The Apparent Trap

by Ali Rosen

In a witty workplace romance from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Ali Rosen, two coworkers meddle in an age-gap relationship, only to get caught up in an unexpected one of their own.

Ezzie Halevi’s life as a morning show producer is blissfully straightforward. But when sparks fly after accidentally introducing her widowed father to her show’s recently hired, much younger coanchor, Ezzie’s carefully curated routine starts to unravel. Worse, she discovers her dad’s new girlfriend is the estranged daughter of Lee Morgan, the charming chef who leads a weekly cooking segment. The same chef who ghosted Ezzie weeks earlier.

The only reasonable solution? Reluctantly join forces with Lee to break up his daughter and her father before anyone gets hurt.

So Ezzie and Lee begin a secret campaign to tank the burgeoning romance. But soon, their own chemistry starts overshadowing the comically inept schemes.

Except Lee is off-limits, and Ezzie is too entangled in her father’s life to risk either of their hearts. Yet beneath the plotting and regret lies something neither a second chance at love—and letting go of unspoken grief that’s kept them both stuck.

2026 by Ali Rosen. ℗ 2026 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Ebooks, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, Forced Proximity

Audible Audio

First published November 3, 2026

About the author

Ali Rosen is a bestselling author of both cookbooks and novels, and is the Emmy and James Beard Award-nominated host of Potluck with Ali Rosen on NYC Life.

Her novels, which have been described as “swoonworthy romance reminiscent of a Nora Ephron movie,” are USA Today Bestselling, Kirkus Best of the Year and Amazon Editor picks. Her latest is The Slow Burn.

She is also the author of three cookbooks including the recently released 15 Minute Meals. She has frequently been featured on shows like NBC’s Today Show and ABC’s Good Morning America, and in publications including The New York Times, Bon Appetit, The Washington Post and New York Magazine. She is originally from Charleston, SC but now lives in New York City with her husband, three kids, and rescue dog.

Reviews

[Izzie (always behind) McFussy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another Amazon First Reads bites the dust. If only Big A would offer a monthly $2 shopping credit instead.

On the surface this looks like what was promised, double age gap romances with an added complication.
A) Ezzie is 31. Lee is 42.
B) Carmen is 26. Mark is 55.
C) Mark is Ezzie’s father. Lee is Carmen’s.

Should you expect surefire love and shenanigans? Nuh-uh.

What Worked
🧁The clever title.
🧁The first ten percent, which coincidentally 🤔corresponds with the length of Amazon’s reading samples. 5 stars.
🧁The trip to Sweden. 3.75 stars
🧁The last fifteen percent. 3.5 stars.

What Did Not
🧀This was yet another cheesy dead parent story. Worse than most because it sucked oxygen from the romance. Ezzie lost her mother at fourteen. Despite therapy she’s still grieving.

Supporting Evidence—Word Count:
Mom/Mother 75
Grief/Grieve 26

Goodreads buried the lede in the blurb. The last sentence states awkwardly:

Yet beneath the plotting and regret lies something neither a second chance at love-and letting go of unspoken grief that's kept them both stuck.

BTW, Amazon never mentioned it at all.

🥦The Ick
—Ezzie and Lee scheme to drive a wedge between Carmen and Mark. Quite frankly, their ideas were a waste of time. Whenever Ezzie had vague misgivings about what she was doing was wrong, I cheered. There was no reason not to believe two intelligent people wouldn’t come to the same conclusion given enough time. Actually, I had hoped Carmen and Mark’s dating was really a ruse to bring Ezzie and Lee together. No such luck.

—The double masturbation scene. Details only makes it worse.

🥒Disconnects
—Lee. Extremely handsome and extremely two dimensional. He is a chef with a string of restaurants who does a cooking segment on the morning show Ezzie produces.

He never has business-related tasks. Never gets calls from his staff. Never gets pestered by paparazzi or fans.

Also, he never notices Ezzie until a random meetup at a bar where he does a 180 and becomes completely smitten.

—Ezzie’s smittenhood is founded on Lee’s dimples, smile, muscles, and biceps, with a knife tattooed on one of them. Haven’t a clue what else she li… Wait! Almost forgot. He makes her, BLTs (mentioned 52x). It’s their love language. 🥓🥬🍅

And if you like recipes, Rosen includes several, including a BLT sandwich and BLT mashed potatoes at the end of the book.

[Jenny K (on partial break) · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading too many heavy or highbrow books, this jumped to the top of my list because I needed something light and funny. It didn't disappoint! But it also wasn't more than that.

Plot summary: Ezzie is a morning show producer, and she has spent the last 17 years grieving the death of her mother. She and her father have preserved a stoic way of life where they enjoy pizza and movie night and stay away from developing emotional bonds with others.

