Olivia Waite

Excerpts from "Love Notes," New York Times romance book review column (3/3/24).

Review of Second Chances in New Port Stephen by TJ Alexander. 

"This is as low-concept a book as you can get, but it works for the same reason books by Cat Sebastian, Rebekah Weatherspoon and Jackie Lau work: you enjoy spending time with these people and you want them to reach for joy when they can. We all should.

It's the difference between saving the world and saving one another. The former can feel impossible; the second we can do every day."

Review of When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein

"Alfie's Roy Kent-inspired voice is a triumph—and very, very funny—but sex is where Stein really shines. This, children, is how the professionals do it. Not a rote list of parts and positions, but a physical flow between two people. It's the difference between seeing choreography laid out and footprints on the floor, and being swept away by the dance."