The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren Genres: Adult, Contemporary
Published by Simon and Schuster on July 14, 2026
Also by this author: The Unhoneymooners, Twice in a Blue Moon, The Honey-Don't List, In a Holidaze, The Soulmate Equation, Something Wilder, The True Love Experiment, The Honeymoon Crashers , The Paradise Problem
Format: Audio/Physical (352 pages) • Source: Purchased, Spotify Audiobooks
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New York Times bestselling author Christina Lauren returns with an unforgettable romance in which a fateful accident erases a troubled marriage from memory—and a scientific breakthrough gives love one extraordinary do-over.
Three years ago, scientist Emery Finch did something completely out of character: She got married. To Luca—the impossibly charming landscaper she met on one blistering night in Vegas who made her laugh, made her dance, made her feel.
But now, Emery is consumed by her top research, missing dinners, forgetting anniversaries, and promising herself Luca will understand once her cutting-edge discoveries come to light. Until the unthinkable happens: A tragic accident takes Luca from her.
Desperate not to lose him, Emery breaks every rule, using the classified technology she’s developed to bring him back to life. And Luca would probably thank her for it, if only he could remember her. Their first kiss, their Sunny Sundays at the beach, the life they built together...all of it is gone.
It may be a miracle of science, but for Emery it’s her one shot at a second chance. And this time, she won’t waste it—because true love is always worth reviving.
It’s been far too long since I’ve read a Christina Lauren book and they are absolutely an auto-read/buy author for me. Their last book was a top favorite so I had pretty high expectations for this one, despite not really even reading the synopsis. I am a fan of magical realism (this was not really that) and the science-y books they’ve had in the past (definitely that except heightened) so I was cautiously optimistic.
Emery is a scientist in a super secret job with a husband she loves but does not show up for enough. When Luca unexpectedly gets into an accident, Emery acts quickly thanks to her job, but he doesn’t remember anything about his life. She feels like she’s been blessed with a second chance to prioritize her relationship.
You definitely have to suspend your disbelief on Emery’s work and what happens with Luca, but the premise was interesting and unique to me. I love romances with a unique concept and Christina Lauren have written quite a few of them. I do prefer when their books are funny with a lot of banter – more like a rom-com – and this was definitely more serious.
I liked Luca and Emery and watching them fall for each other again, but there was a little something missing for me. I know a lot of people don’t enjoy second chance romances where the couple already knows each other and has this whole backstory involved, but this is a bit different – Emery is the only one who remembers their shared history. This was a nice twist (the amnesia element) to the trope.
I saw some other reviews note that the pacing was an issue and I think I agree with that in hindsight as to why the book didn’t work as well for me. I still really enjoyed the characters, the romance, and the overall premise, so this lands with a solid rating, but toward the bottom of the ranking for their books for me.
Every Version of You by Natalie Messier Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Magical Realism
Published by Gallery Books on July 7, 2026
Format: Hardcover (368 pages) • Source: Aardvark Book Club
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For fans of The Love of My Afterlife and The Seven Year Slip, Reese’s LitUp Fellow Natalie Messier’s debut following a woman who gets a chance to relive her college years—with the opportunity to win back the one that got away—is “full of surprises and sneakily perceptive” (Yulin Kuang, USA TODAY bestselling author of How to End a Love Story).
Joey Vasquez’s life is the definition of good on paper. At thirty-two, she’s a Los Angeles lawyer on the cusp of making partner, but while she’s a professional success, she’s a personal disaster. Her social life mostly consists of nights spent watching TV with her elderly cat. Life isn’t quite what she dreamed when she was younger, but really, whose life is?
But a dinner party with the best friend she’s secretly pined after for years and its aftermath changes everything.
When Joey is given a second chance at life, she finds herself in college again. Armed with memories from her first life, Joey is certain she’s come back to finally convince the one man she ever loved to love her back—so why does she find herself strangely drawn to the man she thought she hated?
I’m a huge fan of time travel and/or parallel reality books; I’ve talked about it a hundred times on here. Books where the character is kind of in-between life and death are also big favorites, so this looked like a total win for me. I got it through Aardvark and started it on a whim when I kept seeing people say it was hard to put down… they were totally right!
When Joey dies in a car accident and is given a second chance at life, she chooses to go back to her first college party and begin again from there. She can finally make a move on her best friend (who she’s been pining over for years) and not be a lonely depressed gal into her thirties. She unexpectedly finds herself connecting with her current nemesis, Alex, and wonders if maybe she misread him in the past.
I loved this book when it felt like a messy little romance featuring my favorite tropes, but around the halfway point it got even more interesting. AND THEN around the final quarter it got even more intriguing. My jaw dropped multiple times. The fact that this is a debut novel is crazy; I will probably be reading everything else this author writes.
I don’t want to spoil anything about the book pivoting – especially because, don’t worry, it’s still a romance – but it got even closer to those tropes I love. I really enjoyed Joey and Alex as characters; they are both Mexican American but had very different upbringings within the culture. The romance is messy and complicated and not realistic based on the situation she’s in, but also very realistic in other ways.
I’d highly recommend this one though I will say it feels like it was written just for me. I’m happy to see it getting its flowers from many other readers as well.
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