I don’t think I’ve read anything by Emma Straub before – despite her having some bestsellers under her belt – but having seen this on a ‘books of 2026’ list, I was delighted to be granted an advance review copy from Net Galley. Here’s the blurb:

“Annie is:
On a cruise with her one-time favourite boyband and a thousand female super-fans
Still reeling from her divorce
Being replaced at work by her intern

Keith is:
Fifty years old and in a band that performs dance routines with hip thrusts
Suffering from sea sickness
Certain his wife doesn’t love him anymore

When a meet-and-greet throws them together, Annie develops a crush on Keith, and Keith starts to wonder if life might have a few surprises in store for him.

But are Keith and Annie just living a fantasy? And what happens when they get back to shore?”

I was quite excited to read this – the premise of fan meeting boy band member had potential – but I really don’t feel the book lived up to the hype – and the quotes on the cover of ‘smart and entertaining’ and ‘pure joy’ just don’t ring true for me personally. I also think the blurb is totally misleading as Keith and Annie don’t actually meet until the last few pages of the book, and are back to shore in the last scene!

It was pleasant enough – but I felt didn’t have much of a storyline. Annie was on the cruise without her superfan sister, which had been the plan, and so ends up rooming with a random fan who takes her under her wing. There is clearly beef between this new friend and lots of other people on the boat – although you never really get to the bottom of it properly. The book is told from Annie’s perspective – and also from the perspectives of Keith (a member of boy band Boy Talk who are the reason for the cruise) and Sarah – who works for the company putting on the event.

The absolute mania some women (all about my age!) have for boy bands is ridiculous – but I suspect true in some circles!! Don’t get me wrong – I have loved Take That for decades – but the fervour some of these fans have is crazy.

Keith is quite dull and clearly unhappy – but not prepared to do anything about this – be it his wife or the band – in particular his brother. I just wanted to give him a shake!

Sarah was a competent worker – used to dealing with the crazed fans and the band – and is pretty slick at running it all – but there was background about her splitting up with her girlfriend – and thus cat – that just didn’t seem to add to the story at all, just all a bit random.

There is nothing wrong with the book – I just found the storyline incredibly slow, repetitive and a bit dull – and that was from all 3 points of view. I really thought I would empathise with both Annie and Keith being a similar age – but I just didn’t click – and for it to be dragged out for 95% of the book before there is a meaningful interaction between them did keep me reading – but more from frustration!

I am sure that some people will love it – and maybe I’m just missing something as it appears some people have raved about it – but it’s not for me.

But thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my ARC!