Business or Pleasure is an Indie Next Pick, A LibraryReads Hall of Fame Pick, and one of Amazon’s Best Romances of 2023. There is a lot of hype and a lot of love surrounding this novel, and it is mostly well-earned.

Chandler Cohen is a ghost. She didn’t start out that way, of course. She began with a job in journalism, writing lists like Ten Best (fill in the blank.). Then she was downsized out of a job and became a ghostwriter, the real author behind celebrity self-help books and tell-all biographies. When she attends the signing of her most recent (and most demanding) client, she hits an emotional low when the woman doesn’t recognize or acknowledge her in any way. Fortunately, the bookstore has a bar, and Chandler decides to drink away her sorrows. Or at least take the edge off them.

The only other person there is a handsome young man who introduces himself as Drew and fills her in on the riveting entertainment of the bartenders’ ongoing conversation regarding guinea pigs and roommate etiquette. Before Chandler quite knows what’s happening, they are flirting, exchanging witty banter with a soft but electrifying attraction growing between them. This may well be the best part of the book. I laughed out loud at least four times as Chandler and Drew exchanged quips and bonded. Chandler winds up playing tour guide around her beloved Seattle as the two share the night, and then they decide to cap the evening with something they swear they never do – a one-night stand. It’s awkward and induced another round of giggles on my part and a vow to never repeat that mediocre experience on Chandler’s. She takes off while Drew’s asleep, delighted to be the one ghosting rather than ghosted for a change.

The next day, her agent contacts her with a job offer and asks her to attend a lunch meeting with a celebrity client who is in town only that afternoon. And wouldn’t you know it, Drew turns out to actually be Finn Wash, a C-list actor best known for the college campus with werewolves soap Nocturnals, in which he played a lovable nerd involved with a member of the pack. He mostly does fan conventions now, making a decent living by selling pictures and autographs. It’s a shame, really, because the style of memoir Finn wants and the access he plans to grant her (having her with him as he attends the various cons), not to mention the generous salary, are pretty much ideal for Chandler,although initially, she is too embarrassed even to consider taking the job. Of course, common sense prevails and she ends up taking it.

Both want their relationship to be as professional as possible, so Chandler and Finn try to clear the air in order to avoid future awkwardness. But the conversation has the reverse effect since they have very different memories of their night together; Chandler complains it wasn’t mind-blowing, and Finn is pretty surprised and upset by that. One night of drunk texting later, he comes back to her, saying his other exes complained about his performance in bed, too. Chandler offers to give Finn some tips while they’re together: after all, a handful of boyfriends and a minor in human sexuality make her a total sexpert. So she whips up a course outline, and they agree to spend the hours they have free from working on the book/attending cons, fine-tuning Finn’s skills.

When Finn and Chandler are outside the bedroom, they are golden together. Their funny, heartwarming conversations/encounters left me smiling and longing for more. Both characters have self-esteem issues: neither is where they want to be career-wise, and their conversations regarding what millennials were promised in school/via TV (you can be anything, shoot for the moon, you will land among the stars!) and the reality of most young adult lives are so poignant and heartfelt, and they truly capture the voice of their generation’s struggles. I loved how resilient both of them are and how they are working on becoming their best selves. I loved how they are close to their families and friends from childhood, and how they both have glamorous-sounding jobs but are actually total nerds. Some couples work because they are opposites, each bringing to the mix something the other doesn’t have; Finn and Chandler work because they are so similar – two halves of a whole that are fine on their own but so much better together.

I also loved how their similarities allow them to open up about things close to their heart. Chandler and Finn’s discussions about deep topics like Judaism and anti-semitism feel organic and natural. This portion is brief – probably taking up a total of two to three pages in the text – but the authenticity of the conversations is delightful.

The book does have some issues that keep it from DIK status. I found a sharp contrast between Finn and Chandler’s realistic chats about mental health, religion, and work, and the PSA the author adds regarding abortion. It’s such an obvious response to the American news of the time that it yanked me completely out of the story.

Another quibble revolves around the premise. I am sure Ms. Solomon was trying to do something different than the typical romance novel by having the couple not having the greatest sex of their lives during their one-night stand. Given how many books in the genre utilize that trope, I appreciated the effort to go in a different direction, but the execution doesn’t quite pan out, though, for several reasons. One problem is that Chandler was looking for amazing rather than quick and forgettable from a one-night stand. Romance novels aside, those don’t seem the moments that would involve a lot of expertise from either party. .

Another thing that seemed strange to me was that Chandler had the chutzpah to talk to Finn about sex when they were working together, but not when they were having their initial sexual encounter. I would think the moment to be bolder would be with a stranger you were never going to see again while you were actually in the act. Additionally, Chandler hasn’t had a lot of experience, so I questioned her ‘sexpertise’, especially as their initial fumbling encounter is kinda funny and endearing yet their subsequent sex scenes are boring. It feels like an interruption to their relationship-building rather than an enhancer of it.

While it may not be a detriment for some, the perfect HEA at the end wasn’t perfect for me. Everything works out for Finn and Chandler – their relationship, their careers, their burgeoning fame, which feels especially disparate because the book spends time discussing how rarely that happenes. I would have preferred a HEA with some reality thrown in.

That said, Business or Pleasure is still a charming book with a lot to recommend it. Fans of the author or those who enjoy actor/celebrity romances should definitely give it a try.