Some of you are probably wondering: since I’ve had a mediocre track record with contemporary romances, why do I keep coming back to them? Believe me, I would not pick up one of these unless I’d heard people I trust gush about them and if the plot sounded interesting to me. Yours Truly is a rare case where the story sounded compelling enough, on top of a hearty recommendation, for me to truly be excited to read it.
Dr. Briana Ortiz is going through a lot right now: her divorce from her cheating husband is about to be finalized and her younger brother is in desperate need of a kidney donation to help fight an intense autoimmune disease. It doesn’t help that the new doctor at her hospital, Dr. Jacob Maddox, has a less-than-favorable reputation and is up for the same promotion that she is. Bri and Jacob soon discover they have more in common than they think and a friendship begins to blossom. But things soon get spicy when Jacob asks Bri to be his fake date for an upcoming wedding.
I was sold on this book for one big reason: Jacob, our male lead, has social anxiety. He doesn’t like big crowds, he gets worried about unpredictable locations or events, and needs plenty of time after or before these things to be alone and decompress. While I don’t really have social anxiety, I can certainly relate to those introverted traits.
And I cannot say enough just how refreshing that is.
Most male romantic leads I’ve read are cut from the same cloth: sexy, brooding, bearded, tall, confident, wear flannel shirts, come from broken or dysfunctional families, etc. While Jacob shares some of those characteristics, he is much softer-spoken and introverted, and far less irritating to read, frankly. His vulnerabilities are so adorable and make him feel more approachable and endearing.
Of course, that is just my taste in men, but Jacob is a precious ginger cinnamon roll and I would take a bullet for him. No lie, when a snotty individual insults Jacob for being “too anxious to function”, I was literally shaking with anger. I cannot remember when I was that emotionally invested in a male romantic lead.
Bri is also a refreshing romantic female lead. While not as introverted as Jacob, she is still charming, a little awkward, and clearly struggling to balance her job, dealing with her impending divorce, and trying to help her ailing, depressed brother. She really does not have it all together, and she breaks down a few times. She even has a “sob closet” at work where she can decompress in secret.
Both characters just feel so raw and real and I nearly cried a few times when they describe how their respective lives exhaust them. Maybe I feel more drawn to characters when they’re struggling and don’t so easily white-knuckle their way through those struggles. It’s very validating to read characters who are not role models for what we should be, but reflect what we are: messed up, flawed, struggling people just trying to find a balance in the noisy pile of shit that life can be sometimes.
Not to mention how sweet it is reading about two people learning how to healthily support each other through those ups and downs. Because nothing feels better than having people who understand you and know how to build you up, all because they listen to you and take accountability when they’ve hurt you.
Plus, an author is really shining when they take a tired old trope like fake dating and make it interesting and entertaining, without resorting to cheap drama.
I absolutely love the progression of Jacob and Bri’s relationship. Naturally, they start off on the wrong foot with Jacob saying something well-meaning that Bri took the wrong way. But after Jacob apologizes and explains himself, Bri begins to better understand who he is, and they forge a very sweet, very natural friendship. It’s definitely not love at first sight and it’s definitely not instant attraction, which earns this book huge points for me, because I need a love story to begin without the two characters instantly wanting to take each other’s clothes off. Their care and devotion for each other first as friends is just wonderful!
If I remember nothing else about this book, it will be the scene where they finally express their love for one another. It was so raw and emotional and messy and wonderful that I might have teared up a little bit. Two people being so completely vulnerable with one another at the most unexpected, heightened, emotional moment just really rugged at my heartstrings.
No exaggeration, Bri and Jacob are the first romantic couple in a super long time that I really rooted for! The foundation of their relationship is so strong and sweet and caring that I’d be hard pressed not to be emotionally invested. Bri tries really hard to better understand Jacob and help him cope with intense social situations, including coming up with a safe phrase. And when Jacob inevitably panics, Bri is right there to help him through it.
Plus, the emotional stakes are so well laid-out that the characters’ reactions to tough situations feel real and completely earned. You feel Bri’s immense grief at her divorce and caring for her brother, and the gratitude from finding a kidney donor is so palpable it makes you want to cry for joy. I haven’t felt so emotionally connected to a contemporary romance like that in a LONG time.
As with the fake dating trope, both characters truly fall for each other, but neither one believes that the other returns their affections. In this case, Jacob and Bri are so steeped in their own insecurities they cannot believe that they could be loved in return. Bri has a whole breakdown about why she feels like she is unlovable thanks to her ex-husband’s cheating, and it’s heartbreaking since there is so much evidence of how truly lovable she is, and Jacob naming all the reasons why he does…my inner romantic just felt so happy reading it.
So what happens when you combine a soft man with an awkward, struggling female in a contemporary romance? You may not quite have a masterpiece, but you have something that comes pretty darn close.
So if there are any romance writers reading this, this is my plea to you to write more romantic leads with introverted qualities that don’t stem from a tragic past. Representation of social anxiety and other internal struggles like that is important and is extremely impactful when done well, so please, we need more of them!
The Library Key 