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Twenty-seven-year-old screenwriter Elle has the chance of a lifetime to write a big-budget movie set in New York City. The only problem? She’s had writer’s block for months, and her screenplay is due at the end of the summer.
In a desperate attempt at inspiration, Elle ends up back in the city she swore she would never return to, in an apartment she could never afford (floor-to-ceiling windows, skyline views, and a new coffee shop to haunt included). It’s the perfect place to write her screenplay…until she realizes her new neighbor is tech “Billionaire Bachelor” Parker Warren, her stairwell hookup from two years ago. It’s been a lovers-to-enemies situation ever since.
When seeing him again turns into a full night of hate-fueled writing, Elle realizes her enemy/twisted muse might just be the key to finishing her screenplay... if she can stand being around her polar opposite. She writes anonymously, and he’s on the cover of every business magazine. He frequents fancy red carpeted events, and she doesn’t like leaving her emotional support five block radius.
One summer. One wall apart. He needs to fake a buzzy relationship during his company’s precarious acquisition. She needs to write a movie around a list of NYC locations. Both need a break from their unrelenting schedules, and a chance to rediscover the skyscraper glimmering, pizza crusted, sunlit charms of the city.
Summers always end, and so will this agreement. It’s all pretend. Promise.
Until it isn’t.
Alex Aster is a master of building romantic worlds, but are you a master reader?
Let's find out!
Take Demi's Book Club quiz and see how you measure up š.
What does Elle think Parker called her at the end of chapter 1?
A golddigger
A bottomfeeder
A good girl
An escort
When Elle returns to her mystery apartment after getting caught in the rain, she finds out who sheās sharing the floor with. Who is it?
Tanya
Penelope
Luke
Parker
What does Elle do for a living?
She's a hand-model
Sheās a screenwriter
She's a novelist
She owns a bookstore
Who owns Elleās apartment?
Her best friend, Penelope
Her enemy, Parker
Her sister, Cali
Her dead mother, Isabella
Why does Parker need to fake-date Elle?
He needs the positive press for his acquisition.
He doesn't need to. He just WANTS to.
He needs to convince his mom he has a life outside of work.
He wants to stop looking lonely in front of his friends.
Whatās Elleās favorite pastry at her new favorite coffee shop?
Balaklava
Fudge brownie
Almond croissant
Blueberry scone
How many drinks does Elle have while sheās writing?
4: different types of tea - one earl grey, one lemon ginger, one green, and one jasmine, all to suit the many moods of her characters
3: water for hydration, latte for energy, hot chocolate for fun.
2: water and coffee, because she's sensible.
1: just coffee. She doesn't drink water as a rule.
Elle has been an anonymous screenwriter and hates rich men because:
Her mother was rich, and it made her lack ambition and conviction. It turned her into a person Elle hated.
Her rich ex-boyfriend made her feel horrible about her low income as a writer
As her father gained more money, he used it to control their family. She doesnāt trust rich men because she assumes they want complete control.
Her sister won the lottery and used it to buy everything Elle loved, so she couldn't have those things anymore.
Who sells Elleās identity to the press?
Richard the doorman
Cali, because she was angry her sister kept a secret that big
Gwen, the new friend
Carissa, because she was jealous Elle was with Parker
Whatās the name of the famous bookstore in Paris that Elle spots?
Fox books
Bookshelves and Bonedust
Shakespeare and company
The Shop Around The Corner
You've got better things to do than focus on the small stuff.
Bookshops? Elle's identity? Who cares? I mean, what even were those multiple choice questions? You read this book for the vibes and enjoyed it, and really, at the end of it all, that's all that matters.
"Wait, was I meant to study for this thing?"
āYou got most of the answers right! Which might've been luck or it might've been the taco you had for lunch last week - either way, not bad! You're a reader who pays attention to what you like, and you get rid of the rest. What could be better than that? So go collect your medalāā *stage-hand taps Demi on the shoulder* "Hm? We don't have medals? What do you mean we don't have medals? What am I supposed to-" *Demi drops the mike, and runs away yelling, "Thanks for playing! See you next month!"
You're so good, it's scary.
It doesn't matter if you've read 20 books this month, you know every little detail of every page you've ever read. Your toast always pops out perfectly, and your avocado is always the right kind of ripe. You're so switched on that it's scary, and everyone around you expects nothing but the best romance recomendationsĀ on the planet - and that's why you'reĀ part of this Book Club. Now, go and eat that perfectly made piece of avocado toast. You've earned it.
