BY ANY OTHER NAME

A romance editor’s belief in love is put to the test after she discovers the true identity of her favorite author.

Elaine “Lanie” Bloom believes in the power of true love, and not just because she’s a romance novel senior editor at Peony Press. Her mother’s dying wish was for Lanie to find someone “you really, really love,” and she thinks she’s found it with her fiance, Ryan. He’s a perfectly handsome legislative director with presidential aspirations, yet she’s struggling to picture Ryan next to the altar. For starters, he doesn’t get along with her tortoise, Alice, and he’s constantly implying she should quit her job to become the next FLOTUS-in-training. Life gets even more confusing when Lanie is offered a provisional promotion to editorial director and tasked with reeling in the 4-months-late manuscript from beloved bestseller Noa Callaway. Lanie soon discovers that her favorite author is not, in fact, an elusive old woman but Noah Ross, the attractive mystery man she recently met at a book launch. Suddenly, everything she thought she knew about love, her relationship, and Noah’s novels comes crashing down. Will Lanie be able to reconcile her feelings for the real Noah in time to help overcome his writer’s block and save her job? Kate’s second adult novel thoughtfully explores the notion of living bravely and taking risks in love, but it’s weighed down early on with multiple flashback scenes that overwhelm an already short page count. A few more chapters could have tended to open-ended side plots or given Noah more room to express himself as an individual outside of his pseudonym and Lanie’s love interest.

A sweet, literary rom-com that excels in self-realization but falters with a rushed resolution.