Eliza Roth and her sister Sophie co-own a jewelry shop in Brooklyn. One night, after learning of an ex’s engagement, Eliza accidentally posts a photo of herself wearing a diamond ring on that finger to her Instagram account beloved by 100,000 followers. Sales skyrocket, press rolls in, and Eliza learns that her personal life is good for business. So she has a choice: continue the ruse or clear up the misunderstanding. With mounting financial pressure, Eliza sets off to find a fake fiancé.
Fellow entrepreneur Blake seems like the perfect match on paper. And in real life he shows promise, too. He would be perfect, if only Eliza didn’t feel also drawn to someone else. But Blake doesn’t know Eliza is “engaged”; Sophie asks Eliza for an impossible sum of money; and Eliza’s lies start to spiral out of control. She can either stay engaged online or fall in love in real life.
Source: advance e-galley provided in exchange for an honest review
* * * This review has spoilers * * *
When I saw the cover and blurb for Love at First Like I immediately snapped it up because it sounded cute and I was hoping for a rom-com-like, full of shenanigans and bloopers kind of story. It seemed to start off that way but wound up being something different.
In this age of everyone living their best life on social media with the aim of selling a perfect image, I totally get why Eliza would be tempted to take advantage of everyone's misunderstanding of her unintended post on Instagram. It looked like she was publicly declaring her engagement and it's big news when the co-owner of one of the city's finest jewelers is getting married and showing off a larger-than-life sparkling ring. At first, Eliza is mortified by her blunder but then her practical side kicks in. She sees the advantage in letting people draw that conclusion because it's good for business. That one post alone has already brought in major sales, and for a small business that's amazing. She feels the pressure for their success and wants to guarantee a steady income to ensure everyone's livelihood, including that of her business partner/sister, Sophie. So if people believe she's engaged, she'll go ahead and make that happen, and there begins my uneasiness with the plot.
Eliza stops at no end to find a suitor or to secure more tie-ins to her "wedding". She doesn't even officially have a fake fiancé yet but she's already accepting free bridal wear or a reception venue in exchange for free promotion. The confounding part is that no one in her close circle of friends or even her sister tells Eliza that what she'd doing is dishonest. Sophie, who initially had misgivings about Eliza's plan, adds more pressure on her because she and her partner desperately need money for IVF treatments. Eliza can't say no or better yet, put it to Sophie straight about their company's finances. Instead, she continues to string along Blake, the prospective groom, all the while convincing herself that they'll fall in love for real after he pops the question and they get married. As she's maneuvering for that, she's falling for another guy, Raj who knows what she's up to but doesn't have a problem with it. He seems to think it's amusing.
I just couldn't. I was waiting for that defining moment when Eliza would come clean and then work backward to fix everything, as painful as that would be. I also wanted to see Eliza have an honest talk with her sister about the state of things and how they're taking a toll on her. I know it's a tall order but it felt like everyone purposely glossed over reality and it got out of control. I can place the exact moment when Eliza and the story lost me: after she had told Blake the truth and they broke off their engagement, she asks to meet him with the idea to convince him to marry her regardless because of the cross-promotional commitments she'd made. She even had the gall to say to him that since she'd apologized to him already, and that if he indeed had loved her, he'd forgive her and help her. Wait. What? His feelings were beside the point here, apparently. She continued to manipulate him and everyone around her to continue the lie on her behalf.
Had Eliza's character arc shifted toward growth and more importantly, remorse, I think I would've felt differently. However, the manipulation, lies and exploitation were too much for me to digest. The only character to show their moral compass was Blake who refused to participate in the charade once he was made aware of it. I so wanted to enjoy this book but instead found the direction of the story and its ending unsettling.
~ Bel
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