The Novel: Love Unexpected (Some Kind of Love #2)

The Author: Jenny Proctor

The Guest: Lyndi Macke, Co-Host of Hello Out There

The Synopsis: A famous boss. A secret identity. And a hilarious road trip to love.
Yes. Yes, Rosie does have a crush on Isaac, her YouTube-famous boss.

Does she ever talk to him? Absolutely not. Crippling social anxiety can do that.

But Rosie is nothing if not tenacious. Ignoring her friends’ advice to just talk to him already (Nope, that’s way too hard), she instead opts to pursue a virtual relationship with Isaac using a secret identity.

The plan is genius. Online, Rosie has social skills she’d never dream of having in person. She’s possibly even cool. If Isaac can just get to know her, he’ll see how amazing she is.

But then a spontaneous road trip throws Rosie and Isaac together, and their virtual and in-person lives collide. (Eleven hundred miles in a seventy’s era VW hatchback? What could possibly go wrong?)

Much to Rosie’s surprise, she doesn’t constantly humiliate herself. Conversation is easy, and their chemistry? It’s pretty much off the charts.

But every road trip is bound to hit a speed bump or two.

Will Rosie’s secret identity be the thing that brings them together? Or the thing that tears them apart?

Show Notes:
- Words matter... stop calling it "clean" romance
- Hidden coding and allegories in Twilight
- Hello Out There, an improvised podcast (00:08:45)
- Introducing today's read, Love Unexpected (00:12:44)
- A brief discussion of blurb-writing
- "Chick Lit" during the "Sex and the City" era (circa 2002-2006)
- The not-so-brief synopsis for this slightly-stalker-ish romance (00:22:34)
- When you know the book just isn't for you...
- Books written AFTER their time
- The Marty Stu
- A few positives: How social anxiety impacts all facets of life (including dating), a diverse cast, and an incredibly powerful support system
- And a whole bunch of negatives...
- The very anti-climatic third act (00:49:50)
- When the hero is basically a robot...
- The best friends are the ones you tell you when you're doing something wrong
- Heart, Humor, & Heat Ratings (01:13:10)
- When your family is also your friend group... and co-workers...
- What this book COULD'VE been
- Is there hope for the camera man in Book #3?

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