Laura the Explorer

Australian author Begg’s debut totters unevenly between its moments of sexual slapstick and broad humor about 20-something anxiety, and its overly complicated small-world romance, never quite committing to either. Laura Baker tries to make a fresh start with a move into a Sydney flat after her marriage to her high school sweetheart, Jack, ends with the revelation that he is gay. Her new roommates, Ben and Kalina, convince her to revisit her missed opportunity to sleep around. Meanwhile, she avoids her mother’s matchmaking and develops a crush on the mysterious Lucas, whom she keeps running into around town. The roommate dynamic has smart dialogue and energetic playfulness, but Laura’s relationships with family and work friends are stereotyped, and her internal monologue is obvious and fussy. Though there’s true humor in the bad sex vignettes, Begg never allows her heroine to really enjoy her casual encounters, denying frustrated readers the joy of the vicarious romp in favor of a milquetoast romance and vague self-discovery. If Begg commits wholeheartedly to her comedy in future books, she could be an author to watch. (BookLife)