FIND ME A BOOK: A real and refreshing NA romance
Kicking off my new, hopefully-every-Monday posting schedule with a nutshell review of a terrific NA novel. This one’s got it all: strong female friendships, plus THREE expertly developed romances to cheer for.
THE BOOK: The Broken Hearts’ Society of Suite 17C by Leigh Ann Kopans
CATEGORIZATION: NA contemporary romance (close third person, multi-POV)
IN A SENTENCE (OR TWO): After devastating heartbreaks, three very different college roommates make a pact not to let each other fall back into bad relationship patterns. Their Broken Hearts’ Society vows are put to the test when each of the girls finds an irresistible new flame—and must decide if love is worth the potential heartache.
WHY YOU’D LIKE IT: First of all, this book is an awesome high-wire feat that accomplishes the nearly impossible: it juggles three distinct POVs, integrates them smoothly into a cohesive story, and never makes you say “oh god, not her again” when the POV switches. You’ll care deeply about each of these strong young women: tough-but-kind Rion, who swears like a sailor and has a talent for mixing music; introverted Arielle, an out-and-proud lesbian in search of same; and Christian girl Amy, whose breakup with her longtime boyfriend leads her to question everything about the life her parents laid out for her.
Kopans tackles complex issues here—religion, abortion, feminism, life aspirations—but she deftly weaves them into the fabric of her characters’ college experience, so the book never feels preachy. The romances are top-notch (featuring some steamy sex scenes that dropped my jaw in a good way), but the best love story here is the three roommates’ powerful friendship, which evolves beautifully and realistically as the girls challenge, comfort, and empower each other.
FAVORITE LINE: [SLIGHT SPOILERS HERE…]
…So one of my favorite things about this book is Amy’s story. It starts as a painful separation from the boy everyone expected her to marry, but it evolves into a tremendously moving story of self-discovery and reinvention. Her new friendship/romance with liberal Christian Matt isn’t treated as her salvation—when it comes to finding herself, she does her own heavy lifting—but when they finally come together and she revises her definition of love, I wished I could bookmark it multiple times:
“Amy finally understood—belonging to a person you loved who really, really loved you back, meant freedom for your heart that wasn’t a prison, not even close. It was a safe place to fall, a home to return to no matter where you were.”
THE PERFECT DAY TO READ IT: This book is a long, absorbing read. Pick a week when you can string together several days of stolen hours: by the pool, on a car trip, or while housesitting/babysitting/couch-sitting. You’ll crave ice cream, so have a pint of your favorite on hand. And maybe a tissue or two.
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