By Any Other Name

January 1, 2022
A romance editor's belief in love is put to the test after she discovers the true identity of her favorite author. Elaine "Lanie" Bloom believes in the power of true love, and not just because she's a romance novel senior editor at Peony Press. Her mother's dying wish was for Lanie to find someone "you really, really love," and she thinks she's found it with her fiance, Ryan. He's a perfectly handsome legislative director with presidential aspirations, yet she's struggling to picture Ryan next to the altar. For starters, he doesn't get along with her tortoise, Alice, and he's constantly implying she should quit her job to become the next FLOTUS-in-training. Life gets even more confusing when Lanie is offered a provisional promotion to editorial director and tasked with reeling in the 4-months-late manuscript from beloved bestseller Noa Callaway. Lanie soon discovers that her favorite author is not, in fact, an elusive old woman but Noah Ross, the attractive mystery man she recently met at a book launch. Suddenly, everything she thought she knew about love, her relationship, and Noah's novels comes crashing down. Will Lanie be able to reconcile her feelings for the real Noah in time to help overcome his writer's block and save her job? Kate's second adult novel thoughtfully explores the notion of living bravely and taking risks in love, but it's weighed down early on with multiple flashback scenes that overwhelm an already short page count. A few more chapters could have tended to open-ended side plots or given Noah more room to express himself as an individual outside of his pseudonym and Lanie's love interest. A sweet, literary rom-com that excels in self-realization but falters with a rushed resolution.

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Starred review from January 10, 2022
Kate (The Orphan’s Song) delivers a delightful rom-com that begs to be devoured in one sitting. Lanie Bloom comes from a family of doctors and always intended to follow in their footsteps—until she fell in love with romance novels in college. Lanie ditched pre-med to pursue a career in New York City publishing, eventually becoming the editor of one of romance’s biggest names, Noa Callaway. Though she’s never met the mysterious author in person, they’ve worked together via email for years, and Lanie’s always been a fan, even creating a list of aspirational qualities for her perfect partner based on one of Noa’s first books. When Noa admits to writer’s block, Lanie’s job rides on getting the next bestseller produced, and she’ll stop at nothing to generate inspiration—leading to their first IRL meeting and a reveal that shakes Lanie to her core. Most readers won’t be surprised to discover the reason Noa is so reclusive, but this doesn’t take away from enjoying the slow burning central relationship. Kate surrounds both Noa and Lanie with well-drawn friends and family who add welcome backstory and create a sense that these are two people with full lives outside of each other meeting in the middle. The result is both smart and adorable. Agent: Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary.

February 15, 2022
Kate follows her lush and suspenseful historical tale, The Orphan's Song (2019), with a charming, witty tale set in the publishing world. New Yorker Lanie Bloom is the newly minted editorial director at Peony Press. For years, she's had a warm virtual relationship with Peony's star author, Noa Callaway, whose books have sold millions of copies. Discovering that Noa is actually Noah Ross feels like a gross betrayal of their relationship. Noah is suffering from writer's block and has missed the deadline for his latest book by months. Passionate about her city, Lanie comes up with a list of 50 of its hidden treasures and urges Noah to explore them with her with the hope of clearing whatever is holding him back. As they spend time together, Lanie realizes that her fianc�, who wants her to give up her career and change her ways, really should become her ex, and that she is falling in love with Noah, who thinks she is wonderful at everything. Among this love story's many charms is one of the most romantic proposals in the rom-com genre.

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