That's until Carmen gets hired as an anchor for the show. She's only 26, but when she meets Ezzie's 55 year old father, sparks fly.

Sparks have been flying at the same time for Ezzie when she meets food segment guy Lee at a bar, but it doesn't seem like he remembers her the next day. He has a connection to Carmen, and Ezzie rises above her heartbreak to scheme with Lee to break Carmen and her father apart - who wants to see them get hurt when they realize the romance can't be?

Now, obviously, the whole thing is completely contrived, but that's kind of the fun in it. There's good banter here, great pacing, strong dialogue. The grief is well explored.

What didn't work for me: I didn't see enough of Ezzie. I can't picture what she looks like, and I don't know much more about her than not moving past her mother's death and that she loves BLTs. The BLT thing was a bit much, actually.

There's a bit too much delving into her and Lee's feelings for each other throughout. And a certain, let's call it a bedroom scene, that was very cringey. Otherwise not too spicy, which suits me.

3.5 stars rounded up, because this was just what I needed right now.

Thank you to NetGalley, Montlake, and Ali Rosen for the opportunity to review an advanced copy.

[Amee · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

My first read by author fell somewhere between a 3 and 4 star, so will cut the difference. I loved the premise, trying to break up your father who’s dating your very younger coworker. Then add in her sexy estranged dad who is also your coworker and I was sure we had a lot of possibilities author could go for comedy and romance. And it delivered. I will say about 50% in there was a lag in pacing that lasted a good 15-20%. Our narrator, Ezzie, is easy to like and her grief for her mother was palpable. Tapped into mine for lost loved ones, but it also has a hopeful spin to it. I wasn’t left sad. Had some spice, but nothing out of the norm. I enjoyed the different locations the story took us and though author got a bit “wordy” for me, I know it’s an awful descriptor, I still was able to feel in the story. No skimming done. Definitely a recommendation if you love a slow burn like I do. Author is a follow for me.

[Anna (annareadit)]

This book was the perfect mix of The Ugly Truth, Better Than the Movies , and the double age-gap trope for me. The author completely captured my attention, so I'm definitely planning to read all her other books (before this, I had only read a short story).

Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[sabrina (books.with.sabrina) · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

✨ Rating: 3.5⭐️
🫧 Vibes: morning show meets parent trap
🎶 Song: i can see you - taylor swift
📚 Would I recommend? sure!
💬 tldr thoughts: I was hoping for a little more

In the package:
📦 double age gap
📦 workplace romance
📦 grief

Plot: Ezzie is a producer on a morning show, and she just found out her father is now dating her recently hired, and much younger coanchor. Worse, she discovers her dad’s new girlfriend is the estranged daughter of Lee Morgan, the charming chef who leads a weekly cooking segment. As they team up to meddle in the age-gap relationship, they caught up in an unexpected one of their own.

Thoughts: The concept of this book sounded really fun and I don't think the execution really worked for me. I guess because of the whole scheme to break up Carmen and Ezzie's dad, I didn't really feel like the romantic relationship with Ezzie and Lee was well developed so I found myself struggling to care about whether they ended up together or not. I think Georgia was the star of this book, she was the voice of reason and always had such real conversations with Ezzie. Aside from this, I loved the fact that this felt like The Morning Show, it was so fun to read the ins and out of production. The deeper themes of this book such as dealing with grief and breaking patterns and cycles really elevated the story.

Thank you Leo PR for the gifted copy!

✩⁺₊✩☽⋆ follow me on instagram ⋆☾✩⁺₊✩

[Alaine · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

I was so excited for this book when I first learned about the premise- but in the actual execution I could not be more disappointed.

Ezzie is full of grief after losing her mother nearly a decade ago, she clings to her father, to their relationship, using him as a crutch so neither of them would have to move on with their lives. all of the sudden Ezzie's dad meets her much younger co-worker and the two get a little cozy. Ezzie, who has a very unhealthy attachment to her dad cannot fathom a disruption in her routine while daddio gets cozy with his new lady love (we're not going to talk about ethics when they're two consenting adults).

Thats when Dad's gf's father, Lee, who also happens to be an on screen chef that Ezzie also works very closely with, pops up and they devise a plan to break up daddio and lil girliepop. Ezzie and Lee have their own history, a tension that simmers that they know they can't act on.

Lee is a grump and knows that he can't cross this invisible boundary with Ezzie while her dad and his daughter are canoodling. Even though we can see very clearly he does harbor some affection toward her- he is maybe the only character I can truly tolerate.

Everything from the weird masturbation session, the daddy/daughter breakup, end love declaration- just did not work for me and I found myself skimming so much of the story that I can confidently say that I did not enjoy this one.

[Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ezzie Halevi's widowed dad, Mark, meets Carmen, the twenty-six-year-old new anchor at the morning show Ezzie produces, and the two of them immediately start making science-nerd heart eyes at each other. This would already be enough information for Ezzie to require several business days to recover. But Carmen is also the estranged daughter of Lee Morgan, the chef who does cooking segments on Ezzie's show. And Lee is the extremely attractive man Ezzie recently met at a bar, had ridiculous chemistry with, and then got ghosted by. There are four people in this situation and somehow every possible combination has become HR-adjacent.

Also, Lee didn't realize the woman at the bar was Ezzie. He tells her she's unforgettable, disappears, and then appears at work acting like he has never seen this woman in his life. Sir. You cannot deploy dimples, make declarations about someone's memorability, vanish, and then return as the weekly cooking segment. Ezzie is trying to behave like a functional professional while internally experiencing the very specific humiliation of discovering that your romantic disappointment is apparently going to make food on television in front of you on a regular basis.

Then Ezzie and Lee discover Mark and Carmen are dating and immediately become the two least objective people ever assembled to address a family problem. They decide this relationship obviously cannot work, everyone will eventually get hurt, and therefore they should interfere for the good of all mankind. This is their version of The Parent Trap, except instead of adorable twins trying to reunite their parents, it's two grown adults attempting to break up her father and his daughter while refusing to acknowledge the sexual tension sitting between them like an unattended suitcase at the airport. Their sabotage plans are also spectacularly bad. These two could not successfully ruin brunch without accidentally creating a meaningful bonding experience.

And Ezzie...girl. I understand. I really do. She lost her mother as a teenager, and she and Mark have spent seventeen years building this tiny, safe existence around each other. Pizza. Movies. Familiar routines. No dangerous emotional surprises. Then Mark starts moving forward with someone else, and Ezzie realizes she isn't just worried about her father getting hurt. She's terrified of what happens to her own life if he doesn't need their little two-person world anymore. Suddenly all her meddling gets a lot less cute because you can see the scared kid underneath it who learned that loving someone does not guarantee they'll stay.

Lee has his own mess happening because Carmen isn't simply his daughter. She's his estranged daughter, and he's trying to build something with her that should have existed years ago. So while he's helping Ezzie interfere, he's also trying not to do anything that could cost him Carmen again. Which means these two are essentially running a romantic sabotage operation while both carrying enough unresolved family grief to make the entire mission emotionally inadvisable. And naturally this is when they keep getting closer, because apparently boundaries have left the building.

Their chemistry is what kept getting me because Ezzie and Lee can banter all they want, but underneath it they're two people who have become extremely talented at arranging their lives around old pain. Ezzie's grief has turned into routine. Lee's regrets have turned into caution. Neither one really needs another person helping them stay stuck, and yet that's almost exactly what they initially offer each other. Then somewhere between plotting against their relatives, food, morning-show chaos, Sweden, and an alarming amount of BLT-related activity, they start pushing each other toward the exact things they've been avoiding.

And that's where The Apparent Trap got me. Grief doesn't always look like somebody actively falling apart. Sometimes it looks like a perfectly functional life you've made so small and predictable that nothing can surprise you enough to hurt you again. Ezzie has been living there for years. Watching her realize that moving forward isn't the same thing as leaving her mother behind landed quietly, and that was enough.

By the end, I was less concerned about who was dating whose parent or child and more invested in everybody finally admitting what they actually wanted. I had a genuinely good time with these ridiculous people. Give me adult romance where everyone has jobs, histories, baggage, family complications, and knees that presumably know when rain is coming. Four stars for The Apparent Trap, plus a permanent suspicion that Ezzie could turn a BLT into both a coping mechanism and a legally binding relationship.

Thank you to Montlake and NetGalley for the ARC. You handed me a family tree where I needed to keep pointing at people and saying, "No, THAT one's dating her dad," and somehow expected me to remain calm. I did not.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded up to 5 The Apparent Trap was my first book by Ali Rosen, but it definitely won't be my last! This story follows Ezzie, a producer at a morning talk show. When we first meet Ezzie, she is uncharacteristically gussied up at a bar, and Lee, the chef who does the weekly cooking segments for the talk show, sits next to her not knowing who she is. Lee, for all of his dimples and charm, really blows it at the beginning. After telling Ezzie she would be unforgettable whether she was gussied up or dressed down, he vanishes without explanation and then doesn't appear to recognize her the next time they see each other at work. Ezzie is understandably hurt but determined not to let it affect her. Cue, finding out that Lee is the estranged father of her new coworker, Carmem, right around the same time Carmen meets Ezzie's dad, Mark, and the science nerd sparks fly leading to them starting a relationship. Yikes.

