The Reunion by Kayla Olson

Liv Latimer grew up on TV.

As the star of the popular teen drama Girl on the Verge, Liv spent her adolescence on the screen trying to be as picture perfect as her character in real life. But after the death of her father and the betrayal of her on-screen love interest and off-screen best friend Ransom Joel, Liv wanted nothing more than to retreat, living a mostly normal life aside from a few indie film roles. But now, twenty years after the show's premiere, the cast is invited back for a reunion special, financed by a major streaming service.

Liv is happy to be back on set, especially once she discovers Ransom has only improved with age. And their chemistry is certainly still intact. They quickly fall into their old rhythms, rediscovering what had drawn them together decades before. But with new rivalries among the cast emerging and the specter of a reboot shadowing their shoot, Liv questions whether returning to the past is what she needs to finally get her own happy ending

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I didn't realise until I'd finished reading that this is the same author as This Splintered Silence, a book that came out a couple of years ago before I was properly blogging. At the time I thought it had some good ideas but not great execution. I'm happy to say that Kayla has leveled up in every way. This is an awesome read I tore through in one night. (So apologies if I'm slightly incoherent in this review.)

Liv was the main character on a vaguely Dawson's Creek-ish show that finished airing 14 years before the book opens. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of its premiere, a streaming service has commissioned a reunion, not of the actors but the characters, a follow up closer to Gilmore Girls than Friends. If it goes well there's even talk of a reboot - but is that what Liv wants now?

This was a fantastic read. I'm not a fan of instalove, but though this had some of the feel of it, the fact that Liv and Ransom knew each other for years means it's not as bad. I love the banter between them; banter's one of my favourite things when it's done well, and this one is fantastic. I can easily believe that they've known each other through times both good and bad.

I thought there would be some insight into how a TV show gets made, but there wasn't much of that, considering that the characters spent eight days filming and more than that on the PR round. The PR side of things was really interesting, and I enjoyed the social media asides as a great insight into how things were being perceived out in the world, beyond the bubble of the TV show.

(Does anyone else want to read the novel Liv was reading during the book? It sounds fantastic!)

I enjoyed this very much, and I will definitely be looking out for more books by Kayla. She has absolutely hit her stride and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

The Reunion publishes on the 17th January, 2023. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.