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In Ten Years
Ex-jock Jack and socially awkward Liz weren’t likely to become best friends, but they’ve had each other’s back since college. On a night both of their romantic lives implode, they make a pact; if they aren’t married in ten years, they will marry each other. With a year left before their deadline, Jack and Liz make a mad dash to find “The One” while navigating a minefield of modern dating complications.
Despite their friends’ efforts to convince them that it’s a terrible idea, Jack and Liz devise an unconventional life partnership plan. However, a face from the past and hidden jealousies and feelings neither one will ever admit threatens their friendship.
From Ian Shane, author of Postgraduate and Radio Radio, comes a quirky one-in-eight-billion romantic comedy perfect for fans of Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper, and Matthew Norman. In Ten Years is a witty and charming story that ponders the question: What is true love?
Despite their friends’ efforts to convince them that it’s a terrible idea, Jack and Liz devise an unconventional life partnership plan. However, a face from the past and hidden jealousies and feelings neither one will ever admit threatens their friendship.
From Ian Shane, author of Postgraduate and Radio Radio, comes a quirky one-in-eight-billion romantic comedy perfect for fans of Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper, and Matthew Norman. In Ten Years is a witty and charming story that ponders the question: What is true love?
227 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 17, 2021
12 people are currently reading
28 people want to read
About the author
Ian Shane
4 books19 followersIan Shane is the author of three novels: Radio Radio, In Ten Years, and Postgraduate. He also released his "almost memoir" Sundry Notes of Music in 2023.
Ian studied Radio Broadcasting at the University of Southern Indiana and Computer Science at Indiana University. He has worked in radio in Indiana and Colorado and taught radio writing and production in Minnesota.
Ian writes lad lit similar to Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper, and Matthew Norman. He cites Aaron Sorkin and David Mamet as influences in writing dialogue.
He currently lives in Denver with his two cats.
Ian studied Radio Broadcasting at the University of Southern Indiana and Computer Science at Indiana University. He has worked in radio in Indiana and Colorado and taught radio writing and production in Minnesota.
Ian writes lad lit similar to Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper, and Matthew Norman. He cites Aaron Sorkin and David Mamet as influences in writing dialogue.
He currently lives in Denver with his two cats.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 25, 2021
In Ten Years by Ian Shane breaks all the rules and tropes you expect out a romantic comedy and turns into something unique, and will leave you itching to find out how it plays out. You’ll laugh and cry as Jack and Liz attempt to answer the age-old question: Can men and women just be friends? In Ten Years answers that question in the most unexpected ways.
August 24, 2021
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S IN TEN YEARS ABOUT?
In 2000, two Denver University students meet in such a way that practically guarantees Jack will have one of dullest (and probably worse than just dull) twenty-first birthdays. Liz unintentionally contributed to that but also did everything she could to make up for that. After this, she decides that the two of them are going to be great friends.
After spending a couple of chapters in 2000, we see them again in 2009—and it turns out that Liz's plan to be great friends worked. They've become incredibly close, the Two Musketeers. They're so close that everyone (including every romantic interest they ever have) assumes they have/are/want to be involved. The idea never really lodges with either of them—and they don't understand why no one believes them.
We catch up to them in 2018. At some point, they've made that pact that you've seen in countless sitcoms and movies, if they're not married by _____ time, they'll marry each other.* In this case, it's when Jack turns 40 (he's a little younger than her, so at that point, they'll both be 40), and in 2018 that's a year away.
* The scene where the pact is made is just about perfect, I should add.
Both of them try to treat the pact as a joke—while hoping the other forgot about it. But neither did and despite the preposterous notion—they both kind of take it seriously. They can't imagine not growing old together, why not?
And then one of them starts to realize that their interest in the pact isn't because of a drunken promise, pragmatism, or the lack of a better option—but there just might be something right about the whole idea, a reality that's been before them all along.
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
I'd intended on spending a few paragraphs talking about both Jack and Liz, and after a couple of failed attempts, I realized I couldn't do either justice without just recapping the whole novel. So, instead, let's talk about the other characters.
I wasn't that far into the 2018 part when I made a note about, "Of course they end up together, everyone else they know is horrible." Which was a little harsh, but essentially true—that's up to and including their closest friends. Thankfully, that didn't stay that way—sure, their friends didn't make a great first impression, but as I got to spend some more time with them, I ended up liking them. They also proved to be good friends to Jack and Liz.
But when it comes to other romantic interests or dalliances? The reader can understand the appeal of (most) of the people they're interested in—at least initially. But you don't spend time thinking, "yeah, Person X would really be a good long-term partner for them." I might have appreciated it more had I actually considered anyone to be a rival for Liz or Jack. But maybe after a few chapters, I'd already ruled out anyone who wasn't Jack or Liz for the other.
I'm not sure it matters, ultimately. But what Shane did give each character plenty of frogs of various sides and coloring to kiss so that they'd inevitably discover their Prince/Princess.
