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The Side Project
By: Laurel Osterkamp
Publication Date: November 13, 2024
Published By: Wild Rose Press
370 pages
Find It On: Amazon | Goodreads
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Rylee was supposed to graduate college and do her post graduate degree at USC in California. But her plans were changed when her dad died and her brother got a brain tumor. Ten years ago, Carson was headed to Harvard for college with the ultimate goal to cure cancer. His plans were derailed when his girlfriend Dana told him that she was pregnant. Now they are both in their hometown of Bemidji, MN, but they haven’t seen each other in a long time. That is until they wound up taking the same graduate fiction class. They become writing partners and decide on a side project – a non strings attached fling that ends when the class ends. But there are rules in place, including keeping it a secret and if they catch feelings, it has to end. Soon enough, all the rules are broken and there is a lot of tension. Is the risk worth it?
This is a really enjoyable read. While the focus of this book is on the romance between Rylee and Carson, there are a few subplots like Brandon’s tumor, Rylee’s long distance whatever-he-is, Carson’s divorce, and Rylee’s grief and some really great character developments as well. I will say that I did feel like the book dragged on a little bit towards the middle back half, but then it picked up and took off and I was back to being fully engaged in the book.
One of the aspects of this book that the author really impressed me with was how realistic and mature the characters handled the situations. I haven’t seen much of that in romance novels. Usually it’s a miscommunication trope and then they talk it out. But here, the characters were legitimately trying to make the best decisions for themselves, for a child, and all parties involved. It was really nice to read and it made the book so much more enjoyable.
I really loved seeing Rylee’s confidence in herself grow and that she finally realized that Jack was not who she thought he was. Every time he called her and asked her for her help, I wanted to take her by her shoulders, shake her, and say “he’s using you!” But by the end, it was really nice to see Rylee come into her own.
Oh, and I loved the ending, but I won’t say more than that because I don’t want to ruin it!
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