Library Journal Review of Love

The Library Journal Review of Love or Something Like It is in and it's nice. My last pre-pub review. Relief.

Shaw, Deirdre. Love or Something Like It. Random. Apr. 2009. c.256p. ISBN 978-1-4000-6770-1. $22. F

Lacey, a newspaper reporter in her late twenties, meets stand-up comic/TV writer Toby and moves from New York to Los Angeles to be with him. Things go downhill quickly after the two get married and Toby loses his job. Toby, who can't find work, becomes a perpetual couch potato and starts to question their marriage. Soon, Lacey is divorced and left to wonder what she is doing in L.A. She decides to stay and, in the process, has some success as a screenwriter and dates anyone and everyone in an attempt to forget Toby. She also examines how her relationships with her parents and brother may have contributed to the hasty demise of her marriage. It's not until Lacey decides to move back to New York that she meets someone in Los Angeles who gives her a chance at a more mature love than she had with Toby. This debut novel reads at times like connected short stories. The strong main character and vivid depictions of Hollywood life combine to create a worthwhile reading experience. Recommended for all public libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 12/08.]—Karen Core, Detroit P.L.