Tropesick by Lauren Okie: My Book Review

Check out my book review of Tropesick by Lauren Okie, her love letter to romance readers!

*Disclosure: This post may include affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Tropesick Summary:

Katie Caruso is a completely normal twenty-five-year-old girl. At least, for the past eight years, she’s tried to be. She likes glitter and sequins and flirting with cute boys at New York City bars. She’s also a ghostwriter for Meredith Bradford, the bestselling romance novelist of all time. But then Tyler McNally walks back into Katie’s life, and that bedazzled facade crumbles at her platform-sneakered feet.

Katie and Tyler haven’t seen or spoken to each other since the overdose death of Katie’s older brother, a standout MLB pitching prospect. Tyler was her brother’s best friend, and Katie—naturally—was the girl next door. But now, Tyler is a sleeve-tattooed, Ivy League–educated aspiring literary fiction novelist, nine years sober . . . and Katie’s writing partner for the summer.

As genre conventions require, Katie and Tyler soon find themselves removed from Manhattan and instead writing their love story in “forced proximity” at Meredith’s isolated Southampton home. As the summer unfolds, the tropes Katie and Tyler have written into their novel begin to play out in their own lives. Call it destiny, fate, or magic itself: it’s clear their love story isn’t finished. This time, though, they’ll work through the pain that tore them apart—and fight for their happy ending.

Tropesick: My Review

Any romance that pays homage to the genre and our love of romance tropes is a keeper in my book!

The summary of Lauren’s sophomore novel instantly piqued my interest but I found that she incorporated so much more than our love for romance tropes in this story.

What stood out to me was a deeply emotional, second chance romance for two people who have suffered for years due to the ramifications of addiction and parental neglect. I love how Lauren uses some of the most-loved romance tropes to bring Katie and Tyler back together while ghostwriting a novel using the same tropes. This was such a unique way to tell their story and Lauren used the tropes so well.

I also feel like she did such a great job of relaying the costs of the opioid addiction crisis, how it can begin and how it impacts all of those related to the person addicted to drugs. Tyler, Katie and Katie’s parents’ grief felt so real and it made me heartbroken for all of them throughout this story.

I found it interesting how Lauren used Meredith as a character and how her story unfolded. I’m not sure the twist was necessary at the end as it just made me confused more than anything but I did like how we learned more about her connection to these characters.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this story, and I think Lauren will continue to be a unique voice in this genre to come.

*I received an advanced reader copy through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Related Book Lists:

• Best Brother’s Best Friend Romance Books
• Best Forced Proximity Romance Books
• Best Neighbors to Lovers Romance Books

Pin This: