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IT'S A LOVE STORY

Annabel Monaghan

A Novel

From the USA Today bestselling author of Nora Goes Off Script comes a novel about a former adolescent TV punchline who has left her awkwardness in the rearview mirror thanks to a fake-it-till-you-make-it mantra that has her on the cusp of success, until she tells a lie that sets her on a crash-course with her past, spending a week in Long Island with the last man she thinks might make her believe in love.
Love is a lie. Laughter is the only truth.

Jane Jackson spent her adolescence as "Poor Janey Jakes," the barbecue-sauce-in-her-braces punch line on America's fifth-favorite sitcom. Now she's trying to be taken seriously as a Hollywood studio executive by embracing a new mantra: Fake it till you make it.

Except she might have faked it too far. Desperate to get her first project greenlit and riled up by pompous cinematographer and one-time crush Dan Finnegan, she claimed that she could get mega popstar Jack Quinlan to write a song for the movie. Jack may have been her first kissand greatest source of shamebut she hasn't spoken to him in twenty years.

Now Jane must turn to the last man she'd ever want to owe: Dan Finnegan. Because Jack is playing a festival in Dan's hometown, and Dan has an in. A week in close quarters with Dan as she faces down her past is Jane's idea of hell, but he just might surprise her. While covering up her lie, can they find something true?

Annabel Monaghan is the USA Today bestselling and Library Reads Hall of Fame author of Summer Romance, Same Time Next Summer, and Nora Goes Off Script, as well as two young adult novels and Does This Volvo Make My Butt Look Big?, a selection of laugh-out-loud columns that appeared in the Huffington Post, the Week, and the Rye Record. She lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, with her family.
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Published 2025-05-27 by Putnam

Comments

Poignant, funny, and bingeable, Annabel Monaghan writes five star reads.

[A] gorgeous romance . . . A perfect book to slip into your beach bag this summer.

In my eyes, it isn't summer without an Annabel Monaghan novel . an exciting, heartfelt read.

Annabel Monaghan has a direct line to my heartand my funny bone. With IT'S A LOVE STORY, she's given us an enemies-to-lovers romcom that's SO MUCH MORE. This is dopamine in book form. And don't we all need that right now?

[A] bingeable beachy contemporary . . . Monaghan mines a lot of joy out of [a] close-knit family dynamic and the scenic coastal setting, while creating a heroine readers will root for. This is an addictive romp.

The most beautiful, perfect love storyI loved it with my whole heart! I could have lived inside this book forever. It's my favorite Annabel Monaghan novel yet, and made me cry such happy emotional tears!

IT'S A LOVE STORY is proof that Annabel has hit her stride and is one of the best in this romance writing world. Her super power of an author is planting the seeds for a great romance and great characters and just letting it all unfold, scene by scene. I'm in awe. IT'S A LOVE STORY is one of the best of 2025. Do yourself a favor and read this beautiful novel. You won't regret it.

I was lucky enough to get an advance copy and trust me, it is going to be the book of the summer!!!

A fast-paced adorable romance, this read is the absolute perfect pick for a day at the beach.

This novel is perfect for those looking to escape the summer heat with an enemies-to-lovers romcom.

[T]he way Annabel writes about falling in love is so poignant.

[T]here is satisfying depth to the story . . . Monaghan writes another charming rom-com, this time with enemies-to-lovers and forced-proximity tropes. Monaghan fans will not be disappointed.

Annabel Monaghan has written a love story that is as laugh-out-loud funny as it is emotionally profound. Don't miss this perfect summer escape.

Leave it to Monaghan to weave a good romance with some snappy dialogue and relatable characters.