When Javi Dumped Mari

Sosa (The Wedding Crasher) serves up a flirty friends-to-lovers romp that expertly balances big emotions and zany humor. Over a decade ago, college friends Javi and Mari agreed to be each other’s wingmen and also get full approval over the other’s choice in partner. After graduation, there was a moment when they almost got together themselves, but Javi ghosted. Six years later, the pair reunited unexpectedly and things have been strictly platonic—though both have been pining—for the two years since. Now, however, Mari, an entertainment lawyer, is getting married in six weeks—and Javi, an aspiring playwright, hasn’t even met the guy. Javi agrees to be Mari’s man of honor while secretly scheming to break up the wedding by exposing Mari to her fiancé’s flaws. Sosa creates dramatic and romantic tension by toggling between her protagonists’ perspectives and skillfully deploys flashbacks to the pair’s early friendship and the moment it all went wrong, teasing out their juicy backstories. There are plenty of laugh-out-loud moments along the way, especially in the zingy banter between Javi and Mari. It’s a pitch-perfect romantic comedy. Agent: Sarah Younger, Nancy Yost Literary. (June)