03/01/2024
Underfunded and underappreciated music teacher Charlotte Carter wants nothing more than to enjoy her summer, spending time with her parents and sister and watching old Frankie Avalon movies. But from the moment the last bell rings, a comedy of errors begins. First, her grant funding for the next year falls through, then she suspects her mother's cancer is back, and, to top it all off, Frankie's ex-fiancé is getting married after ditching her practically at the altar two years before. A series of hilarious misunderstandings and almost unbelievable coincidences has Frankie pairing up with Zach Bryant, her ex-fiancé's brother, for a 500-mile tandem-bicycle race on the Natchez Trace Parkway. Desperate to win the prize money to save her music program so that she'll never have to leave Bailey Springs, IL, Charlotte vows not to fall for the ruggedly handsome Zach, who loves adventure and has been traveling the world for years. VERDICT Kinzer (Dear Henry, Love Edith) will make readers laugh out loud with her zany small-town characters and the delightful rom-com situations they get themselves into. For similar authors, check out Courtney Walsh and Pepper Basham.