A Disaster in Three Acts follows Saine and Holden, who have been childhood ex-friends ever since a game of Spin the Bottle left Holden rejecting Saine. Years later, Holden is the thorn in Saine’s side—from the moment he became her best friend’s boyfriend to the one they broke things off—Saine has done her darnedest to stay away. But when Holden turns out to be her last shot at getting into the documentary filmmaking program of her dreams, Saine and Holden find themselves working hard to keep their bottled-up emotions off camera…but end up developing real feelings behind the scenes. Saine doesn’t want to fall for Holden—but then, why does every moment with Holden feel movie-worthy?
A Disaster in Three Acts turned out to be the perfect breezy, snarky read this summer. I can definitely already picture people picking this up at the beach and just drown themselves in feels afterward.
I’m a sucker for relatable messy protagonists and Saine is all that and more. Saine often fudges the truth or embellishes it so it will make for a better story—and it definitely lands her in hot water in A Disaster in Three Acts. It takes everyone in her life finally “seeing behind the curtain” for her to realise that there are consequences to her actions—and once she does, these issues aren’t just swept under the rug. Instead, imperfect Saine has to try to fix the havoc she wreaked and I loved that we get to see her grow. These kinds of characters are truly my favourite—people who make mistakes but who try to fix them and do better the next time.
Beyond Saine’s relatability, there is of course also trope galore going on in A Disaster in Three Acts. We have a bit of a childhood-friends-to-enemies-to-reluctant-coworkers-to-lovers in this story and I loved how Holden and Saine kept bantering and bouncing off each other. Holden is a sweet, somewhat awkward guy but you could really tell he blossomed as the story went on. I also really liked the awkwardness of it all because—as Saine learns—love isn’t like in the movies and the awkwardness and misunderstandings are almost what makes it better. The whole overarching plot of Saine’s ambitions to become a grand filmmaker also made this such a compelling story—fighting for your dreams but realising along the way that things aren’t as they seem is always so validating to see in books. I can see a lot of people relating to Saine in that aspect as well.
All in all, if you’re looking for a fun romcom filled with humour, heartbreak and discussions of what it takes to be honest to yourself and others, A Disaster in Three Acts is the wholesome, witty story you won’t want to miss out on!
A Disaster in Three Acts is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of July 5th 2022.
Will you be picking up A Disaster in Three Acts? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Fans of Elise Bryant and Rachel Lynn Solomon will swoon for Last Chance Books author Kelsey Rodkey’s next romance, packed with snark, banter, and inconvenient crushes.
Saine Sinclair knows a little something about what makes a story worth telling.
Your childhood best friend refuses to kiss you during a pre-adolescent game of spin the bottle? Terrible, zero stars, would not replay that scene again. The same ex-friend becomes your new best friend’s ex? Strangely compelling, unexpected twist, worth a hate-watch. That same guy–why is he always around?–turns out to be your last shot at getting into the documentary filmmaking program of your dreams?
Saine hates to admit it, but she’d watch that movie.
There’s something about Holden that makes her feel like she’s the one in front of the camera–like he can see every uncomfortable truth she’s buried below the surface. Saine knows how her story’s supposed to go. So why does every moment with Holden seem intent on changing the ending?
