Can't Look Away: A Novel
"Lovering delivers another winner...a propulsive page-turner about young love and second chances. You won't be able to put this down." --Laura Dave, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me
"Fans of Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins will enjoy this one." --Publishers Weekly In 2013, twenty-three-year old Molly Diamond is a barista, dreaming of becoming a writer. One night at a concert in Brooklyn, she locks eyes with the lead singer, Jake Danner, and can't look away. Molly and Jake fall quickly and deeply in love, especially after he writes a hit song about her that puts his band on the map. Nearly a decade later, Molly has given up writing and is living in Flynn Cove, Connecticut with her young daughter and her husband Hunter--who is decidedly not Jake Danner. Their life looks picture-perfect, but Molly is lonely; she feels out of place with the other women in their wealthy suburb, and is struggling to conceive their second child. When Sabrina, a newcomer in town, walks into the yoga studio where Molly teaches and confesses her own fertility struggles, Molly believes she's finally found a friend. But Sabrina has her own reasons for moving to Flynn Cove and befriending Molly. And as Sabrina's secrets are slowly unspooled, her connection to Molly becomes clearer--as do secrets of Molly's own, which she's worked hard to keep buried. Meanwhile, a new version of Jake's hit song is on the radio, forcing Molly to confront her past and ask the ultimate questions: What happens when life turns out nothing like we thought it would, when we were young and dreaming big? Does growing up mean choosing with your head, rather than your heart? And do we ever truly get over our first love?BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
This was an unexpected one —I initially thought it would be a thriller or a murder mystery, but it turned out to be more of a romantic drama. Let me start with the positives. It was an entertaining story that blended romance, heartache, mild intrigue, betrayal, deception, and some garden-variety plot twists – nothing big or shocking. There were just enough elements to keep me wanting to know what would happen next. I was satisfied with the endings for Molly, Hunter, and Jake, but Sabrina's ending had me worried.
On to the aspects I found mildly annoying: frequent out-of-place details, such as when it described how Molly was "comforted by the familiar smell of her Lancôme" while hugging her mom. Details like the type of sugar "turbinado" her friend Nina put in her coffee, or Sabrina's observations about Molly drinking "tap" water just by glancing at her from across the street felt unnecessary as they added nothing to the story and stuck out oddly. And finally, all the frozen heavy chapters. Overall, it kept the interest without being wholly vapid.
This book was an amazing read for sure. It kept me intrigued with what was to come next at every page turn. I really enjoyed it and the outcome in the ending! Looking forward to reading more of what Lovering has wrote. Her depth of writing is very interesting and keeps you guessing up until the last page, as well as wondering what is going to happen throughout it all.
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