You, with a View

May 1, 2023

DEBUT While grieving the loss of her beloved grandmother, Noelle Shepard is shocked to find a love letter hidden in Gram's possessions, along with a photo of her with a man who is not Noelle's grandfather. When the TikTok that Noelle creates to find this long-lost love goes viral, she is shocked to find out that Paul, the man in the photo, is the grandfather of her former academic and athletic rival, Theo Spencer. Noelle decides to take Gram and Paul's thwarted honeymoon road trip, but Paul insists that he and Theo go along for the ride. Noelle is convinced that the trip is going to be a disaster, but sparks quickly fly between she and Theo, even though they're keeping big secrets from each other and Theo remains guarded. Some of the secondary characters could have been a bit more well-developed, but readers will adore this grumpy/sunshine, second-chance pairing and the richly described national park settings. VERDICT Joyce's delightful debut is perfect for fans of road trip romances and Sarah Adler's Mrs. Nash's Ashes.--Whitney Kramer

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May 8, 2023
Joyce debuts with an exciting tale of love, loss, and second chances. After Noelle’s beloved grandmother Kathleen dies, Noelle finds a photo of a man she’s never seen before among Kathleen’s possessions and realizes he must have been someone her grandmother was involved with before meeting Noelle’s grandfather. Recently laid off from a job she hated, Noelle has plenty of free time on her hands and sets out to solve the mystery. She posts the photo on TikTok, where the story goes viral—leading Noelle to Paul, the man in the picture, who also happens to be the grandfather of her high school nemesis, Theo Spencer. Theo, the cofounder of a popular travel app, is annoyingly successful—and gorgeous—as an adult, but as Noelle learns more about Kathleen through Paul’s memories and mementos, she also grows closer to Theo. The trio decide to go on the two-week road trip that was initially planned as Kathleen and Paul’s honeymoon before their hopes of eloping were dashed. The resulting travelogue across the U.S. will captivate readers—as will the growing romance between Noelle and Theo. Meanwhile, Paul’s memories of Kathleen tug at the heartstrings. With crisp prose and twisty plotting, this romp should win Joyce many fans. Agent: Samantha Fabien, Root Literary.

June 1, 2023
Joyce's delightful debut skillfully blends love stories from two different times with a photo-ready travel tale. While mourning for Gram, her grandmother and best friend, Noelle, an unemployed photographer who feels like a total failure, discovers a packet of photos and a letter exposing a love-story mystery featuring Gram and a man named Paul from a few years before Gram married Noelle's grandfather. After Noelle posts the photos on TikTok, they go viral, and it turns out that Paul is still alive and willing to meet Noelle. Paul shares his story and the plans he had with Gram, including a map of the route through western national parks that they planned to follow on their honeymoon. When Noelle decides to follow that route to photograph the locations and post her pictures, Paul insists on going along, and so does Theo, his grandson and Noelle's high-school nemesis, now an ultra-successful travel app CEO. The 1950s love story unspools as the trio travels, while Noelle and Theo uncover what had made them rivals and discover that a decade changes views, interpretations, and maybe even feelings.

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