The Mixtape

Cherry (The Wreckage of Us) dazzles with this deeply felt friends-to-lovers contemporary. After rock star Alex Smith—one-half of dynamic duo Alex & Oliver—dies in a car accident, his twin brother and musical counterpart, Oliver, spirals into a drunken depression culminating in a missed comeback show and a melee at a dive bar. Struggling single mom Emery Taylor is working as a bartender to support her sassy five-year-old daughter—but when her longtime favorite musician incites a brawl in her bar, it costs her the gig. To make amends, Oliver hires Emery as his personal chef, infuriating his nightmarish live-in girlfriend, Cam Jones. Alex and Emery slowly but surely grow closer, but even after Cam is out of the picture, their road to love is strewn with devastating bombshells, including revelations of rape and reckonings with parental abuse. With its uncommon depth, Cherry’s story will elicit tears in some places, laughter in others. A stellar cast—especially supportive therapist Abigail and Oliver’s compassionate and happily married parents—underpin the emotional love story. Readers will be hooked. [em]Agent: Flavia Viotti, Bookcase Literay. (July) [/em]