when good advice goes viral

Lucy Masters is about to be fired. Again. The first time, she thought she probably deserved it. She’d made bad choices. But this time, she really loves her job and wants to fight for it. Being the Technology Editor for magazine Fab! had been so much fun. But now that they’re shuttering the magazine, to combine with the men’s magazine Max! and go online only, there’s only room for one technology editor. And Max!’s Ross has been in his job longer than Lucy was. It’s only fair that he get offered the job.

Lucy has three days to come up with an idea for a column that would allow her to write for Max! She goes over to her sister Amelie’s place to talk to her, and Amelie comes up with the idea Lucy should pitch—a dating advice column for men. But she can’t do it under her own name. Men will only take advice from other men, so Lucy comes up with the pen name Adam.

When she goes in and pitches it to her editors, they love it. And just lie that, Lucy is working for Max! She takes her desk across from Ross, the tech editor, and starts trying to figure out how to advise men on dating, when she knows very little about dating and even less about men. But she reads their emails carefully and does her research, and with a little help from her little sister, Lucy is able to write the Adam column with intelligence and compassion.

Lucy feels a little out of place at Max!, as all her coworkers are men. But Ross is kind and generous with help, and he makes Lucy feel like she belongs there. In fact, he makes her feel even more than that, but the last time she had an office romance, it did not go well. And when he turns up at the same club as Amelie’s bachelorette party and starts making out with one of Amelie’s friends, Lucy is disappointed. She certainly doesn’t want to come between Ross and happiness, and she can’t do anything behind Amelie’s friend’s back.

But when Lucy gets an Adam email that sounds like it could have come from Ross, a man asking how to let the girl he’s dating know that he’s not as into the relationship as much as she is, Lucy has hope again. But it’s not that easy. The magazine wants more data on the Adam column to decide whether to keep it or cut it, so they ask Lucy to go from 2 letters a week to 5. To keep up with the demand, she starts asking a bot to help her come up with advice. And her sister, who had also been helping her, gets married and moves to New York from London.

Amalie is on the other side of the world from Lucy, but when Lucy can manage to get her sister on the phone, Amalie just doesn’t seem like herself. Lucy is worried, but her concerns get worse when Adam gets a letter asking for advice from a newly married man. He and his wife had moved to a new country and he feels like she’s not the same woman he married. But he’s reconnected with his ex-girlfriend at work, and he’s thinking about starting a relationship with her. Lucy isn’t sure what to do, but she knows she needs to go to New York to find out if Zack really is cheating on Amelie, and then Lucy will have to decide what to tell her sister.

While Lucy is in New York, she’s trying to keep up with the Adam column while spying on Zack and trying to figure out how to talk to Amelie about her new marriage. And then Ross shows up in New York for reasons of his own, and things get even crazier for her. Now, Lucy’s job is on the line, but so is her family and her work crush. As it all comes to a head, Lucy has to figure out what’s most important to her and just whose advice to take on her future.

The Love Hack is the latest rom com from Sophie Ranald, and it’s a lot of fun. Lucy’s attempts to give advice to men, aside from the obvious “don’t be a jerk,” is a journey to understanding and acceptance. And the more Lucy learns to meet men where they are and help them improve their relationships, the more she finds understanding and grace for herself and the mistakes of her past. And as she fights for the future she wants for herself and for her sister, Lucy comes to see just how full her life can be. And she has a cat named Astro who tends to steal all the scenes he’s in, always an added bonus.

I listened to this one audio, narrated by Harrie Dobby, and she does a fantastic job of bringing Lucy’s voice to life. Dobby adds life and humor to this book, bringing Lucy’s thoughts and feelings to the forefront and adding so much texture to the story. The Love Hack is a delightful light-hearted rom com with sweet moments and lots of heart. It’s a great book for the pool, the airplane ride, or just spending the day on the sofa with your own cat.

A copy of the audio boo for The Love Hack were provided by Dreamscape Select and Storm Publishing through NetGalley, with many thanks.