The beginning of the book didn't start out strong for me. It was a bit of a choppy whirlwind while setting up the story and I almost DNF'd a couple of times, but by the time I was about 20% in, everything had evened out, and I was invested in the story. Ezzie is an easy to like character, she reads like a real person, who has real doubts and dreams, and her responses to things didn't feel over the top or ridiculous. Lee frustrated me for the majority of the book, he sent mixed signals and struggled to stick with his decisions, but even that felt like watching a real human try to figure out how to show up better, which ultimately made me somewhat grudgingly like him.

Mark was sweet, and I am an unashamed fan of a good age gap romance in general, but I had a hard time with his relationship with Carmen. Mostly because it could have directly impacted Ezzie’s job if it went south, but also possibly because we were seeing it through Ezzie’s perspective as a daughter being icked out. It made sense for the story, but I was grossed out alongside Ezzie for sure.

What really made me like this story though was the way the author didn’t keep it perfectly light and fluffy. I expected shenanigans a la Parent Trap, but I did not expect the deeper layers that Ali Rosen was going to delve into with these characters. Ultimately, while there is a clear romance element, this is a story about so much more: grief; our relationships with the people we love; the ways we view ourselves and how we unconsciously build our lives around those perceptions; and breaking patterns and cycles that no longer serve us. These elements do not weigh the story down, however, just give it more depth and heart than it would have had if it only focused on the romance of it all.

The spice, while minimal and fade to black, was done well (although I will never look at the railing of a hotel roof quite the same!) and the romantic declarations were swoony rather than eye roll inducing for the most part. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a fair amount of 90’s references with their romance, characters with depth and a HEA that feels earned.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy. All thoughts and options are my own and freely given.

[Sharon Leff · Rating 4.75 out of 5]

Feels Like Morning Show Meets Parent Trap!

Choose this as one of the two books you can for free in October if a Prime member for it will delight in so many ways.

For any fan of NBC Today, Ali Rosen is familiar from cooking segments especially. Her knowledge, her familiarity and ease about morning network shows, from staffing to planning to production and to taping shows. This feels at times like The Morning Show series with such a great selection of on air personalities and the behind the scenes conflicts.

At its heart is heart, fullest, most fragile, and most broken. Grief and loss are ever present throughout the story, as the main female character Ezzie laments daily her missing mother and the void that remains, a void she and her father have tried to fill by over bonding to an unrealistic and unhealthy extreme that has kept them limited to their bubble.

Although the main male character, Lee, a chef and food segment contributor, has not experienced the grief of parental and/or familial loss (since he cannot grieve what he has never experienced), he has grieved, upon learning he has had a daughter, the loss of a childhood and a fatherly role in a child’s life. He aspires to establish with a daughter as an adult grieving the chapters of her life he has lost, has had ripped from him.

So these two grieving characters must unite to protect what relationships they have. For 31 year old Ezzie, her father, a respected climate change scientist and published researcher, seems vulnerable to heart ache in a potential new relationship in which the age gap is wide, over 20 years. For Lee, his newly found daughter, the potential relationship with such a gap, seems equally detrimental. His daughter dating Ezzie’s father, someone older than he is, someone who could distract and diminish his daughter’s opportunities and experiences, seems unhealthy and unwise.

So Ezzie and Lee unify to help hastily terminate the relationship they believe will inevitably end. Problem is that Ezzie and Lee before colluding had shared the sort of flirty-first-of-something-more-meetings. Chemistry, charm, and connection conjured and ignited an attraction that does not diminish.

Throughout the story, food anecdotes, shared recipes, and movie references flavor incidents. Comedy, through biting banter and quick fire teasing, as well as situational humor, provides purest joy. Some of the most original and unexpected humor occurs when what usually would have been the heated, steamy first intimate encounter. Outside in freezing conditions under a Swedish sky awaiting the appearance of the northern lights, each cocooned in protective and separate sleeping bags, the couple sizzles leaving us smiling and laughing.

In every way, the HEA arrives delivering an-only-in-New York moment in an active subway car. This romance is a rom com original.

[Meghan - the_darling_dearing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to read this ARC through Netgalley and let me just say, I am so glad I took the leap to read it. I have never read anything by Ali Rosen before so I went into this blind - not knowing her writing style, not knowing if she wrote more subdued romances with non-traditional HEAs or if she wrote feel good romances that make you happy all the time or if it was going to be a rollercoaster of emotion. For me, this was the perfect balance of feel good romance and emotions. There was absolutely wonderful banter between the FMC, Ezzie Halevi, and the MMC, Lee Morgan, that made me want to kick my feet a few times and some absolutely wonderful relationships between other characters. Georgia is one of those friends that you absolutely just need in your life and Ezzie's dad is just the most wholesome man.

I think one thing I absolutely loved about this book was that through Ezzie's own stream-of-conscious POV, we feel he ups and downs and she asks herself questions of her motivations for what she does. That in turn makes the reader turn to themselves and think about their motivations for living a certain way and become self-reflective in a way some rom-coms don't, but it wasn't in a way that could feel depressive or super heavy, at least for me.

