Alice Rue evades the truth

Zipps puts a fresh, queer spin on a classic rom-com setup in her thoroughly enjoyable debut. As a night-shift receptionist at an office building, the most excitement Alice usually gets is when her secret crush, Nolan Altman, comes in to work--until the night Nolan collapses in the lobby and hits his head on the floor. After Alice's frantic 911 call and inexpert CPR, the ambulance whisks Nolan away. Later, his entire family turns up at her desk to meet the woman who saved his life, and whom the paramedics identified as his girlfriend. The Altmans are eager to welcome Alice into their lives while Nolan remains unconscious; meanwhile, Alice has been so lonely she doesn't correct their assumption. Keeping up the ruse comes with several complications, however: she's never even had a real conversation with Nolan, and if he wakes up, the whole thing falls apart. Worse, Nolan's butch sister, Van, is the most attractive, magnetic woman that Alice has ever met. As Alice's lie grows, Zipps dextrously handles the many layers of complicated interpersonal tension and, ultimately, sticks the landing. This flawed but lovable heroine is sure to win hearts. (Oct.)

DEBUT A classic rom-com scenario gets a new imagining in Zipps's debut. Alice Rue is a lonely receptionist on the night shift who secretly harbors a desperate crush on Nolan, a hot finance guy who's always working late at her office. When Alice saves Nolan's life one night, a miscommunication with emergency services means that his desperate family thinks she's also his girlfriend. Alice wants to tell them the truth, but something keeps holding her back: Nolan's dire condition in the hospital, his family's immediate warm welcome, and Nolan's dreamy butch sister, Van. As Alice and Van start to fall for one another, Alice's lies stack up, and she will eventually have to face the truth. This is a romance that, while funny and sexy, also deals seriously with parental loss, trauma, loneliness, and disability. The novel takes inspiration from the 1995 movie While You Were Sleeping, but it is very much its own enjoyable story about queer desire. VERDICT Zipps's debut is perfect for readers looking for a sapphic romance with rom-com charm.--Sierra Wilson