Rachel Lynn Solomon worked in public radio before her love of storytelling carried her to fiction. She's the author of several books for teens and adults and will tell anyone who'll listen that it really doesn't rain that much in Seattle, where she lives with her husband and tiny dog. You can find Rachel at RachelSolomonBooks.com, or on Instagram @RLynn_Solomon.
Shay Goldstein has been a producer at her Seattle public radio station for nearly a decade, and she can't imagine working anywhere else. But lately it's been a constant clash between her and her newest colleague, Dominic Yun, who's fresh off a journalism master's program and convinced he knows everything about public radio. When the struggling station needs a new concept, Shay proposes a show that her boss green-lights with excitement. On The Ex Talk, two exes will deliver relationship advice live, on air. Their boss decides Shay and Dominic are the perfect cohosts, given how much they already despise each other. Neither loves the idea of lying to listeners, but it's this or unemployment. Their audience gets invested fast, and it's not long before The Ex Talk becomes a must-listen in Seattle and climbs podcast charts. As the show gets bigger, so does their deception, especially when Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other. In an industry that values truth, getting caught could mean the end of more than just their careers.
The Ex Talk is resonating with a lot of readers, and I think I know why—Shay is an adult (the numbers don't lie), but what does being an adult actually mean? Shay is ultimately trying to find the answer to this question. Is it when she has a job she loves and has had forever? Is it when she'll finally have a life partner to have and to hold? Is it when she can finally admit to herself what will make her happy, and implement the changes? Or maybe a combination of all these things, and more? Shay is not shy with readers about her state of being—when she's sad or happy or conflicted, it really comes through via her descriptions on adulthood's many modes. The one thing she eventually learns, though, is that adults (unlike what we've been told our whole lives) don't actually know what they're doing 100% of the time, and that it is okay to exist like that. Contemporary romance is a genre that reaches readers from ages 18-44—a large gap for sure, but a gap where the youngest readers learn that it's all right to never know where you want to go, and where the oldest readers feel validated in that semi-constant state of confusion. The Ex Talk's biggest strength is its ability to break down these topics (more on that below), and make readers feel seen and validated in their experience, and give them the tools they didn't know they needed to move forward.
Solomon, despite loving public radio herself, does not shy away from creating an authentic backdrop of this world, faults and all. Specifically, the misogynistic aspects of this industry are constantly on Shay's mind and part of her life, leading to the impactful commentary on what it's like to be a woman in a workplace environment. Shay has worked her way up the hierarchy for ten years, yet she is constantly asked to take notes like a secretary, and is confronted with the fact that her ideas are only valuable if they are presented and delivered by a man. Even when Shay isn't in the workplace, she's confronted by the misogyny of what it's like to be a woman in a man's world. Her slogan for confidence is "what would a mediocre white man do," and navigates a partner relationship that doesn't always measure up to what a misogynistic society would deem "appropriate" (ie, she's older than him, she doesn't have a college degree, she could be considered the breadwinner, etc.).
Solomon doesn't just craft a romance novel—she wrote an entire relationship novel. Shay isn't just invested in her relationship with Dominic, but also in her relationship with her mom and new family, and with her friends Ameena and Ruthie. Her exploration of these relationships, her questions about them, directly intersect with her journey in what it's like to be twenty-nine-year-old and wanting something more from her life. It may seem obvious that a writer would want to dive into these relationships, but Solomon does it with such care, you can't help but leave The Ex Talk wondering if Ameena and TJ are doing well in Virginia, and how Shay's mom's new marriage is going. Contemporary romance as a genre is working to eliminate the idea that romance novels are just about the romance and steam—that the relationships we have with other people have a big bearing on our lives, an effect that is necessary to dissect within the pages of a novel. I think The Ex Talk perfectly combines the exploration of being an adult with the exploration of all kinds of relationships that are important to adults in their twenties.
On a craft level, a few things about the book itself impressed me. The pacing of the novel was well done. The progression from Shay hating Dominic and being jealous of him to being attracted to him was organic, as was the progression of their relationship once they started defining their feelings. This definitely has to do with how authentic their banter is—a little volatile, really jealous, but also a hint of wanting to know more, wanting to impress the other person, and wanting to keep them interested. The form also isn't always just prose—Solomon incorporates scripts from the show itself, along with tweets, to build up the story and the dynamics of the characters. Shay absolutely loves stories, and Solomon incorporates different types of media to present to readers that she likes storytelling and switching it up sometimes, too. These form switches also provide a bit of distance, where we can understand exactly what it must be like recording in the room with Dominic and Shay (or listening in on the radio and falling in love with them), without always being right in the room with them.
For more from Rachel Lynn Solomon, follow her at RachelSolomonBooks.com, or follow her on Instagram @RLynn_Solomon.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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