Something else I also loved is that this felt realistic. After researching Ali Rosen, I discovered that this book is very true to her real life as she is a cookbook author and TV host as well as writer. You can absolutely tell that her experience made this book be relatable. So many books can be so out there that none of the events could ever take place. The events here absolutely could. The hijinks we see our characters get into aren't elaborate, crazy plans, but more what someone would think of doing if they were in the same situation as our characters. She also provides the recipes for some of the wonderful dishes she described at the end. I will absolutely be putting this BLT recipe to the test as well as the BLT mashed potatoes. If I like them as much as think I will, I will absolutely be recommending this recipe for the holidays!

Last, and almost certainly, my favorite part of this book - the yearning from our man Lee - *chef's kiss* - pun intended....its, for lack of a better term, Luminous...IYKYK ;).

[Deb Gnau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Ali Rosen's books--and this one is no exception.

It was a little more out there in terms of premise, but she is so good at developing characters, interactions, challenges and romance--that I really enjoyed it too. I like that food plays a key role in her books (and that she includes recipes at the end!) and enjoyed the tv morning show setting and the trips to Sweden.

Many thanks to Montlake and NetGalley for this advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

[Alison Hammer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review to come, but this might be my favorite Ali Rosen book yet - which is saying a lot because I’ve loved them all!

[Brigitte · Rating 2 out of 5]

All Amazon First Reads books are bad, in so much as I could tell, but this was the least bad I've read so far this year. The premise is, what if two women co-workers who barely like each other started dating each other's dads? Horrifying! I was intrigued by how someone was going to pull his off in a romance and it was a free read (and I'm in a reading slump) so why not.

The age gaps, if you would like to know, shake out like this: Lee is 42 and his daughter Carmen is 26. Mark is 55 and his daughter and main character, Ezzie, is 31. So the Mark x Carmen age gap is 29 years and the Lee x Ezzie age gap is 11 years. And if you don't want to read the book but need to know if they all get married and stay together in the weirdest combo ever, spoiler: no, Mark and Carmen break up by the end of the book.

Ezzie and Mark have been each other's emotional support since Ezzie's mom died ten years before the book starts. A lot of the book is about Ezzie's grief and her working through it. Though there's not a ton of emotional depth to this, the book does tackle the sticky situation of Mark making Ezzie his stand-in partner after his wife died. That he then dates a woman younger than said child he made into a defacto partner is tidily side-stepped. When it is addressed, it's Ezzie who does so: "I’ll always be his daughter, and we’ll always be uniquely bonded. But that’s not a partner. I’ve been a stand-in as a partner." One of the reasons she dislikes Mark and Carmen dating is because she has become superfluous in her own dynamic with her dad. When Mark's dating again, he forgets Ezzie exists, which hurts her. I actually had this same dynamic with my dad - being his best friend when he was single and being a ghost when he was in a couple - and, like Ezzie, the best thing you can do is just live your own life and extract yourself from the dynamic.

Carmen, Mark's 26 year old paramour and Lee's estranged daughter, of course, also has daddy issues. In fact, all of these characters have issues around abandonment. Even Ezzie's best friend Georgia, who I rather liked, had issues because her grandma died when she was a teenager. The basic message of the story is that you need to work through your grief.

I am giving this book a bit too much credit because, while there are bits I thought were well-written (the entire trip to Sweden being the highlight of the book for me) a lot of it is awkward (examples below). Like it's almost good, but then isn't quite able to get there. I love romance novels, though I don't usually read contemporaries because I don't enjoy the humor or pop culture references in general as it tends toward the Millennial, so part of this is on me to be fair. This book had quite a few of them from the Golden Girls to Clueless to LEGO to the the Titan submarine and show TV Friends, a lot of the banter surrounding media, but that made sense for two characters who worked in television.

The main characterization of Ezzie, besides mourning her mother, is that she loves BLTs and eats them every single day ... because her mom used to make them for her so its still about her mom. Lee, a professional chef, makes BLTs throughout the story and ... let me check ... BLTs are mentioned 51 times in the book. The book is only 296 pages. Is it annoying that BLTs are mentioned every six pages on average? That's up to you, the reader, to decide. If you strip away the things that Ezzie has made into her personality because of her mom (the Titanic, BLTs) there's a lot less left of her. The book is very Titanic and BLT heavy - I don't need TWO mentions of the same Titanic documentary. I got it the first time.

There are also a lot of asides about said media properties and much of the banter is like, "You did NOT just make a [pop culture] reference!" The narration also does something that really pets me backwards which is starting dialogue or a scene and then interrupting it with a multiple page long flashback to explain something about the character. Like, "I open my mouth to reply. The last time I remember feeling this way I was eight, the snow drifts piled high on my way to school and the mittens ..." Please, authors, I beg of you, stop doing this.

