I came across Never Enough Novels looking for blogs that share my conviction that romance can be both genuinely well-written and properly fun – and 150 books a year is the kind of reading habit that earns my full respect. So I thought I’d take my chances and pitch you Lisa Doyle is Absolutely Fine by UK novelist Mo Fanning.
It’s a British fake-engagement romcom officially launching in June, from Spring Street Books. A workplace romance – friends to lovers, if I’m being strictly on brand. And it’s not over-the-top wall-to-wall snogging, so I think it might be your kind of thing.
Fed up with being ‘the one who never brings a plus one to anything’, Lisa invents a fiancé and tells the world. She calls him Brian – which isn’t the best of starts, given her boss at the Manchester theatre where she manages the box office is also called Brian. And has a wife called Audrey. Audrey is very scary indeed.
Tonally it sits closer to Marian Keyes or Mhairi McFarlane than to anything steamy – witty rather than spicy, warm rather than saccharine.
Happy to send a copy in print, ebook or audio if you’d like a look. No pressure either way – just thought it might be your sort of joy.