Review of The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren

The Romance Revival is a departure for Christina Lauren; we get a couple who has drifted apart and gets a second chance, but a futuristic, science-fiction twist is key to the plot. The relationship is one to root for, and I really liked the minor mystery, supporting characters, and new direction for the writing pair.

Scientist Emery Finch has always been hyper-focused on her top-secret career, but when she fell for landscaper Luca, she fell hard.

Their passionate married life was joyful and fulfilling at first...but Emery is hardly ever home, Luca carries all of the weight of the household, and they feel like they're not connecting anymore, if they ever truly did.

As Emery misses yet another important anniversary, an unfathomable tragedy throws everything into a spiral. Emery breaks every code of ethics to save Luca. But afterward, Luca retains no memory of Emery, their life, or his own personal past. He realizes that he was unhappy before the accident, and also that Emery was keeping secrets he had seemed willing to overlook. Will this be a chance to start over, or the heartbreaking end of the relationship?

The Romance Revival is a departure for the writing team of Christina Lauren: the story is a romance, but it includes science-fiction plot points in the form of futuristic science that allows a shocking back-to-life transformation. (The book's Acknowledgments mentions that the working title was The Necromancers.) I love an element of science fiction, so I enjoyed this aspect of the book.

Luca's memory loss propels the "second-chance" aspect of the romance, and the couple's redoubled efforts, increased understanding, and heartfelt getting-to-know-you-again pieces of the story allowed for a deeper, more believable, more anchored feeling to the relationship.

A minor mystery runs through the story (was Luca targeted, by whom, and why?), adding a thread of danger. Add in intense love for a dog, a couple of unshakable best friends, a grumpy elderly neighbor with a heart of gold, a renewed focus on work-life balance, some steamy scenes, and we've got ourselves an entertaining story.

I read this as a physical book through my library, but Julia Whelan narrates the audiobook, and she's fantastic.

More Christina Lauren Gems

The writing team of Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings also authored the books The Paradise Problem, The True Love Experiment, The Unhoneymooners, In a Holidaze, Love and Other Words, Something Wilder, and Autoboyography.