The supporting characters, from college roommates to overbearing and overly-inquisitive mothers, to Russian hockey players to waitresses in a bar or inappropriate former students are well-written, they all stand out as pretty well-rounded (at least as much as someone who's only around for a few paragraphs can be).
THE DIALOGUE
I talked about this a little in the Q&A with Shane, and you should read what he said about writing it. My favorite part of this novel was the dialogue. Jack has some great lines when he's upset or angry with someone, for example.
But what really won me over was the interaction with Jack and Liz—either when they're being silly about something or when they're talking about something serious. This is fitting for a contemporary When Harry Met Sally-esque story, Harry and Sally talking to each other is what made viewers fall for the pair, and Shane hits some Ephron-level interchanges with Jack and Liz.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT IN TEN YEARS?
There are a few other highlights that I really don't have the time or space to get into, I'd recommend checking out the aforementioned Q&A with Shane that I posted yesterday to catch a few other selling points for this book.
The novel is just funny—humor that arises from the situations and the characters' inherent and reflexive wit and charm. It's in the way they react to situations, and not because silly and madcap things happen around or to them (well, sure, there's a little bit of that). Shane's voice is part of it, too—but mostly it's because these are smart, funny people who express that.
I can't get into it without ruining anything, but there's a chapter in the 2009 portion of the book that is my favorite chapter of 2021—it was so painful, and yet so funny. Shane was careful not to go too far in either direction, which would've blunted the impact. Instead, he's able to portray the emotionally damaging circumstance and let the character's wit and the ridiculousness of the situation keep it from being maudlin. The rest of the book is just as good, and just as balanced.
In Ten Years ticked just about every box that I can think of as a reader. I both couldn't wait to find out what happened and didn't want to get to the end because I was having such a blast. There's a fresh-feeling take on a tried-and-true story (two, I'd argue), characters I genuinely liked, dialogue that I'd frequently reread a time or to before moving on, and a great mix of emotion and laughs. I wasn't even 20% through the book when I noticed I was highlighting and making notes too often—had I stopped there, I had more things than I could squeeze into a post. I can only imagine how massive my notes collection would've been had I not made a conscious effort to stop. There was just so much that I wanted to remember about this book.
I know that I'm going to be talking about this book in January when I look back on the best of 2021, and I probably won't be alone.
---
WHAT'S IN TEN YEARS ABOUT?
In 2000, two Denver University students meet in such a way that practically guarantees Jack will have one of dullest (and probably worse than just dull) twenty-first birthdays. Liz unintentionally contributed to that but also did everything she could to make up for that. After this, she decides that the two of them are going to be great friends.
After spending a couple of chapters in 2000, we see them again in 2009—and it turns out that Liz's plan to be great friends worked. They've become incredibly close, the Two Musketeers. They're so close that everyone (including every romantic interest they ever have) assumes they have/are/want to be involved. The idea never really lodges with either of them—and they don't understand why no one believes them.
We catch up to them in 2018. At some point, they've made that pact that you've seen in countless sitcoms and movies, if they're not married by _____ time, they'll marry each other.* In this case, it's when Jack turns 40 (he's a little younger than her, so at that point, they'll both be 40), and in 2018 that's a year away.
* The scene where the pact is made is just about perfect, I should add.
Both of them try to treat the pact as a joke—while hoping the other forgot about it. But neither did and despite the preposterous notion—they both kind of take it seriously. They can't imagine not growing old together, why not?
And then one of them starts to realize that their interest in the pact isn't because of a drunken promise, pragmatism, or the lack of a better option—but there just might be something right about the whole idea, a reality that's been before them all along.
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
I'd intended on spending a few paragraphs talking about both Jack and Liz, and after a couple of failed attempts, I realized I couldn't do either justice without just recapping the whole novel. So, instead, let's talk about the other characters.
I wasn't that far into the 2018 part when I made a note about, "Of course they end up together, everyone else they know is horrible." Which was a little harsh, but essentially true—that's up to and including their closest friends. Thankfully, that didn't stay that way—sure, their friends didn't make a great first impression, but as I got to spend some more time with them, I ended up liking them. They also proved to be good friends to Jack and Liz.
But when it comes to other romantic interests or dalliances? The reader can understand the appeal of (most) of the people they're interested in—at least initially. But you don't spend time thinking, "yeah, Person X would really be a good long-term partner for them." I might have appreciated it more had I actually considered anyone to be a rival for Liz or Jack. But maybe after a few chapters, I'd already ruled out anyone who wasn't Jack or Liz for the other.
I'm not sure it matters, ultimately. But what Shane did give each character plenty of frogs of various sides and coloring to kiss so that they'd inevitably discover their Prince/Princess.
The supporting characters, from college roommates to overbearing and overly-inquisitive mothers, to Russian hockey players to waitresses in a bar or inappropriate former students are well-written, they all stand out as pretty well-rounded (at least as much as someone who's only around for a few paragraphs can be).
THE DIALOGUE
I talked about this a little in the Q&A with Shane, and you should read what he said about writing it. My favorite part of this novel was the dialogue. Jack has some great lines when he's upset or angry with someone, for example.
