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Read Between the Headlines: A Viral-Video, Small-Town Sapphic Romcom
When a viral bookshelf assembly disaster changes everything, a small-town bookseller and a hiding Hollywood star discover that the best love stories aren’t scripted.
Penelope Blackwater inherited more than just The Final Chapter bookshop from her grandmother—she inherited the weight of keeping Port Blossom’s literary heart alive. Between dwindling sales and mounting bills, Penny’s barely staying afloat when a mysterious customer offers to help with a simple furniture project.
What should be a quick bookshelf assembly turns into a comedy of errors Penny impulsively shares online. The video goes viral overnight—along with the secret she never meant to expose. Her clumsy, charming “helper” is actually Valentina Torres, A-list actress hiding from a Hollywood scandal in the last place anyone would think to look.
As reporters swarm their quiet coastal town and Valentina’s carefully guarded privacy unravels, both women must decide what they’re willing to risk for something real. Can Port Blossom protect their fragile beginning, or will the spotlight burn their story to ash?
Perfect for fans of Beach Read, The House in the Cerulean Sea, and Red, White & Royal Blue—Read Between the Headlines is a heartwarming sapphic romantic comedy about finding home, choosing authenticity, and the power of community.
Penelope Blackwater inherited more than just The Final Chapter bookshop from her grandmother—she inherited the weight of keeping Port Blossom’s literary heart alive. Between dwindling sales and mounting bills, Penny’s barely staying afloat when a mysterious customer offers to help with a simple furniture project.
What should be a quick bookshelf assembly turns into a comedy of errors Penny impulsively shares online. The video goes viral overnight—along with the secret she never meant to expose. Her clumsy, charming “helper” is actually Valentina Torres, A-list actress hiding from a Hollywood scandal in the last place anyone would think to look.
As reporters swarm their quiet coastal town and Valentina’s carefully guarded privacy unravels, both women must decide what they’re willing to risk for something real. Can Port Blossom protect their fragile beginning, or will the spotlight burn their story to ash?
Perfect for fans of Beach Read, The House in the Cerulean Sea, and Red, White & Royal Blue—Read Between the Headlines is a heartwarming sapphic romantic comedy about finding home, choosing authenticity, and the power of community.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 30, 2025
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
January 8, 2026
Valentina is an actress in hiding in a small town in California. Penny is the local bookshop owner.
The prose in this story is excellent. Some wonderful turns of phrase and idioms, sometimes very witty. Such a shame that the editing is so bad. So many inconsistencies. The coffee shop keeps changing name, we get a scene in Val’s voice, and then the same scene repeated in Penny’s voice, but with some significant differences. Val tells Penny her name for the first time, in three separate scenes, twice giving her pseudonym, and once her real name. In one chapter Penny is assembling a self-assembly bookshelf, and when she gets it spectacularly wrong, Val appears to help her. In another version of this just a chapter later, val assembles the bookshelf getting it wrong. There are many more instances of duplicate actions just in the first few chapters.
I loved the start of this story, expecting a spectacular story judging by the first chapter. However, I just couldn’t stomach the editing chaos, and stopped reading. I was really upset, as I wanted so much for this to be a good book. It has so much potential.
This isn’t the first book by this author I have read with similar problems. Please Riley Fox, your ideas are so good, and your writing and humour is lovely. Please PLEASE get an editor.
The prose in this story is excellent. Some wonderful turns of phrase and idioms, sometimes very witty. Such a shame that the editing is so bad. So many inconsistencies. The coffee shop keeps changing name, we get a scene in Val’s voice, and then the same scene repeated in Penny’s voice, but with some significant differences. Val tells Penny her name for the first time, in three separate scenes, twice giving her pseudonym, and once her real name. In one chapter Penny is assembling a self-assembly bookshelf, and when she gets it spectacularly wrong, Val appears to help her. In another version of this just a chapter later, val assembles the bookshelf getting it wrong. There are many more instances of duplicate actions just in the first few chapters.
I loved the start of this story, expecting a spectacular story judging by the first chapter. However, I just couldn’t stomach the editing chaos, and stopped reading. I was really upset, as I wanted so much for this to be a good book. It has so much potential.
This isn’t the first book by this author I have read with similar problems. Please Riley Fox, your ideas are so good, and your writing and humour is lovely. Please PLEASE get an editor.
Displaying 1 of 1 review