Cover of The Reunion, with an illustration of a white man and woman standing in front of a screen with a silhouette of a couple kissing

About the Book

Title: The Reunion
Published: 2023
Swoonworthy Scale: 5

Sub-Genres: Fake Relationship, Office (?!) Romance
What’s Your Type: Shipping Fictional Characters on Teen TV Shows

We’ve reached the third and final installment of this year’s Trope Edition of our Grown-Up Guide to Romance, and I hope y’all have successfully swooned your way through February. I, for one, have been reading the new Crescent City for what feels like my entire life, but hey, it’s a “romantasy”, so it still counts as a suitable novel for the month of love. (Stay tuned for my review!) Of course, I also had to pick up a more straightforward romance for the purpose of this guide, although I am sad to tell you, dear friends, that this book has zero sex scenes. I know, quelle nightmare!!! But don’t stop reading this review just yet, as I think the premise might hook you even without the promise of bedroom business. Because this second chance romance? It’s between two former stars of a TV series… whose chemistry together might NOT have been just for the cameras.

The Reunion by Kayla Olson

Fancy Dress to Fabio: Emily Henry AI

While I’m always a sucker for a hot pink color scheme, this illustration basically feels like what would happen if I asked ChatGPT to design an Emily Henry cover. It does manage to capture the gist of the premise, but it’s just so… bland. Like, file this under A for Airport Bookstore Cover.

The Deal: 

For six years, Girl on the Verge reigned as the #1 teen drama on television. The series made its star, Liv Latimer, a household name, and twenty years later, fans are still shipping her character, Honor, with her onscreen bestie / love interest, Duke, played by Ransom Joel. (These names, y’all.) In real life, Liv and Ransom were just as close as Honor and Duke, minus the romance, which Liv always secretly pined for.

For reasons I will not spoil for you, Ransom and Liv stopped speaking soon after the series ended, but now they’re headed back to set for a one hour special reunion episode that will finally reveal what happened after the cliffhanger series finale: did Honor move to NYC to pursue her dreams, or stay in California with Duke?

Liv, now an indie film darling, is seeking a resolution to her own personal cliffhanger—will Ransom still only see her as a friend, or will he finally recognize the spark between them?

The Leading Woman: Michelle Williams

Even though Liv is basically, like, the Katie Holmes or Alexis Bledel of the story, she feels much more like a Michelle Williams to me. Okay, so obviously I don’t actually know Michelle Williams, but I like to imagine she’s down to earth and kind, just like Liv. Both women are deeply talented and extremely gorgeous, and like Michelle, Liv has focused her career on challenging roles under the direction of emerging filmmakers. In spite of finding fame at a young age, she never had a Lindsay Lohan era, which might have been due to the positive influence of her father, a famous actor, but is also probably due to his death in the second year of filming Girl. Her grief, while lessened by time, gives her character gravity that nicely contrasts with the vapidness of being a celebrity. As much as I’d probably be insanely jealous of Liv if we were friends IRL, I really enjoyed hanging out with her in this book.

The Leading Man: Hollywood Heartthrob

Ransom is outrageously handsome, charmingly charismatic, and warmly genuine; in other words, he’s too good to be true except that he really is THAT good. It’s easy to see why Liv fell for him all of those years ago, and the minute he walks back into her life (on a red carpet, natch), it’s clear that he’s the same wonderful guy she knew before, but—bonus—now with an action star physique. It might be hard to believe this, considering what I just wrote, but his character does actually seem like a real person, thanks in part to his sense of humor. Then there’s his overbearing manager, a.k.a. father, and the pressure Ransom feels to keep taking big budget action roles rather than something more fulfilling. It’s just enough to give him some depth without veering into Secret Pain territory. (Thank you for that, Kayla Olson! And also, for those muscles.)

Risque Ranking: 5

So… I regret to inform you that this is totally a “fade to black” romance novel. Like, I read this line and honestly contemplated throwing my Kindle on the ground:

And then it all becomes one sparkling, beautiful blur.

YEAH. I KNOW.

You might be asking yourself, why the hell would Sarah give a sex-less romance a Risque Ranking of 5?! And to that, I would retort with a question of my own: have you ever shipped two actors who played love interests? Wouldn’t you absolutely lose your mind if they were a real life ITEM? Like exactly what happened with Keri Russell and Scott Speedman on Felicity and WHY must I live in a world where they broke up but ANYWAY. It’s hot, is what I’m saying.

Ms. Perky’s Prize for Purplest Prose:

I mean, Ms. Perky would be DEEPLY disappointed but I did enjoy the reality of filming a sex scene with someone you’re actually attracted to:

He pulls me in tighter. My hands find their way down to his shoulders, to the strong, solid muscles of his lats, to the cut, carved lines of his stomach that earned him every role he’s taken since the last time we did a scene like this.

I’m not hating this.

Not even a little.

Was it Good For You?

In spite of the lack of spicy times, I was definitely wooed by Liv and Ransom’s history and present-day frisson. But honestly, what I really enjoyed about this book was getting to step behind the scenes and experience the life of a famous actor, especially one with such a rich history with her fellow cast. I’m not here to judge how accurately The Reunion depicts the day to day of working in film and TV, but damn, it sure was fun to watch the cat fights between Liv’s two female co-stars, not to mention all of the parties and hot goss and fan speculation (the novel is peppered with breaking news posts from pop culture sites), and yeah okay I’ll read any book where the main character lives in a fancy house with her own private beach and has a driver who takes her everywhere. Lifestyles of the rich and famous, baby!

Literary Matchmaking

Fool Me Once

Looking for another second chance romance that’s light on the sex but heavy on the charm? Check out Ashley Winstead’s Fool Me Once.

Famous in Love (Famous in Love #1)

Rebecca Serle’s Famous in Love is, hands down, my favorite “two actors fall for each other IRL” romance.

Love Scenes

Step back onto a Hollywood set with Love Scenes, Bridget Morrissey’s enemies to lovers romance.

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Sarah lives in Austin, and believes there is no such thing as a guilty pleasure, which is part of why she started FYA in 2009. Growing up, she thought she was a Mary Anne, but she's finally starting to accept the fact that she's actually a Kristy.