A Novel Love Story (26 in 2026 #11)

Author: Ashley Poston Title: A Novel Love Story Publisher: Berkley Date Published: 06/25/2024

Read Dates: 06/03/2026- 06/04/2026 Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A Novel Love Story is a single POV magical realism romance about Eileen (Elsy), who has become a little stuck in her life and often finds herself hiding out in books instead of the real world. But when heading to a solo retreat ends up with a wrong turn and a broken-down car, Elsy finds herself in the impossible: a fictional town from her favorite (sadly unfinished) romance series. All her favorite characters are there, except there’s one guy in town she can’t place: the grumpy bookshop owner, Anderson. He wasn’t in the previous books, and he’s the only person in town who seems to know it’s all fiction, but he’s determined to keep it all unchanged. Elsy begins to think she’s found her way into the town to help it find its conclusion and happy ending, though, and she’s determined to see it through!

I loved this so much! I always tell my husband I want to live in a fictional town from a romance: they’re adorable, friendly, walkable towns that magically have all the shops you’d want/need, along with a library and/or indie bookstore that just happens to be well stocked with a fantastic romance section. So this book… Elsy was pretty much living my dream! I love that she got to experience the comfort of her favorite series at a time that she needed it. I loved the character growth for Elsy and Anders. And of course, I adored the happy ever after! Really loved the cameos from The Dead Romantics too!

Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost in a good happily-ever-after. The fictional kind, anyway. Because at least imaginary men don’t leave you at the altar. She feels safe in a book. At home. Which might be why she’s so set on going to her annual book club retreat this year—she needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures—no matter what.

But when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a novel…

Because it is.

This place can’t be real, and yet… she’s here, in Eloraton, the town of her favorite romance series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It feels like home. It’s perfect—and perfectly frozen, trapped in the late author’s last unfinished story.

Elsy is sure that’s why she must be here: to help bring the town to its storybook ending.

Except there is a character in Eloraton that she can’t place—a grumpy bookstore owner with mint-green eyes, an irritatingly sexy mouth and impeccable taste in novels. And he does not want her finishing this book.

Which is a problem because Elsy is beginning to think the town’s happily-ever-after might just be intertwined with her own.