Dead Set on You

Alexander’s quirky and heartfelt debut puts a paranormal twist on the enemies-to-lovers trope. Evie Pope ran away from a tumultuous childhood marked by her mother’s narcissism and the premature death of her sister to spend much of her adolescence living in her car. Now a 29-year-old workaholic with marketing firm Media Lab, Evie is in line for a big promotion. She sees only one obstacle to her success: her work rival, Rafael Vela. After a dinner meeting with a shared client, the last thing Evie remembers is arguing with Rafael on the street, a car horn blaring, and a blinding light—then she wakes up on Rafael’s sofa. While her body is in a coma in the hospital, her spirit is trapped in some sort of astral plane and, for some reason, tied to Rafael’s apartment. Worse, Rafael is the only person who can see her spirit—and the only one who might be able to help her come back. Rafael has long had feelings for Evie, and the pair were close until a perceived betrayal turned Evie against him. Now it’s Rafael’s chance to make amends. Alexander uses this fun supernatural conceit to push her heroine to realize that there’s more to life than just surviving. Evie’s emotional journey is just as satisfying as the gradually developing romance. Readers will be hooked. (Dec.)