cover image Get Lost with Me

Get Lost with Me

Sophie Sullivan. Griffin, $18 trade paper (304p) ISBN 978-1-250-87585-3

Sullivan’s unconvincing second Rock Bottom Love romance (after Love, Naturally) doesn’t do enough to sell the central love story. Divorced single mother Jillian “Jilly” Keller is finally finding solid ground after returning to her hometown of Smile, Mich., to work with her brothers as the event planner at their Get Lost Lodge. Then her childhood crush, Levi Bright, comes back home to help his father recover from gallbladder surgery and hopefully start a food truck. The last time these two saw each other, just before Levi left for culinary school at 17, was when their aborted first kiss ended in disaster and injury. When they meet again, Levi is determined to get closer to Jilly regardless of what her older brothers, his lifelong best friends, might think. But Jilly is afraid to trust any man again after her marriage ended with her ex embezzling money from his company and their mutual friends. The obstacles to their relationship feel somewhat contrived, but they’re overcome quickly once Jilly agrees to date. Unfortunately, it’s difficult to see what, if anything, connects these two beyond intense mutual attraction— their relationship remains very surface-level throughout. Readers will struggle to care about seeing these two reach their happy ending. (Feb.)