July 4, 2022
The meet-cute is alive and well in this heartfelt contemporary from Williams (The Wrong Suitcase). After a difficult breakup, Londoner Ruby decides to take a “Year of Me” in Manchester to complete a master’s course in filmmaking. Manchester local Nic’s recovering from his own heartbreak, and he’s just moved to London for a fresh start. He arrives in the city the night before she leaves, and when fate throws them together, they instantly recognize their connection, sharing an intense and steamy night with the knowledge that Ruby will be gone in the morning. Ruby’s determined to start her new life with no strings attached—but texting can’t hurt, can it? As both parties navigate making new friends, supporting family members, and searching for their futures, they realize that they can’t let go of the connection they felt with each other. Williams deepens the love story with a sensitive exploration of why Ruby felt compelled to uproot her life, which unfurls parallel to the film she’s making about a WWII veteran seeking a lost love. The focus on both characters’ separate personal growth puts this teetering on the line of women’s fiction, but readers will be rooting for Ruby and Nic throughout. It’s a sweet, emotional treat.