Rivals to Lovers

Two writers vie to adapt a late author’s classic novel for a modern audience in this charming contemporary from Wayland (The Butterfly Effect, writing as Rachel Mans McKenny). Midwesterner Maureen “Mo” Denton came to New York to write but makes her money as a cater waiter; well-to-do Manhattanite Wesley “Wes” Spencer is a successful literary agent and the privileged son of wealthy parents. Both dream of winning the rights to E.J. Morgan’s feminist masterpiece, The Proud and the Lost. After reading their competing proposals, the late author’s elderly daughter invites both of them to her home in Greenwich, Conn., for a weekend to make their cases. As they compete, Mo and Wes find themselves fighting—and then giving into—a powerful attraction. But will their relationship survive when one of them wins and the other loses? Wayland skillfully executes the eponymous trope with plenty of tension between her sparring leads. Readers will have no trouble rooting for these two. Agent: Michelle Richter, Fuse Literary. (Aug.)