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Engel’s bumpy debut finds journalist Georgia Rose going on the popular dating show Love Shack hoping to boost her freelance journalism career by writing an exposé about the producers. She needs to stay on the show long enough to get her story, which means making a genuine play for the attention of the lead, tennis pro Roland Marchetti. This plan hits a speed bump when she realizes that the show’s new host is her former one-night stand, country music star Rhett Auburn. Now Georgia must juggle her investigation, her play for Roland’s hand, intra-contestant politics, and her lingering feelings for Rhett. There’s plenty of reality TV drama to keep the pages turning, but Engel doesn’t make the most of her fun premise. Georgia spends too much time concealing her secrets from the people around her and not enough time actually investigating; indeed, most of what she uncovers, she stumbles upon by chance. The romance too is given short shrift, taking a backseat for much of the novel before abruptly ramping up. Second-chance romance fans will be especially frustrated that they never get a clear flashback to Rhett and Georgia’s first meeting, making their present-day rekindling feel somewhat unmoored. This disappoints. (Jan.)