cover image The Fastest Way to Fall

The Fastest Way to Fall

Denise Williams. Berkley, $16 trade paper (384p) ISBN 978-0-593-10192-6

Williams’s empowering, body-positive sophomore rom-com (after How to Fail at Flirting) follows plus-sized heroine Britta Colby as she works on an article about her experience with FitMi, a fitness app centered around body confidence that pairs its users with coaches. Britta hopes the piece will secure her a promotion at Best Life, the lifestyle magazine where she works as an editorial assistant. Wes Lawson, FitMi’s CEO, may be professionally successful, but his personal life is in shambles: his mother struggles with drug addiction, his estranged sister will only communicate via texts, and his ex recently launched a rival fitness app. In an attempt to distract himself, Wes personally becomes coach for two new clients, Britta among them. Their coaching relationship is supposed to stay strictly virtual, but as weeks pass and the pair grow closer, they break the rules to bond over in-person workouts—but their relationship risks FitMi and Wes’s credibility and could jeopardize Britta’s article and her promotion. Williams has mastered writing cinnamon-roll heroes, and expertly balances Wes’s sweetness with Britta’s admirable strength. The plot is emotionally weighty, but the romance is just as cute as in her debut. This is sure to please. Agent: Sharon Pelletier, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Nov.)