Daddy issues A novel

Goldbeck (You, Again) takes an empathetic look at the struggles of adulting in this lively contemporary. Twenty-six-year old Sam Pulaski is drowning in student loan debt and living with her mother after Covid decimated her plans to pursue a PhD in art history. She often fantasizes about an alternate timeline where the pandemic never happened, in which "Sam Pulaski 1.0" is doing research in Europe and dating men named Luca. Instead, for five years, Sam's been bartending at a kitschy bar in Columbus, Ohio, and struggling to figure out what to do next. Enter divorced dad Nick Martino and his precocious nine-year-old daughter, Kira, who move into the condo next door. Sam quickly falls for both of them. It turns out that Nick, pushing 40 and the general manager of a local Chili's, is extremely good in bed and endearingly devoted to his daughter--but is Sam ready to settle down permanently in a life she never planned? The choice becomes even more high stakes when Sam's mother and her nonbinary partner Perry get married and announce their plans to become digital nomads--which leaves Sam needing to figure out her life immediately. Through passionate prose, Goldbeck convincingly portrays the turbulence of the world after Covid and the paralyzing perils of indecision. Her lead characters feel raw and real, and their romance sparkles. This fires on all cylinders. (Nov.)

Samantha is in a rut--she's 26 years old and living in her mom's house, with no career prospects. Five years ago, she was heading to Italy to do original research on an obscure Italian artist. Then the pandemic shut down the world and derailed her life goals. Now she's in Ohio, whiling away her days and working as a server in a tiki bar by night. Then she clicks with her new neighbor Nick, a divorced dad with a young daughter. Samantha and Nick's romantic chemistry is undeniable, but their relationship poses challenges: Samantha must decide whether she's ready to be a stepmom and if she's willing to stay in small-town Ohio rather than follow her dreams of becoming a big-city art historian. As the title implies, this book explores father-daughter relationships but also delves deeply into other relationships, including mother-daughter, friends-with-benefits, and stepparents. VERDICT Goldbeck's (You, Again) slow-burn age-gap romance is full of nuanced characters and is rooted in realistic everyday issues. Will appeal to readers who are looking for emotional and relatable storylines about career ambitions, finding love, and growing up.--Migdalia Jimenez