Spotlight Review: TROPESICK by Lauren Okie
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From the publisher:
In this lush, slow-burning romance, two childhood neighbors, connected by a shared tragedy, unexpectedly reunite to ghostwrite a love story for a reclusive author. Spending the summer at her secluded Hamptons estate, they soon discover that dozens of classic romance tropes, including the ones they’re crafting on page, are mysteriously playing out in real life.
Katie Caruso is a completely normal twenty-five-year-old girl. At least, for the past eight years, she’s tried to be. She likes glitter and sequins and flirting with cute boys at New York City bars. She’s also a ghostwriter for Meredith Bradford, the bestselling romance novelist of all time. But then Tyler McNally walks back into Katie’s life, and that bedazzled facade crumbles at her platform-sneakered feet.
Katie and Tyler haven’t seen or spoken to each other since the overdose death of Katie’s older brother, a standout MLB pitching prospect. Tyler was her brother’s best friend, and Katie—naturally—was the girl next door. But now, Tyler is a sleeve-tattooed, Ivy League–educated aspiring literary fiction novelist, nine years sober . . . and Katie’s writing partner for the summer.
As genre conventions require, Katie and Tyler soon find themselves removed from Manhattan and instead writing their love story in “forced proximity” at Meredith’s isolated Southampton home. As the summer unfolds, the tropes Katie and Tyler have written into their novel begin to play out in their own lives. Call it destiny, fate, or magic itself: it’s clear their love story isn’t finished. This time, though, they’ll work through the pain that tore them apart—and fight for their happy ending.
Heart-wrenching and tender, Tropesick is a love letter to the romance genre. With a wink and a nod, Okie has packed the novel with readers’ favorite tropes:
- Grumpy/Sunshine
- Brother’s best friend
- Girl next door
- Forced proximity
- Forbidden love
- Kissing in the rain
- Groveling hero
- Second-chance romance
- Slow burn
- Only one bed
https://bookshop.org/a/123058/9780063479616 Okie’s sophomore effort, following The Best Worst Thing, is a clever, self-aware romance that plays with the very conventions it celebrates. Katie Caruso has spent eight years ghostwriting for reclusive romance icon Meredith Bradford, but her latest deadline is impossible—so she’s assigned a co-writer: Tyler McNally, a literary author, her late brother’s best friend, and the man who broke her heart years earlier. Reluctantly reunited, they retreat to the Meredith’s estate in the Hamptons to write a trope-filled romance—only to find those same tropes unfolding in real life. From grumpy/sunshine to brother’s best friend to forced proximity, their dynamic mirrors the story they’re crafting, blurring the line between fiction and reality.
The early pacing can feel chaotic, but once the rhythm settles, the self-aware structure becomes part of the charm. The metafictional elements occasionally feel overdone, and a late twist may divide readers. What elevates Tropesick is its exploration of grief, opioid addiction, and forgiveness. Katie and Tyler’s chemistry is undeniable, and their second-chance romance feels earned as they confront the past and inch toward healing.
VERDICT Playful and poignant, this is a love letter to romance readers, offering a satisfying—if slightly unconventional—happily ever after.
©Library Journal, 2026
6/2026 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
TROPESICK by Lauren Okie. Avon (June 16, 2026). ISBN: 978-0063479616. 416p.
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