A Novel Love Story: A Love Story About Love Stories
I’m a huge Ashley Poston fan. I discovered that over the course of the past year, as I have steadily been working my way through her recent catalogue of romance novels, starting with The Dead Romantics. I’ve discovered that there are a few things her novels have in common that I absolutely adore.
1. They all contain magic.
2. There will always be something sad, and something redemptive, and I will cry happy tears at least once.
3. While the romantic love story is at the core of the novel, it’s the love story about friendship and family that really shines.
4. My little brain will run wild while reading, trying desperately to figure out how the world of her story works, and how everything will work out in the end.
Because 5: it will all work out in the end.
A Novel Love Story is a story about a girl who loves love stories. She’s a bit lost in her life, and she finds herself, appropriately, also lost on a road trip. She accidentally stumbles upon a perfect, magical little town that just so happens to be the very same town she has come to love inside her favorite romance novels. It’s….the MOST magical.
She gets to meet her favorite characters, and become part of the fabric of the community, and fall in love, and truly, spending time in Eloraton was probably as idyllic for me as it was for her. Isn’t that what we all do as readers? Pass through our favorite stories and live among the characters for a while? I loved it.
Of course, there’s the issue of how this was all possible, and more importantly—what our main character would be leaving behind in her real life should she choose to stay in the town. But, like all of Poston’s books, love wins out in the end after all. Love of friendships, and book clubs, and fictional worlds turned out to be a bit more important than trying to remain still inside a world that didn’t exist. Did I cry? Yes. Was I immediately extra thankful that, like Elsy, I have found a group of people who share the same interests as me? Yes. Was I relieved that the romantic love interest got his act together by the end? Double yes. I really can’t say enough good things about this one.
It was not at all what I was expecting, and for that, I am also thankful. If you haven’t read it yet, but you’re a lover of fictional worlds, I would highly recommend it. If you are a Poston fan already, but haven’t yet read The Dead Romantics….I won’t spoil it for you, but know that there are some character cameos in this book that you might really enjoy.
As always, if you’d like to read what the other members of the book club are saying about this one, you can find us in the Fable app here. We’d love to have you. And if you’re reading this, and you, too, would like to add to our community blog, let me know!
Until then—happy reading!
