Just Playing House

In this sweet rom-com, Heron (Jana Goes Wild) reunites old flames while pulling back the curtain on the rookie Hollywood experience. Twenty-something Marley Kamal has finally landed her dream position as a personal shopper at Reid’s Department Store—but her first celebrity client turns out to be her former prom date, Nik Shamdasani. Nik’s just gotten his big break as an actor and desperately needs a stylist who can prepare him for Comic-Con in two weeks, where it will be announced that he’s been cast as fan favorite superhero Bronze Shadow. Marley also has a big event looming in two weeks: she’s having an elective double mastectomy. She’s initially worried that working with Nik will be too awkward, but he makes her an offer she can’t refuse: he’ll serve as her live-in caregiver during her recovery from surgery. The two commit to a working relationship, but while living together and relying on each other, the feelings they thought they left at prom night resurface. Heron incorporates a timely discussion of racial inequities in Hollywood and sensitively handles Marley’s medical status, but keeps things fairly surface-level and light throughout. Still, readers looking for a breezy contemporary with closed-door sex scenes will be well pleased. Agent: Rachel Brooks, BookEnds Literary. (July)