title: In the Case of Heartbreak
author: Courtney Kae
publisher: Kensington
publication date: July 25, 2023
pages: 320
peppers: 3 (on this scale)
warnings: childhood trauma talked about a lot, drug use
summary: narrator Ben runs a bakery that is competing, using a cinnamon roll recipe that mom adapted from absent/neglectful father's recipe, on a baking television show. At the same time, Ben finds out that his father issued a Cease and Desist order about using the recipe, that his grandmother, who's throwing a huge, multi-day birthday bash for herself, is going broke, and that his longtime crush Adam will be playing at G-ma's party and sharing the guest cabin with Ben.
tropes:
- rockstar
- baker
- the one that got away
- longtime crush
- wild grandmother
- two-week party
- vacation town
- forced proximity (which is also the name of the band in the book)
- childhood trauma
- children who try to take care of their parents
- don't want to ruin the friendship
- bad father/good mother
what I liked:
- describes some fun costumes
- grandmother's parties sound entertaining
- some good puns
what I didn’t like:
- the two MC (main characters)spend ten years pining for each other and not saying anything about it; then, once they start talking, they talk about everything and say exactly what a textbook of a supportive person would say.
- the first person voice is too whiny and insecure; he covers the same emotional ground too often and doesn't listen to all the people saying just the right things to him.
- the dialogue seems forced and juvenile
- you don't see the MCs together on page very much.
overall rating: 1 (of 5 stars)--I didn't like the narrative voice on this one at all.