November 1, 2021
Restless after 12 years of marriage and motherhood, Merit returns to work, hired at a prestigious architecture firm by the dynamic and beautiful Jane despite a career hiatus. Jane nurtures Merit's career, and as true friendship emerges, Merit begins to wonder whether her true love in life is not her husband but Jane. McBrayer's first adult novel; she's written YA novels as Laura Miller and works in the development and production of original series for Spectrum.
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March 15, 2022
Going back to work as an architect is supposed to be a way for Merit to reclaim a bit of herself amid motherhood, a stale marriage to her husband, Cory, and an unsuccessful attempt at an art career. The last thing she expected was to have her life completely upended. The instant professional connection she has with her new boss, Jane, soon becomes intensely personal, a twist neither of them was prepared for. Merit must figure out where this new relationship fits into her old life and what she might need to let go of to be truly happy. While the ending glosses over what could have been an emotional resolution, the tension that builds between Merit and Jane, and within Merit herself, is compelling. Their initial confusion about their feelings for each other leads to an exploration of love that not only brings steamy physical satisfaction but also allows Merit to become vulnerable and honest with herself and her partner for perhaps the first time. Recommended for readers who enjoy introspective relationship fiction.
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Starred review from March 15, 2022
When stay-at-home mother Merit returns to work at a San Francisco architecture firm, she knows her life is about to change--she just doesn't know how completely. Upon meeting her new boss, Jane, a Danish architect two decades her senior with an almost magnetic candidness and wit, Merit is smitten. After years of staying home with a toddler and young baby, painting in her free time (or lack thereof), and maintaining a steady but predictable relationship with her college boyfriend-turned-husband, Cory, she's ready for more--but she immediately feels the challenges of balancing career and family. Luckily, she has a supporter and confidante in Jane, whose chicness and impeccable taste inspire Merit to look beyond what she's always known and push for more. Weekly lunches and heart-to-heart coffees expand their friendship, which eventually transcends the professional and becomes one of the most important connections in both their lives. Of course, jobs and marriages don't always last forever. When Jane splits from her husband and starts her own firm, Merit realizes how essential this woman is in her life. Through small gestures and delicate language, the novel leads up to the revelation that Merit can no longer imagine anything less than a passionate, romantic connection with Jane. Told in the third person from Merit's perspective, with a zippy pace, punchy dialogue, and beautifully crafted sentences that manage to capture the tenderness of longing and self-discovery, Merit and Jane's love story feels both realistic and escapist, a queer romance done right. Two women reexamine their lives in middle age, finding strength in desire and the unknown.
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