This rom-com debut has the fierce girl energy of the movie Booksmart, blended with the awkwardness of Kelly Quindlen’s Late to the Party, topped with a thrilling international meet-cute a la Love and Gelato.
Olivia Schwartz has a plan. It’s even color-coded.
And the plan is this: a perfect SAT score, a prestigious college, and a straight path towards her dream of becoming a doctor.
The last thing she wants to do—the summer before her senior year of high school, no less—is go on a cruise. Especially with her parents, younger brothers, and all the unspoken things between them since her older brother’s death so many years ago.
Then Olivia meets Sebastian. He’s everything she’s not: charming, exciting, willing to take risks and run with them. For the first time, Olivia feels like she can have fun...
But there’s a lot bubbling up under the surface on this cruise, and when past secrets begin to come to light, Olivia must face all the truths that she’s ignored for so long: about herself, Sebastian, her brother, the past she thought she understood, and the future she’s always planned.
She planned for everything except him. What happens when the boy who’s everything she’s not becomes the only thing she wants?
- Opposites Attract: She’s a meticulous planner with a color-coded future. He’s a charming risk-taker who lives for the moment. Of course they fall for each other.
- Cruise Ship Romance: From bustling boardwalks to late-night talks on the open sea, this spring break cruise sets the stage for a life-changing connection.
- Family Secrets: The closer Olivia gets to Sebastian, the more she must confront the unspoken truths about her brother’s death that her family has ignored for years.
- A Heartfelt Coming of Age Story: A poignant and funny journey about letting go of the past you thought you knew to make room for the future you never expected.