cover image The Little Pieces of You and Me

The Little Pieces of You and Me

Vanessa Greene. Sphere, $13.99 trade paper (384p) ISBN 978-0-7515-6376-4

Greene’s unconventional romance covers love found, love lost, and the benefits of long-term friendship. In present-day Amsterdam, stage actor Isla is dismayed when her usual coffee shop is closed, but she notices there’s one she’s never tried before—a combination cafe and bookshop—just a few yards away. Maybe it’s not love at first sight, but Rafael, the shop owner, definitely catches her interest. Meanwhile back in Bristol, England, Isla’s university bestie, Sophie, is wondering where her life is going. She’s married to a man who seems happiest in the company of other women and who has a hostile 16-year-old daughter. As these carefully crafted characters come to life on the page, they dominate the plot even to the point of very nearly obliterating it. Romance is decidedly put on the back burner as Isla and Sophie face illness, love, rejection, and disappointment. In the end, friendship wins the day, but romance readers may not find the conclusion satisfying. Agent: Caroline Hardman, Hardman & Swainson Literary. (Nov.)