My letter “I” pick for this year’s A to Z Reading Challenge was INTO THE BLUE by Emma Brodie. I was expecting a fun romance about an actor and his (almost) high school sweetheart. What I got was an absolute emotional rollercoaster of snappy dialogue, frequent hilarity, sizzling chemistry, overwhelming yearning, and heartbreaking obstacles to be overcome. This book wrung me out in the best way and I’m still not over it.

Noah Drew is part of a famous family of actors and he’s recently returned to his hometown to help his mother during her illness. His Aunt Eudora is a well-known star in her own right and a former cast member on a classic sci fi show whose biggest fan happens to be seventeen-year-old A.J. Graves. She works at the local video store where Noah has taken a part-time job. A.J. falls hopelessly in love with him, and it’s clear he’s smitten with her, but he keeps a gentlemanly distance due to the fact that he’s twenty and she’s not eighteen yet. He brings her home to meet Eudora, who takes AJ under her wing and begins to train her as an actor along with Noah (who so far has steered clear of acting work).

After a few glorious months of connecting hard through scene work and acting exercises, Noah abruptly leaves town, leaving A.J. heartbroken.

A few years later, while working at an improv in NYC, A.J. runs into Noah again. He’s a big actor now, and they both end up getting cast in a reboot of the Sci-Fi show that made his aunt famous. They sizzle on the screen and off, but just as they reconnect, Noah drops a devastating secret that sends them both reeling. I can’t tell you more for fear of spoilers, but as these two lose and find each other again a few more times, you’ll be sobbing and clutching your heart and dancing with joy. This was an excellent read. Five stars.