The book is partial open door but only for Ezzie/Lee so you don't need to read any spice with Ezzie's dad (aka she's the narrator so OUR dad), thank goodness. There's no Lee POV chapter or anything either and the epilogue is only two months in the future so not a ton has changed.

One of the main points of conflict are both Carmen and Lee - who don't know Ezzie at all - asking her to keep secrets from her best friend Georgia. I don't know about you all but I don't know these people from Adam, if you're giving me gossip like our new co-worker is dating my dad and also that hot guy in the office who ghosted me at the bar is also HER dad, my best friend would be informed with a quickness. That Lee gets super mad at Ezzie at one point because of this is absurd. Not to mention that HR never seemingly gets informed of any of this even though Ezzie is like "well this will be an HR nightmare." Apparently not.

Here's some quotes to demonstrate what I mean when I say things are a bit clunky:

“Hi,” says a voice, startling me enough that I swallow the cherry with the stem still attached.

... so I'm pretty sure this isn't plausible ... how were you eating this cherry, with stem-in-mouth? And if you gasped SO hard that you inhaled it, stem and all, how were you able to recover so quickly? This is weird.

***

it would be a true life bucket list item to see the northern lights—the natural glowing light phenomenon that happens when charged solar particles collide with earth’s atmosphere

I don't need this explained to me but thank you. Please trust your readers to have either a grade school education or the ability to search for stuff online.

***

I inadvertently reach up to touch the top of my head—maybe to make sure it actually hasn’t exploded, or maybe to just poke myself enough to ensure I’m not in a nightmare.

I assure you that no one has ever done this gesture.

***

She’s smiling, and it’s hesitant, like warm caramel trying to soften ice cream.

What? This is the strangest simile. As an experiment, I told my husband he was smiling at me like caramel trying to melt ice cream and I assure you, he did not understand what I meant.

***

Georgia doubles over, and I can’t tell if she’s laughing or pretending to retch.

Again, it feels like those two things are different enough to be able to be told apart.

***

Oh, and this book isn't published yet, so maybe let's take the opportunity to delete this sentence: "He was robbed of the chance to fill in his daughter’s grooves and crevices with the parts of himself that fit her." WTF RED ALERT RUN AWAY!

Like I said, on the whole, I was fairly engaged. The book wasn't good, but it also wasn't bad. Still way better than the other free Amazon books I've read this year (all two of them). I think it has potential. Oh and it seems the author is a chef so there are recipes in the back, that's fun. Still better than anything I could have written.

[Celina Rangel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like I always get pretty lucky with Amazon first Reads books… this one was a big hit for me! I wasn’t sure how it was going to go with there being two age gaps in this book, but it was a super cute and sweet romance! I loved the relationships and how the main romance story felt so real. Loved the banter and it had a perfect ending!

[Shawna Mayerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks Amazon for the October first reads. The Apparent Trap was a fun light hearted romance from Ali Rosen. It doesn't disappoint. It's a great read that is movie worthy. Check it out as soon as it's released.

[Kids RN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable

It remarkable that a story that contains real pain and grief feels uplifting and hopeful. The storytelling is so flawless that an improbable situation seems perfectly plausible. The author deals with some heavy, serious human issues with grace and understanding. Then, she sprinkles in enough laugh-out-loud humor to further lighten the load. Remarkable, and a great read. The recipes at the end are an unexpected gift.

[Julie Nykwest · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved loved loved this book! Some parts were a little cheesy, some parts were VERY steamy but I loved it all!

[Kristi Wood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun story!

I loved Ezzie, and her dad..then Lee! I want a Georgia inmy life. Honestly, the story read so well, putting it down was a wrench. So, I finished it. Not many stories as light and fun as this are like that.

[Christy Matthews · Rating 5 out of 5]

great romcom!

I really enjoyed this book. It was romantic it still realistic. The characters had real life issues but handled them like adults. It was romantic without overdoing it.

[Andriana Lis · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

4.5 stars! The Apparent Trap is another wonderful, heartfelt romance from Ali Rosen with lots of emotional depth to the characters, meaningful relationships (romantic, familial, and friendships), and fun integrations of cooking and travel throughout the story.

In this book, we're following two age gap couples and a scheme for our main couple to break up the other couple (with good intentions of preventing them from later heartbreak). The premise of scheming and sabotaging a relationship sounded a bit silly, but actually didn't come across that way at all in the story, which I appreciated. Lee and Ezzie went about things with wisdom and grace, rather than making immature or frustrating choices. Instead of any unnecessary drama, there was a lot of emotional depth to the characters.

