One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin Published by Penguin on June 18, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, Fiction / Women
Pages: 400
Format: Hardcover
Source: Book of the Month
A struggling writer is forced to walk down the aisle at her best friend’s wedding with the man who gave her book a very public one-star rating in this fresh romantic comedy from Laura Hankin.
Natalie and Rob couldn’t have less in common. Nat’s a messy artist, and Rob’s a rigid academic. The only thing they share is their devotion to their respective best friends—who just got engaged. Still, unexpected chemistry has Natalie cautiously optimistic about being maid of honor to Rob’s best man.
Until, minutes before the ceremony, Nat learns that Rob wrote a one-star review of her new novel, which has them both reeling: Nat from imposter syndrome, and Rob over the reason he needed to write it.
When the reception ends, these two opposites hope they’ll never meet again. But, as they slip from their twenties into their thirties, they’re forced together whenever their fast-track best friends celebrate another milestone. Through housewarmings and christenings, life-changing triumphs and failures, Natalie and Rob grapple with their own choices—and how your harshest critic can become your perfectly imperfect match.
After all, even the truest love stories sometimes need a bit of rewriting.
My Review
I do enjoy a good romance and was happy to see that Book Of The Month had this as a June choice. Of course, loving romances, I picked this one up, and besides, the cover looked cute. Do not let this cover fool you, though. It is not all sunshine and roses; there are some serious topics in this book. I should also say that I didn’t feel like it was entirely a romance either, but more of a journey through your twenties and figuring things out. I read the book rather quickly, but only a week or so out from finishing it, I am having a hard time remembering details in the story. Do not get me wrong, I enjoyed it as I was reading it, but I think maybe it is a bit forgettable for me. With all that being said, I will hop into what this book is about, and Reader, as always, trigger warnings will be listed down below.
In this story, we follow Natalie and Gabby, a couple of young women in their early twenties. They are besties and live together in a small NYC apartment. The book opens with an email from Angus, Gabby’s boyfriend, inviting people to a bar to celebrate Gabby’s twenty-fifth birthday. Natalie is not a huge fan of Angus. I mean, yeah, he is okay for Gabby right now, but she can not see him making her happy in the long run. Basically, Natalie thinks that Angus is not good enough for her best friend. I am just going to say it here and now Natalie is OBSESSED with her best friend in almost a creepy kind of way. The thing that Natalie does not realize is that this birthday party is going to change her life in more ways than one. Oh, and I am just going to say it Angus is the sweetest guy ever. He is such a good boyfriend and friend that it is hard not to like him, honestly. Gabby and Angus become engaged on her twenty-fifth birthday, to Natalie’s complete shock and horror. She can not believe this is happening; her bestie is going to be moving on without her, at least that is what she thinks. This Reader is really where the story begins.
On the night of Gabby’s engagement, Natalie meets Rob, who happens to be Angus’s best friend. She is drawn to him not only because he is good-looking but also because she finds him easy to talk with; she can be herself around him. It should be said that Natalie is the type of girl who forms herself into whatever her partner needs and wants; she is never truly herself. So when she finds that talking to Rob is not only enjoyable but easy to do, she is intrigued by him, to say the least. Rob is a quiet academic who studies linguistics and has been best friends with Angus since they were boys. He is kind and thinks deeply about things. His father is a well-known professor at a top college and often beats his son’s confidence down because he cannot handle the fact that his son might become as good, if not better, of an academic than himself. In a way, Natalie and Rob have this in common because Natalie’s mom often encourages her to settle rather than go for what/who she wants, which makes Natalie feel as though she is not good enough. It also does not help that Natalie’s father left her and her mom when she was growing up for another woman. Needless to say Natalie has some baggage that she is carrying around having to do with feeling not good enough. The baggage does not stop her because Natalie has multiple jobs. The job that she wants, though, is to become a published writer someday. It isn’t until Angus and Gabby become engaged that Natalie is able to write a story good enough to get published.
Rob and Natalie are brought together again at the wedding as best man and maid of honor. Natalie is happy to see Rob again until she isn’t. Natalie received a one-star review of her book, and it turns out that it was Rob who gave it to her. Rob is not happy with Natalie because of the things that she said in her book. He finds it cruel and unkind. The tension between the two is definitely there, but they do not say anything because they do not want to ruin their friend’s wedding day, so the tension continues to build. After the wedding is over, Natalie finally loses it on Rob, and in return, he does the same. She is fine with it because she thinks that this will be the last time she has to see him. Natalie is wrong.
Meanwhile, on the friend front, Natalie feels like her relationship with Gabby is not what it used to be, which, hello, of course, it isn’t. Gabby is now married. Natalie has a very hard time dealing with the fact that she is not the most important person to Gabby anymore. Not to mention, she has written another book but is having a difficult time finding someone to publish it. Basically, Natalie feels like everyone’s lives are moving on without her, and she is simply stuck. Maybe her mum was right. Perhaps she just needs to settle for good enough and set her dreams aside. It isn’t long before Natalie’s life takes another drastic turn and one that she was not expecting. I am not going to say any more than that Reader because I do not want to give anything away. Please if you decide to pick this one up let me know your thoughts because I would be interested to hear them.
In my opinion, this is a story about going through your twenties in NYC. It is about discovering your likes/dislikes, your wants and needs; basically, it is about discovering who you are as a person. We do follow Natalie and Gabby throughout the years; we watch their friendship grow and change and sometimes not for the better. We also follow Natalie and Rob’s interactions over the years and watch how their relationship changes over time. Angus is still the sweetest guy ever throughout the whole story, and honestly, he just made me smile. This book is a typical enemies-to-lovers situation, but the romance does not take place until much later in the book, so be prepared to wait. As I said above, I enjoyed this book while reading it, but sadly, it is not a memorable story for me. I am not sad that I read it, I am still glad I chose this as my June pick from Book Of The Month. This was my first book by Laura Hankin but I am sure it will not be my last. Have you read her works before and if so what did you think of them? Until Next Time, Reader, Happy Reading.
Trigger Warnings:
- Parental Abandonment
- Talk of Bullying
- Cancer
- Dementia
- Broken Engagements