I was a huge fan of Becca Freeman’s debut novel The Christmas Orphans Club and have been anxiously awaiting her follow-up ever since. When I heard it was a celebrity/normal person romance, I was extra excited. So it pains me to say that Back Where We Started felt a little like a sophomore slump.
Katie and Drew grew up together in Dutch Ridge, PA — neighbors turned best friends turned high school sweethearts. But their dreams pulled them in different directions. Hers toward acting, his toward politics. Until one Christmas, Katie comes home and finds herself face to face with Drew again for the first time in years. Can they finally make it work?
My biggest issue with the writing is that it felt like there was a lot of telling versus showing. We’re told Katie is a great actress, that she and Drew have undeniable chemistry, that she’s funny and adventurous. But I didn’t feel any of it. She reads mostly just as very anxious, and I couldn’t tell you a single interest she has outside of acting.
Also, if she can’t get parts in school plays or do well in her acting program at NYU, how exactly does she win an Oscar before 30? And if she can’t make friends in high school, at NYU, or in LA… is Katie maybe a little lame?
The pacing didn’t quite work – the ratio of flashbacks to present day didn’t quite click. And a fight between Katie and Drew three-quarters of the way through felt strange — I couldn’t understand why he was as upset as he was about what he was upset about. (staying vague here to avoid spoilers!)
What did work: the people who populate Dutch Ridge, Katie and Drew’s families, her agent and publicist. All good. The ending, too – unexpected and well done.
Freeman was really great at writing friendship in her debut. Romance with steam feels less natural coming from her (there’s one sexy scene ) and given how many romance writers there are and how few writers focus on friendship, I’d genuinely love to see her lean back into that territory in her next book.
My reaction to Back Where We Started may be a victim of overly high expectations. I feel sure many romance readers will really enjoy this one. I remain a big Becca Freeman fan and am excited to see what she does next.
PS: Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books for providing me with an Advanced Reading Copy
