A journalist who moonlights as a food critic and a chef desperate to see his new venture succeed meet in this delightful rivers-to-lovers style romantic comedy. In short, Melanie Jacobson crafts a masterful tale of love and growth in her closed door romantic comedy, Maybe I Will.
Chloe is stuck in a dead end job as a junior reporter at a newspaper whose editor will never respect her, so she’s glad to have her side hustle as the most read food critic in New Orleans to keep her going. When a promotion lands in her lap, she sees a way out of her dead-end job; she sees a way to finally advance her career.
Moving in across the hall, though, is Dylan, a man Chloe’s sworn to hate for all eternity. He’s been nothing but antagonistic towards her and she can’t stand him.
Dylan James has been in love with Chloe since he first laid eyes on her, hiding his feelings behind a barrage of mocking remarks. Determined to be the kind of man he wants to be, he makes an effort to change his behaviour around her and the two bond when Dylan adopts a dog.
I thought the way their relationship developed as they worked together to care for the dog was so fun to watch. I loved how he earned her trust and was really trying to redeem himself, and I appreciated that it took him a great deal of effort to make it happen. I loved watching the push and pull of that struggle from both of their points of view.
As they grew closer, the tension surrounding their secret-food-critic and aspiring-chef-owner identities skyrocketed, really setting up an amazing conclusion to the book that I won’t spoil here.
I personally found the opening of this novel a little slower than I like, giving a fair bit of exposition and backstory through narration where I would have liked to see it a little more gradually.
But overall, this book was very well written, flowed logically, and amped up the conflict in believable ways that only increased as time went on. It had me biting my nails, holding my breath, and crying a few tears by the end. This book really is a beautiful romance between Chloe and Dylan, showing us their growth, their vulnerability, and their ultimate care for each other. If you enjoy swoon-worthy leading men who fell first, closed door romantic comedies, rivals-to-lovers, cute dogs, or the New Orleans food scene, I would highly recommend you read this book. I really enjoyed it! Your Romance Reviewer,
Eliza.