When You Read This

For fans of Maria Semple and Rainbow Rowell,a comedy-drama for the digital age: an epistolary debut novel about the ties that bind and break our hearts. Iris Massey is gone. But she’s left something behind. For four yearsIris Massey worked side by side with PR maven Smith Simonyihelping clients perfect their brands. But Iris has diedtaken by terminal illness at only thirty-three. Adrift without his friend and colleagueSmith is surprised to discover that in her last six monthsIris created a blog filled with sharp and often funny musings on the end of a life not quite fulfilled. She also made one final request: for Smith to get her posts published as a book. With the help of his charmingly eagerif overbearingly forthrightnew intern CarlSmith tackles the task of fulfilling Iris’s last wish. Before he can do sothoughhe must get the approval of Iris’ big sister Jadean haute cuisine chef who’s been knocked sideways by her loss. Each carrying their own baggageSmith and Jade end up on a collision course with their own unresolved pasts and with each other. Told in a series of e-mailsblog postsonline therapy submissionstext messageslegal correspondencehome-rental bookingsand other snippets of our virtual livesWhen You Read This is a deftcaptivating romantic comedy–funnytragicsurprisingand bittersweet–that candidly reveals how we find new beginnings after loss.