The Best of Adam Sharp

March 6, 2017
In Simsion’s third novel (after The Rosie Effect), an email from an old flame, Angelina Brown, spurs British computer guy Adam Sharp to reassess what he wants from life. Though their affair was short-lived and over two decades before, Adam still believes Angelina is his soul mate. He’s been involved with Claire for decades, but their relationship is mostly practical, and a business deal might require her to move from England to the U.S. Email flirtations with Angelina escalate into Skype conversations and culminate in an invitation to join Angelina and her affable husband, Charlie, at their vacation house in France. At this point, Sharp’s book takes an unexpected turn. What seems like a run-of-the-mill chick-lit tale about “the one that got away” becomes a complicated exploration of marriage, what it means to love someone, and how life gets in the way. Adam propels himself into this situation assuming he knows how things are going to play out. Charlie turns out to be more than his amiable, accommodating first impression would indicate, and Angelina shows facets of herself that are a touch more complicated than the girl-of-Adam’s-dreams trope. The contrast almost makes this feel like two different novels. The story winds down with a great passive-aggressive song trivia contest, and Simsion delivers an ending that feels hard-won and true, though readers will have to tough out getting there with a little patience.

March 1, 2017
Simsion makes a clear departure from the world of The Rosie Project (2013) and provides a soundtrack to this story of love in two parts.Adam Sharp usually reserves reminiscing about his stint as an IT consultant in Melbourne for when he's listening to sad songs of lost love. But a one-word email from his ex-lover is powerful enough motivation to get him questioning his choices over the last 22 years. When "hi" hits his inbox, Adam is living a life of routine in England. His long-term relationship with fellow IT professional Claire is more friendly than passionate but extremely functional. Gone are the days where he is regularly behind a piano, singing to--or with--a girl. For Adam, that girl is Angelina Brown, who walked up to him at the piano in 1989 with mascara running down her cheek and asked if he could play "Because the Night." He ended by singing out to the man who pulled her away, whom he later discovers to be Angelina's husband, with "a Lennon-McCartney send-off. 'You're Gonna Lose That Girl.' " The first half of the novel is devoted to Adam's affair with the young, up-and-coming actress, with music playing an essential role in their connection--something they'll never share with anyone else. Though "in the end it was [he] who lost the girl." Back in the present, the email exchange turns from playful to life-changing when Angelina invites Adam to stay with her in France. The consequences of reconnecting take on the physical form of Angelina's husband, Charlie, who reveals himself as an active player in this charade. Their week in France is a complicated unfolding that feels like its own book, a midlife crisis that develops in real time during which Adam's and Angelina's versions of the past collide. With a piano serving as their medium, they must reconcile the 20-something versions of themselves with the people now sipping on 1966 Chateau Margaux. A strong reminder of just how affecting nostalgia can be, but Part 2 of this love story is out of tune with its beginning.

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March 15, 2017
A one-word e-mail sets Adam's life ablaze. Nearing 50, between jobs, and sleeping separately from his longtime partner, Claire, Adam is poised for the reignition. He recallsas much as he can recall what he can't forgetfalling in love with Angelina, the e-mail's sender, in Melbourne, back when he'd left England for a short work contract more than 20 years ago. There he passed lonely evenings by playing piano, his passion, at a bar, and music was his and Angelina's first, sparking connection. (A playlist of the book's many evoked songs is cleverly available at the end of the book, as well as online.) As his and Angelina's communications escalate, Adam examines his life, takes up running again, returns to the piano, and emotionally reconnects with the music he loves. A leap-or-don't moment arises, and the outcome of Adam's decision surprises him perhaps most of all. Sensitive, witty Adam is a terrifically chummy narrator for fan-favorite Simsion's (The Rosie Effect, 2014) funny, sexy, and above all musical portrayal of the roles memory and fantasy play in midlife's yearnings.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2017

After The Rosie Project and The Rosie Effect, both LibraryReads Top Ten titles, Simsion gives us Adam Sharp, reasonably contented with his life but haunted by his long-ago affair with glorious actress Angelina Brown. Then she reappears.

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February 15, 2017

Adam Sharp is at home in Norwich, England, reading, when an email pops up. It is from Angelina, the love of his life, from whom Adam hasn't heard in 20 years. Sure he has thought about her and okay, he will admit he's still in love. But they both have moved on. Adam is comfortably married and making a decent living as an IT database architect. He knows Angelina is married with kids. But before long, Adam and Angelina are in an email exchange that feels like an affair, albeit virtually. When Angelina taunts Adam to live recklessly, he jumps at the chance to see if the passion still exists between the two of them. Of course, life is never that simple. Simsion (The Rosie Project; The Rosie Effect) is back with his third novel. While not quite as funny as the Rosie books, this is an entertaining read that asks, what would you do if you had another chance with the "one who got away?" VERDICT A bittersweet read for fans of Simsion's previous works as well as readers who enjoy Emily Giffin, Sophie Kinsella, or Jane Green. [See Prepub Alert, 12/6/16.]--Robin Nesbitt, Columbus Metropolitan Lib., OH

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.