smokes, he curses—all serious deal breakers for Marina. He’s also seemingly hellbent on annoying her. Unfortunately for her, they get paired up on a project, competing for the promotion Marina so desperately wants. The two of them have to test out date ideas, and as they try dancing, ax throwing, and an escape room, Marina starts to wonder if there’s more to Lucas than she suspected. Marina and Lucas have undeniable chemistry, and their dates provide them with plenty of opportunities to showcase their bickering banter as they get closer, both physically and emotionally. While the walls Marina built around her heart make sense, it’s satisfying to watch her open up—both to the possibility of love and to the risk that things might not go according to plan.

A charming and sweet look at the importance of breaking your own rules and taking a chance on love.