Zoey Castile begins her Happy Endings series with a fun and flirty romance between a fifth-grade teacher and her handsome new neighbor.
Robyn Flores is having a terrible morning and an even worse few months. Stuck in a slump since her best friend began planning her wedding, Robyn’s life is all over the place. While running late to work one morning, she discovers her laundry has been switched—she definitely doesn’t wear thongs emblazoned with the American flag. Turns out, the laundry belongs to her downstairs neighbor Zac Fallon.
Fallon is new to New York, having traveled to the Big Apple with the male revue show he works for. Working during the night and sleeping during the day hasn’t been conducive to meeting new people, but the laundry switcheroo seems to be a sign from fate. He finds Robyn absolutely gorgeous and endearingly funny. But unfortunately, she quickly turns down his invitation to a date.
Fallon and Robyn dance around each other, and their mutual attraction becomes increasingly difficult to resist as they continue to run into each other. Though Robyn has her own issues to sort out, Fallon’s job proves to be one of the biggest obstacles. His own family isn’t very approving of his occupation, so how can he expect Robyn’s family to accept what he does? While Fallon loves his job, he knows that it comes with a social price, and it’s a twist to the gut to see his shame and embarrassment about doing something that he enjoys. Plus, he’s still recovering from a relationship gone wrong, having been used for money by a much younger woman.
Robyn is in a state of flux and desperately trying to find her footing in life, which is something that will resonate with many readers. She feels uncertain about her relationships. She wonders how her friendships will change when she’s still the single one and everyone else is . . . well, not. She longs for the “old Robyn” who had everything together, who was always on time and certainly never used a stranger’s clothes to mop up spilled coffee.
Much like Magic Mike, its celluloid inspiration, Stripped is swoony, exciting and an all-around entertaining ride. Fallon’s fellow dancers are introduced throughout the book, with each being more charismatic sequel bait than the next. With chemistry that’s steamy and a hero that’s dreamy, Stripped should be on everyone’s reading list this year.
ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our Q&A with Zoey Castile.
