The Best Kind of Trouble

When rocker boy Paddy Hurley runs into his old flame Natalie Clayton at a coffee shop in his hometown, he’s immediately intrigued, while she pretends not to know who he is. But when he starts showing up every morning to ask her out, she finally relents. Long on fluff and short on tension, this bloated romance from Dane (Unconditional) is a font of exposition following two exceptionally gorgeous, independently wealthy people—who nonetheless are humble, hardworking, and down-to-earth—as they meet, have copious sex, fall in love, and, after one brief road bump, live happily ever after. What the novel lacks in drama it makes up for in overly descriptive and repetitive passages, and the dialogue feels as if the characters are reading stiffly from cue cards. With absolutely nothing standing between the characters and their happy ending except for a mild spat, this contemporary is a real snooze. (Sept.)