Tropesick

A gorgeous, sweeping, forced-proximity second-chance love story

By: Lauren Okie

*BRING BACK MEN WHO YEARN*

'Prepare to be swept off your feet' B.K. Borison
'This one is special, and I'm going to think about it forever, probably' Lyla Sage

When romance-novel obsessed ghost writer Katie Caruso waits in a New York City café to meet her next writing partner, the last person in the world she expects to see is Tyler McNally.

Ivy League-educated, aspiring literary fiction novelist and verified yearner Tyler McNally. Handsome, sleeve-tattooed, nine-years-sober Tyler McNally. And, unforgettably, her very own childhood sweetheart, Tyler McNally. The pair haven't seen each other since the death of Katie's older brother. Tyler was her brother's best friend and Katie - naturally - was the girl next door.

But despite both their bitter complaints at the reunion, the agent who hired them won't let them off the job. Soon, they're working on their co-written romance novel in forced proximity, and finding that isn't the only written trope that's coming to life. . .

This fresh, playful and deeply romantic novel openly acknowledges the role of tropes - before nonetheless going on to use them to tell a searing love story of it's own...

READERS LOVE LAUREN OKIE
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'The longing, the hope, the heartbreak, the love - it was just beautiful!'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐' I enjoyed every page'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I could not put this book down'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'A truly gifted and heartbreakingly honest writer'
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 'I read it in one sitting'©2026 Lauren Okie (P)2026 HarperCollins Audio US

Critic reviews

Lauren Okie is one of my favorite new voices in romance. She writes sweeping, tender, emotional love stories topped with a dollop of scrumptious yearning. Prepare to be swept off your feet.

This book will break your heart. It will also take an incredible amount of care to put it back together. Tropesick is unflinching in its exploration of grief and the complexities of love while being deeply and indomitably hopeful. This one is special, and I'm going to think about it forever, probably.

Lauren Okie blends banter and chemistry with grief and heartache to create an instant classic

Tropesick is both an homage and an unspooling of the romance genre, and a love story so layered it demands a second, third, fourth reading. An absolute achievement.