I enjoyed the way Lee and Ezzie slowly grew their friendship throughout the story prior to entering a romantic relationship. However, because of that, I personally wasn't a fan of the spice scene. It felt out of place considering the boundaries they had set for themselves and how slowly they were taking their relationship. I also didn't think the reasons that the main couple (Ezzie and Lee) felt they needed to keep themselves apart made much sense, especially considering the other couple (Carmen and Mark) had no hesitation to be in a relationship. I enjoyed the romance otherwise though!

In addition to this being a romance, I liked that the book explored other themes like grief, complex and changing familial relationships, and insecurity. It was neat to learn a bit about Swedish culture through the travel in this book. I also really love how the author uses her cooking expertise to tie culinary careers and recipes into all of her books.

Thank you to LEO PR and Montlake for sending me an early copy of the book! As always, all opinions are completely my own.

[Sharon · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley and Ali Rosen for providing me an advance reader's copy.

Ezzie Halevi is a television producer for a morning show. She is really close to her father, and since losing her mom, the two have spent a lot of time together. He surprises her at work and often bakes banana bread for her.

When Carmen starts working at the TV station, she's paired with Ezzie, but she isn't open to working together or accepting any guidance. She comes across as standoffish and cold. Carmen meets Ezzie's dad, Mark, during one of his impromptu visits, and the two start dating. Ezzie finds out a few weeks later. She feels unsettled and doesn't think it's one of her father's best decisions, but she doesn't feel comfortable telling him she's uneasy about the relationship.

Meanwhile, Ezzie develops a crush on Lee, a chef who works at the station. It's so messy that she can't even consider acting on it: Lee is Carmen's dad, and Carmen is dating Ezzie's father. Pursuing Lee would mean dating her dad's girlfriend's father. Carmen has sworn Ezzie to secrecy and wants to keep the family connection quiet at work.

This book was so much fun to read and had a great story. It's the second book I've read by Ali Rosen, and it won't be my last. I love the recipes she includes at the back of the book. While reading, I was craving banana bread, and now I can't wait to try the recipe.

If you enjoy books that leave you feeling good and aren't too heavy, you'll want to grab this one. The book does touch on grief and trauma bonding, but it handles them in a way that never feels heavy or weighs on the reader.

I so enjoy her books and look forward to seeing what she writes next. I recommend this one if you like romance that isn't overly spicy, has humour, and isn't too heavy.

Tropes:

Age Gap
Not too Spicy
Close Proximity
Second Chance
Forbidden Romance

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cozy Fall romantic comedy. It is a workplace/ foodie romance mostly set in NYC.

Ezzie (31) works as a producer on a morning tv show. Lee (41) is a chef who does cooking segments on the same show.

The book focuses a lot on family. Ezzie’s father Mark is a climate scientist. The book features grief (she lost her mom 17 years ago). This part of the book was done so well.

Carmen is a new on air personality that Ezzie has to work with closely. Carmen is 26 and she and Mark (55) are a big part of the story.

The book features a reverse Parent Trap. They are trying to break up a couple vs trying to get them together.

The book was very focused on Carmen and Mark. The hijinks were very funny. But I wanted more Ezzie and Lee. And I did not love the 29 year age gap.

I really liked that they all worked on the morning show in different jobs. I loved Georgia (Ezzie’s best friend). I liked that Lee was a chef. The crew travelling was so fun. Overall this was a cute funny Fall romance!


Thanks to netgalley and Montlake Romance for allowing me to read this book.

[Jessica Paige (Exercise_Read_Repeat) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise was so much fun! The story follows morning show producer Ezzie as she attempts to break up her father’s new relationship with her younger coworker. At the same time, she discovers that this coworker is the estranged daughter of Lee Morgan, a chef who hosts a cooking segment on the show. Sounds like a lot going on, but trust me, it all flows together so well!

If you love age gaps, family drama, food, NYC vibes, and a behind the scenes look at television production, this is one not to miss! It was lighthearted and entertaining in the best way, but there were also so many layers that gave the story depth. I especially appreciated how it explored navigating grief, the way others perceive us, and how the choices we make can impact our relationships.

The audiobook was excellent and made the story that much more enjoyable! Even better, it's included with a Kindle Unlimited subscription!

[Sarah Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ezzie & her dad have been each other’s whole world since her mom died many years ago. Ezzie, a morning show producer, has a lively new anchor who randomly meets her dad. Imagine her surprise when she goes into Carmen’s office and finds her dad there. Her dad has decided to get back into dating with her morning show anchor.

To complicate the matters, Carmen’s dad, who is not quite as old as Ezzie’s dad, also works for the show and Ezzie is not a fan. Also, Lee being Carmen’s dad is a secret and Carmen asks Ezzie not to share it.

Along the way, Lee & Ezzie decide to do a few small things to try and highlight how the age gap between Mark & Carmen could be problematic. And along the way, Lee & Ezzie start to develop feelings for one another.

