Ex Appeal

Yardley’s cute but conventional standalone third Ponto Beach Reunion romance (after Gouda Friends) begins with fixer Vinh Doan realizing that the $10 million he’s safeguarding for a risky client has gone missing. His future rests on his ability to recover the funds—and to do so, he has no choice but to turn to his high school ex-girlfriend. Brilliant hacker Emily MacDonald has mostly hung up her criminal hat and now struggles to make ends meet at a minimum wage job. The last thing she wants is to forgive—let alone help­­—Vinh, who unceremoniously dumped her shortly after her father died. But sparks fly between them and curiosity eventually gets the best of Emily. They try to keep it all business as they work together to solve the financial mystery, but the closer Emily gets to the answer, the more their deep connection and complicated past bubble up between them. The characters are easy to invest in, and though their lovers to enemies to lovers story doesn’t break any expectations, their chemistry is strong enough to carry this through. Fans of The Hating Game and The Unhoneymooners will enjoy this breezy, nerdy outing. Agent: Tricia Skinner, Fuse Literary. (Nov.)