Just Playing House

May 27, 2024
In this sweet rom-com, Heron (Jana Goes Wild) reunites old flames while pulling back the curtain on the rookie Hollywood experience. Twenty-something Marley Kamal has finally landed her dream position as a personal shopper at Reid’s Department Store—but her first celebrity client turns out to be her former prom date, Nik Shamdasani. Nik’s just gotten his big break as an actor and desperately needs a stylist who can prepare him for Comic-Con in two weeks, where it will be announced that he’s been cast as fan favorite superhero Bronze Shadow. Marley also has a big event looming in two weeks: she’s having an elective double mastectomy. She’s initially worried that working with Nik will be too awkward, but he makes her an offer she can’t refuse: he’ll serve as her live-in caregiver during her recovery from surgery. The two commit to a working relationship, but while living together and relying on each other, the feelings they thought they left at prom night resurface. Heron incorporates a timely discussion of racial inequities in Hollywood and sensitively handles Marley’s medical status, but keeps things fairly surface-level and light throughout. Still, readers looking for a breezy contemporary with closed-door sex scenes will be well pleased. Agent: Rachel Brooks, BookEnds Literary.

June 15, 2024
A stylist is hired to work with an up-and-coming actor she knew in high school. Marley Kamal works as a consultant at a high-end Toronto department store. Her dream job is to become a personal shopper, a more prestigious position with access to exclusive clients. When Marley is called into her boss' office and told she must sign a nondisclosure agreement, she realizes she's landed her first celebrity. Marley is shocked to discover the client is none other than Nikhil Shamdasani, a high school friend who took her to prom and ghosted her after they had sex. Nikhil has been cast as a superhero, but the studio doesn't seem to fully back him. He suspects they're waiting to see if white fans will balk at a Desi actor being cast in the role, and his awkward press conferences and strange personal style aren't helping his cause. After disastrous results with other stylists, he insists the studio hire Marley, remembering her as unflappable and calmly competent. Marley decides to capitalize on this opportunity, even though it's happening at the absolute worst time. In two weeks, she'll be having a double mastectomy as a preventative measure, since she's a carrier of the BRCA gene. The studio wants Marley to keep styling Nikhil, but she's kept the details of her surgery private. The old friends strike a deal: Nikhil will move in and help Marley with her recovery and she can style him from home. As always, Heron's characters are lovingly drawn and richly layered. Marley and Nikhil learn to care for each other, sharing their sadness over familial struggles and their worries about the future--her health and his career. The novel explores whether the sweet, gentle romance they create while alone together can withstand the pressure and media speculation of the real world. This slow, sweet romance explores the boundary between privacy and publicity.

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