Key Takeaways
- "Sunk in Love" is a second-chance romance novel by Heather McBreen that follows the story of Roslyn and her estranged husband Liam as they navigate their relationship on a family cruise.
- The novel explores themes of communication, grief, and relationships, highlighting the challenges of navigating complex emotions and past experiences.
- Roslyn and Liam’s story is a testament to the idea that relationships are ever-growing and ever-changing, requiring continuous work and learning to maintain.
- The novel features a unique blend of witty dialogue, relatable characters, and a compelling narrative that explores the complexities of human relationships.
- The author, Heather McBreen, draws on her own experiences and interests to craft a story that is both entertaining and thought-provoking.
Introduction to the Novel
When we meet Roslyn, the heroine of Heather McBreen’s second novel, "Sunk in Love," she’s in crisis. While picking her way through terrible lasagna at an uncomfortable family dinner, we find out Roslyn is not only lying about her happy marriage, but the status of her writing career, and just how well she’s coping overall after the recent death of her mother. The troubling bit — and what makes for such delicious tension in the book — is that Roslyn’s family has invited her and her estranged husband, the much-beloved Liam, on a family cruise. This setup creates a perfect storm of forced proximity, secrets, and unresolved emotions, making for a compelling and engaging read.
The Characters and Their Backstories
Roslyn is a med school dropout turned romance novelist, an outlier in her family of overachievers, which includes ER doctor brother Jonah, med student sister Bella, and doctor Gramps. Her husband, Liam, is a British-born doctor who met Roslyn in college, and they have an immediate attraction on a blind date, falling quickly in love. However, Liam is mostly estranged from his family and refuses to talk to Roslyn about why, creating tension and mystery in their relationship. Roslyn’s mother was a flighty romantic who consistently put boyfriends before Roslyn and her two half-siblings, something that has deeply affected her own relationships in life. These complex backstories and personalities create a rich and nuanced narrative that explores the complexities of human relationships.
The Plot and Themes
When Roslyn’s mother dies, she can no longer write, and grief threatens to swallow her whole. Instead of grieving together, she and Liam grow apart, and through smart use of flashback chapters, we see exactly how screwed up everything got to be at the same time we’re witnessing them together, pretending to still be happily married on a cruise from Seattle to Hawaii. The novel explores themes of communication, grief, and relationships, highlighting the challenges of navigating complex emotions and past experiences. The author, Heather McBreen, notes that "Liam has a past that is providing the lens through which he’s going to perceive his relationship with Roslyn. And Roslyn is carrying things from her childhood — she’s going to see it through the lens of her childhood." This creates a complex web of assumptions and misunderstandings that drive the plot forward.
The Setting and Its Impact
The setting of the cruise ship and the Hawaiian islands provides a unique and intimate backdrop for the story, allowing the characters to interact and challenge each other in new and unexpected ways. McBreen notes that she loves to see the way characters can interact with a setting and how it can challenge them, saying "They’ve been living their life a certain way, and now they’re plopped in this new situation. How is this going to push them outside of their comfort zone?" The setting turns out to be just what they need to push through all their misplaced perceptions, and after grand gestures on both sides, we arrive in a place that feels much, much better than the one we started in.
The Author’s Approach
McBreen’s approach to writing is centered around understanding her characters and their motivations, rather than necessarily liking them. She notes that "it’s great if you write someone you want to get brunch with, but it’s not the ultimate goal. I don’t need to like the character; I just need to understand (them) and why they did what they did." This approach allows her to create complex and nuanced characters that drive the plot forward and explore the themes of the novel. The novel is a testament to the idea that relationships are ever-growing and ever-changing, requiring continuous work and learning to maintain. As McBreen notes, "honestly, the thesis of the book is: There is no point where you get to where you solved it, that doesn’t happen. A relationship is this ever-growing, ever-changing lesson that has to be learned over and over again. You never learn it, you just have to keep working to learn it."
Conclusion
"Sunk in Love" is a witty and fun second-chance romance with a hefty dose of forced proximity, exploring themes of communication, grief, and relationships. The novel features a unique blend of relatable characters, compelling narrative, and a thought-provoking exploration of human relationships. With its engaging plot and nuanced characters, "Sunk in Love" is a must-read for fans of romance and women’s fiction. The author’s event at Third Place Books Lake Forest Park on January 27th is a great opportunity to learn more about the book and meet the author.
