The Ex-Talk | By Rachel Lynn Solomon

The Ex Talk stands out even before the start, because of its concept. Instead of fake dating trope which is more common , here we have the two main characters Shaey and Dominic pretend that they are fake exes for a radio show. Shaey appears to have her life together from the outside. However, if you look deeper, that’s not the case. This makes her an easy narrator that anyone can relate to.

Personally I am not a great fan of books, which emphasize on what you should have achieved by a certain age and it seemed like a big issue for Shaey. However, later on it becomes clear that the age factor was underlined because she was falling for a younger person. It would have been more appealing if the age factor wasn’t given too much emphasis. Aside from these nitpickings, the book just flew through like butter in terms of narrative and pacing.

Like I said before, Shaey is your relatable girl next door romantic comedy heroine. But Dominic felt a bit under developed as a character. He is the lead and the love interest. He even seems like an interesting character to  read about. However, there was not much of a character arc for him. Except for the small “overcoming his stage fright” bit.

Shaey had a past and she emerges as a wiser and better person at the end of the story. Even if Dominic showed some interesting layers, nothing much was revealed about it in the book.

The way he took the job and how easily his moral compass swayed was addressed in the book. But there were other questions regarding his action that as a reader I never got any answers.

The Ex Talk is a must read if you’re an avid fan of hate to love tropes. It is fun, steamy, swoon worthy and a feel good romance all in a neat package, along with some public radio action.