Editorial Content for It's a Love Story

In an author's note at the end of IT'S A LOVE STORY, Annabel Monaghan reveals that the seeds for her new novel were sown when she read Jennette McCurdy's brutally and hilariously honest memoir, I'M GLAD MY MOM DIED.

Like McCurdy, Monaghan's protagonist, Jane Jackson, was a TV star as a young teen. As part of an ensemble cast, she spent several seasons on a hit musical sitcom called “Pop Rocks.” Even though Jane (who had a much better voice than the show's main female star) secretly recorded the vocals for the program’s songs, she went down in sitcom history as "Poor Janey Jakes," the butt of every joke.

"IT'S A LOVE STORY is a brilliant blend of Hollywood and small-town romance, making it the perfect companion for wherever your summer adventures take you."

Jane is grateful in many ways for the experience she got on “Pop Rocks” --- and definitely for the money she earned from it, which helped support her and her single mom. But even though it's been years since the show folded, she is still recovering from the blows her self-confidence took during that time. In her job as a Hollywood studio executive, she struggles to stick up for herself and the projects in which she believes. But a gorgeously romantic new script has landed on her desk, and she is determined to get this film made at any cost. That's why, during a pitch meeting, she makes the ill-advised decision to suggest that her teenage singing partner, Jack Quinlan (now the biggest pop star on the radio), would be happy to record an original song for the soundtrack.

That promise is founded on nothing but hopes and dreams, but the movie's proposed cinematographer, Dan Finnegan --- with whom Jane has consistently butted heads --- lets Jane know that Jack will be headlining a music festival in his hometown, and that one of Dan's brothers will be working the show. Jane knows that this might be her one and only chance to get this longshot film made and start to make a (new) name for herself in this industry. So she and Dan hop on a plane to Long Island --- for a weekend of full-scale immersion into his large, chaotic and loving family.

It's Dan's parents' anniversary weekend, so the whole Finnegan clan --- all five brothers, plus assorted partners and children --- have descended on the family home. Any awkwardness is immediately swept away by the Finnegans' warmth and acceptance, a feeling that Jane has never really known. Before she knows it, as she spends more time with Dan, she's practically forgotten about her reason for coming to Long Island in the first place.

Annabel Monaghan has proven herself to be a master of the summer romance genre, and her latest book is no exception. There's plenty of beachy, escapist fun to be had, supplemented by Jane and Dan's good-natured (and increasingly flirtatious) banter, as well as pretty weighty family and personal histories for both of them to work through before they're ready to write their own love story.

IT'S A LOVE STORY is a brilliant blend of Hollywood and small-town romance, making it the perfect companion for wherever your summer adventures take you.