JUST SOME STUPID LOVE STORY has the most unfortunate title. It would be so wonderful to report that that title is pure irony—that it’s really an amazing love story in total defiance of it’s name. But unfortunately this story of a couple who dated in high school and are reunited at their 15 year high school class reunion feels flawed. When Molly and Seth run into each other at their class reunion in Palm Bay, Florida, she is immediately nervous that he’ll still be upset about the way she dumped him coldheartedly senior year after dating all through high school and then never calling him again. She always had a reputation as a cold hearted bitch (her word) in high school, and she continues to embrace that reputation even today. Seth, though, is a big golden retriever of a guy and harbors no ill will—instead, he immediately falls back in lust with Molly and manages to bed her that night. In the morning, they discuss their different views on love—he is a romantic despite being a divorce attorney and she is a romance cynic despite being a rom com screenwriter. They make a bet to see who is right about love based on 5 of their classmates relationships and whether they will last another 5 years until the 20th reunion. Seth bets that by that time Molly will be his date to the reunion, which she immediately accepts seeing as there is no way in hell that will happen. The book then follows their relationship over the next five years.
While there are elements here that are perennial favorites for me—I love a long term story like this that takes place over a number of years, and a high school reunion always sounds like a fun setting to me—I unfortunately never felt myself really rooting for Seth and Molly to get together as they didn’t feel like a great fit to me. Seth is definitely the more likeable of the two. He’s an overly eager, overly friendly, corny sort of guy—he comes off goofy but harmless. However, his flaw of always rushing too fast into relationships and thinking every girl he meets is ‘the one’ feels like a disastrous fit for Molly, who is so damaged by her parents divorce and the way her father treats her like a commodity that she constantly leaves relationships before she has the chance to be hurt. And she doesn’t just leave a relationship—she absolutely eviscerates it. I couldn’t understand why Seth was so willing to forgive the decimating way Molly had dumped him in High School, and unfortunately this rubs off badly on both characters. Seth has every reason to be mad, and his ability to rise above ends up feeling like a character flaw as Molly hasn’t really earned that trust from him. If you can excuse that kickoff to the story, though, she repeatedly gives him more reasons throughout the book not to trust her with his heart and yet he still does. I’m all for character growth, but this just felt like something Seth should have been more wary of before giving his heart to her, particularly because she repeated the same pattern. As a result, I wasn’t excited for their ultimate reconnection as I felt the relationship had some real concerns to it.
The other bummer of this book to me was that I didn’t feel the premise was really explored. The idea of the five year bet is introduced but kind of just falls away—some of the relationships work and some don’t. There were some interesting side characters and relationships in both Molly and Seth’s lives, but the bet itself felt kind of pointless. Some of the challenge of this is that the characters are spread out throughout the country and don’t all live in the same town. It’s realistic, but it’s also harder to stay invested in relationships that our main characters are not really interacting with in a significant way.
I found the story to be an enjoyable enough read, and I think there are romance fans who will enjoy it for the longer timeline and certainly Seth’s unshakeable love has its sweet moments. But my ability to root for a happy ever after is a top priority, so unfortunately this one didn’t quite come together for me.
3 stars
Synopsis (From Amazon):
Molly Marks writes Hollywood rom-coms for a living—which is how she knows “romance” is a racket. The one and only time she was naive enough to fall in love was with her high school boyfriend, Seth—who she ghosted on the eve of graduation and hasn’t seen in fifteen years.
Seth Rubinstein believes in love, the grand, fated kind, despite his job as, well…one of Chicago’s most successful divorce attorneys. Over the last decade, he’s sought “the one” in countless bad dates and rushed relationships. He knows his soulmate is out there. But so far, no one can compare to Molly Marks, the first girl who broke his heart.
When Molly’s friends drag her to Florida for their fifteenth high school reunion, it is poetic justice that she’s forced to sit with Seth. Too many martinis and a drunken hookup later, they decide to make a bet: whoever can predict the fate of five couples before the next reunion must declare that the other is right about true love. The catch? The fifth couple is the two of them.
Molly assures Seth they are a tale of timeless heartbreak. Seth promises she’ll end up hopelessly in love with him. She thinks he’s delusional. He has five years to prove her wrong.
Wickedly funny, sexy, and brimming with laughs and heart like the best romantic comedies, Just Some Stupid Love Story is for everyone who believes in soulmates—even if they would never admit it.
