The Checklist

our main character, dylan delacroix, has always been in control of every aspect of her life. she's obsessed with making checklists and crossing off all her accomplishments, a habit she developed since she was a child. all grown up, her work sends her on a potentially career-derailing trip back to her hometown in seattle. she decides to stay in her parent’s home to save some funds while working, and runs into her next door neighbours from her childhood the first day she gets back, including one of their son’s, mike. he's everything dylan has wanted in a boyfriend, his perfect face then lives rent free in dylan’s head because she still has an actual boyfriend back home, and their relationship is fizzling every day she’s away. the story continues as dylan is determined to fix the chaos that her life has become.⁣

⁣

a cast of black, brown, and asian characters, doing everyday things and falling in love, this aspect i appreciated, but the rest didn’t do it for me. the narrative was predictive, the writing wasn’t terrible, but it just focused too much on office talk and corporate business ventures, which i do not care for. majority of the book didn’t feel romantic, dates and kisses didn’t happen until 2/3 of the book was over, that’s how much job tension talk there was. this book is an example of how you can have the best ingredients, but if you don't combine them right, your meal is nothing but bland and forgettable. i’m sure most people don’t pick up this book because they want to know what a workplace consultant does to save floundering companies, they pick it up for the romance and love story, which it lacked drastically until the last hundred or so pages. all in all, one to skip!