Missed Connections

July 4, 2016
Mataya's vapid novel holds little appeal for even the most flexible and generous fan of contemporary romances. Sarah visits the Missed Connections website several times a day, scrolling through posts about chance encounters and looking for her elusive Mr. Right. When an unknown admirer posts a message to her, she starts chatting with him online. At the same time, she hooks up with Jack, her best friend Pete's twin brother, and the sex is as amazing and sizzling as she'd always suspected it would be. She loves how Jack makes her feel sexy, but Sarah is judgmental and hung up on his supposed immaturity. Jack and Pete are both loyal, funny, and sweet, but it's perplexing why they put up with Sarah's narcissism and shallowness. And no matter how Sarah tries to justify it, she is cheating on Jack with her virtual admirer, and the fact that the relationship is completely online is irrelevant. Sarah makes a lot of excuses, wishing she could have an emotional connection with Jack, but she does nothing to take the relationship beyond the physical. Even Sarah's bosses and coworkers have more personality, and readers will have little tolerance for Sarah's whining about her job and love life. Agent: Nicole Resciniti, Seymour Agency.

May 1, 2016
In this sexy contemporary romance, a single girl looking for love in New York City finds the perfect guy online, but she can't get her friend's bad-boy brother out of her mind. Mataya (The Sowing, 2015, etc.) hooks readers from the first page of the first book in her new Summer Love series. Sarah spends her days working for a pair of uptight hippies at a New Age spa and her nights reading the Missed Connections section on Craigslist. She dreams of one day finding her own Missed Connection. In the meantime, she must fight her attraction to her best friend Pete's twin, Jack. Hooking up with Jack might jeopardize Sarah's friendship with his brother if the relationship were to end badly. And she knows it would definitely end. Jack's "rampant Peter Pan syndrome" and sexual exploits make him ineligible for anything but casual sex. Sarah is ready to get serious about finding love, and she's looking for a man with emotional maturity and a grown-up job--not a DJ who parties every night like Jack does. When she comes across a Missed Connection meant for her, Sarah is thrilled to discover the emotional connection she's been looking for with her secret admirer, which grows stronger with every message they exchange. And then a steamy encounter with Jack leaves her wracked with guilt. As things at the Inner Space Spa go from bad to crazy, Sarah finds she may have underestimated Jack and feels torn between him and her online relationship. At times the story verges on silly and improbable, but it's ultimately saved by Sarah's well-written inner monologue. Funny and authentic, Sarah's snarky take on her own travails is the magic ingredient that will have readers rooting for the heroine to find true love with the right man. A fun and humorous summer read with unexpected depth.

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