There was also so much more beyond just the relationships: jobs, friendships and hard conversations, dealing with grief. And I think all those topics actually helped the book.

While this has had some great reviews and it wasn’t a bad book, I just didn’t love it. I had a hard time feeling invested in the relationships that were forming. The plot and romance just didn’t jive for me.

Thank you Net Galley, Ali Rosen, & Montlake for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest opinion!

[Alyson (alysonbookishthoughts) · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

I love Ali's books and The Apparent Trap may be taking the title of favorite book of her's! Ezzie and Lee have an enchanting meeting in a bar until Lee gets up and ends up ghosting Ezzie. But Ezzie has to continue seeing him at her place of work since he is a chef contributor for the morning show she works on. Add in that his daughter Carmen is the new anchor Ezzie is assigned to be a producer for and she begins dating Ezzie's dad making the situation incredibly complicated.

There were so many times I wanted to go through the book to hug Ezzie as she is watching her father—her favorite person—fall in love with someone younger than her and leave her behind in the process. She was a very relatable character and I loved the growth journey she went on throughout the book and how she was able to help her father move on as well in the process. The chapters in Sweden made me want to book a trip there to not only see the Northern Lights, but to view the areas they were filming content at for the show because they all sounded amazing. It was a fantastic story about falling in love when that love may challenge things in your life, fighting for the ones that you love, and moving through grief.

Thank you to Montlake and Ali for a gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Bookblobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars - do you like…BLT’s? Age gap romance? Grief process? Sweden? Morning shows? Banana bread? Legos? Northern Lights with a little extra sauce? It’s all in here. This was a quick read. The beginning scene & the Sweden part were my favorite parts of this book. The ending was a little meh for me. I did skim in a few places towards the end for the drawn out parts. Some peeps did some weird things in here but I kept reading it. I enjoyed Ezzie’s work confidence & problem solving.

[Carly Goldsmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved it!

This was such a great book - lots of fun hijincks but also wonderful musings on grief. The perfect romcom

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a NY morning show tv producer, Ezzie Halevi is used to not being the center of attention and living behind the scenes . Though she tries to not be hard on herself regarding her looks, she’s not normally the first woman gaining attention from men in social settings. Which is why she’s flabbergasted when she catches the attention of handsome Lee Morgan at a bar - the chef who owns a bunch of restaurants and participates in cooking segments on morning tv. They have sizzling chemistry, only to be drastically cut short by Lee running out before it ever got going. Then a young new anchor with a link to Lee starts dating Ezzie’s father - all chaos breaks loose.

***Single POV
***Age gap romance
***Layers of Grief
***Fade to black/closed door

“Hes spinning circles around me without even being in the same room” - sigh, loved this.

Wooooweeee this chemistry from the beginning - it gave belly swoops and dips! I typically always love a Dual POV romance, but Ezzie’s single POV worked perfectly in this novel. The themes of grief, self love, opening your heart up to someone - this was a beautiful novel. Definitely my new favorite by Ali Rosen!

Thank you to Montlake and Netgalley for the ARC of this novel ; all opinions expressed are my own.

[Ecem Esen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished The Apparent Trap and this was such a fun, messy adult romance in the best way. It had that mix of workplace chaos, family drama, and slow-building chemistry that makes you fly through a book.

The whole setup was honestly so entertaining — two people trying to break up their parent’s relationship while very obviously falling for each other themselves? The hypocrisy alone made some of the scenes so good.

Ezzie and Lee had really natural chemistry too. Their banter felt effortless, and I liked that their relationship developed through all the ridiculous scheming instead of just instant attraction.

What surprised me most was how emotional the story got underneath all the humour. Both characters are carrying grief and a lot of unresolved feelings, and the book handled that in a really genuine way without losing the lighter romcom feel.

Also Lee being a chef automatically made him more attractive, I don’t make the rules.

If you like:
✨ workplace romance
✨ forced proximity/team-ups
✨ messy family dynamics
✨ witty banter
✨ slightly chaotic adults catching feelings
✨ romcoms with emotional depth

then this is definitely worth picking up.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨

[Gabriella · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

My god I could not love Ali Rosen more if I tried - this was such a fantastic book and had me hooked from the start. This is officially my favourite of hers at this point. Loved the writing, love the depth in the fully fleshed out characters, love the topics, very much a romance where romance isn’t the only plot point and I loved how realistic it makes it.

Finally, EZZIE IS IN HER THIRTIES! As someone who is the same age as Ezzie, I love nothing more than seeing FMC’s who are proper, full frontal lobe development, in their thirties adults and not just someone who is in their early twenties! I feel like it’s such a rarity in romance and it’s so refreshing.

Huge thanks to Netgalley, Ali Rosen & Montlake for the early access in exchange for my honest review!