But what really won me over was the interaction with Jack and Liz—either when they're being silly about something or when they're talking about something serious. This is fitting for a contemporary When Harry Met Sally-esque story, Harry and Sally talking to each other is what made viewers fall for the pair, and Shane hits some Ephron-level interchanges with Jack and Liz.
SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT IN TEN YEARS?
There are a few other highlights that I really don't have the time or space to get into, I'd recommend checking out the aforementioned Q&A with Shane that I posted yesterday to catch a few other selling points for this book.
The novel is just funny—humor that arises from the situations and the characters' inherent and reflexive wit and charm. It's in the way they react to situations, and not because silly and madcap things happen around or to them (well, sure, there's a little bit of that). Shane's voice is part of it, too—but mostly it's because these are smart, funny people who express that.
I can't get into it without ruining anything, but there's a chapter in the 2009 portion of the book that is my favorite chapter of 2021—it was so painful, and yet so funny. Shane was careful not to go too far in either direction, which would've blunted the impact. Instead, he's able to portray the emotionally damaging circumstance and let the character's wit and the ridiculousness of the situation keep it from being maudlin. The rest of the book is just as good, and just as balanced.
In Ten Years ticked just about every box that I can think of as a reader. I both couldn't wait to find out what happened and didn't want to get to the end because I was having such a blast. There's a fresh-feeling take on a tried-and-true story (two, I'd argue), characters I genuinely liked, dialogue that I'd frequently reread a time or to before moving on, and a great mix of emotion and laughs. I wasn't even 20% through the book when I noticed I was highlighting and making notes too often—had I stopped there, I had more things than I could squeeze into a post. I can only imagine how massive my notes collection would've been had I not made a conscious effort to stop. There was just so much that I wanted to remember about this book.
I know that I'm going to be talking about this book in January when I look back on the best of 2021, and I probably won't be alone.
September 9, 2021
The algorithm let me down. Based on recent reading choices, "In Ten Years" showed up as something I might like. Wrong. It was not the writing, which was workmanlike. It was the little things, like the plot, the characters, and the dialogue.
The plot centers on a concept (single friends vow to marry if they remain single by a certain age) that has been done better in print and on the screen. Virtually all the characters -- and in particular Jack and Liz --are unlikeable. We must take it on faith that Jack and Liz are fun to be around because they spend most of the book insulting anyone who comes in their orbit. It's bad enough that they are unpleasant to others, but their behavior is erratic and mercurial, further confirming their dickishness. Their "friends" serve as a contrivance to give voice to the idea that Jack and Liz are really hot and they are such good friends, I guess to explain why anyone would consent to be around them. About the only tolerable character was Casey, who was portrayed as a desperate, slutty alcoholic. At least she changed for the better! By the end, I was cheering for Jack and Liz to end up together forever, if only because it would guarantee that they would both be unhappy for the rest of their lives.
The plot centers on a concept (single friends vow to marry if they remain single by a certain age) that has been done better in print and on the screen. Virtually all the characters -- and in particular Jack and Liz --are unlikeable. We must take it on faith that Jack and Liz are fun to be around because they spend most of the book insulting anyone who comes in their orbit. It's bad enough that they are unpleasant to others, but their behavior is erratic and mercurial, further confirming their dickishness. Their "friends" serve as a contrivance to give voice to the idea that Jack and Liz are really hot and they are such good friends, I guess to explain why anyone would consent to be around them. About the only tolerable character was Casey, who was portrayed as a desperate, slutty alcoholic. At least she changed for the better! By the end, I was cheering for Jack and Liz to end up together forever, if only because it would guarantee that they would both be unhappy for the rest of their lives.
December 27, 2024
Great and Entertaining Read
I enjoyed this book. I was rooting for Jack and Liz, and I will not spoil the ending. Give it a read and find out for yourself. The characters were very relatable.
I enjoyed this book. I was rooting for Jack and Liz, and I will not spoil the ending. Give it a read and find out for yourself. The characters were very relatable.
February 19, 2022
Funny and great dialogue! Great male and female characters living through the second quarter of their lives(20-40). Never has watching two people’s midlife crises been so entertaining. And hopeful!
August 8, 2022
I was pleasantly surprised on how much I liked this book. Good “beach” read.
June 1, 2024
Loved it. Could have benefitted from a bit more character development and it’s a story that’s been told, but the characters were fun and a little twist towards the end made things interesting.
August 30, 2025
A very fun, well-written book. Several laugh out loud moments.
January 26, 2022
Ian Shane's previous novel, POSTGRADUATE, was an absolute masterclass in blending wit, tenderness, and nuance to create a narrative that's both unique and broadly approachable, and IN 10 YEARS picks up with those same strengths. Jack and Liz have made a pack to marry one another if neither has found a spouse by the time they're 40, and the way they unwittingly stumble toward one another as the clock start ticking makes for an eventful, surprising ride. They're flawed, and they sometimes make you want to scream, but they're deeply authentic in their desires for love and belonging either with each other or elsewhere. A fresh and engaging take on the marriage pact that has you engaged until the very end.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews