sg_halifax
Written on Jun 17, 2023
Emily Thompson is a bit of a lovable bungler type character.
When we first meet her, she is struggling financially and working a job she doesn't love at a diner. She's never dated before. She always seem to put her foot in things in a slightly amusing way.
Emily's roommate Lisa shows her a casting ad for a reality dating show (a la Bachelor) and the $150,000 prize is too good to pass off.
When she arrives at the set of the show - a mansion dubbed the Love Nest - she discovers that reality TV is anything but unscripted. Everything from her bedtime to fashion choices were dictated by a contract. Drama is encouraged.
Emily is a bit like a fish out of water on the set at first, but an innocent mistake during a filmed confessional turns her into a viral sensation on social media. Soon romance sparks, not
with the show's leading love interest Chad. Instead, Emily falls for Hot Ben from the Production Crew. The whole thing goes off the rails as a result.
The whole plot is a bit of a comedy of errors that checks off all of the tropes of the genre, but it's pulled off very well. There's a happy ending, but it doesn't come about in the typical way you might expect - and that's what makes this book a success.