Happily Whatever After

Lewis (Look Closer) takes readers on a slow stroll through moneyed Washington, D.C., in this lackluster rom-com. After Page becomes “unemployed and undateable” upon losing her art gallery job, her boyfriend, and her New York City apartment, she moves in with her restaurateur older brother, Brady, in D.C. Sick of being an outsider but unable to get along with Brady’s girlfriend, Jane, or her friends, “the Real Housewives of Logan Circle,” the frustratingly passive Page finds solace in a dog park (despite not having a dog of her own). There she crushes from afar on the handsome owner of two Bernese mountain dogs (dubbing him “BR” after his Banana Republic wardrobe) and befriends the other regulars. She leverages these new friendships to achieve her dream of opening an art gallery of her own. In between several false romantic starts with other men, Page pursues BR, learning that his name is Mark and he owns a vineyard. Then a family medical scare provides an abrupt act three plot twist, draining the comedy from the tale. As fun as it is to gawk at the well-heeled eccentrics of Lewis’s D.C., the meandering pace may madden readers expecting a zippy plot and continual quips. Lewis’s sophomore effort disappoints. Agent: Christopher Schelling, Select Artists. (July)