Quinn meets her future husband, Graham, in front of her soon-to-be-ex-fiance’s apartment, where Graham is about to confront him for having an affair with his girlfriend. Named for an imperfectly worded fortune cookie, Hoover's ( It Ends with Us, 2016, etc.) latest compares a woman’s relationship with her husband before and after she finds out she’s infertile. Hoover is one of the freshest voices in new-adult fiction, and her latest resonates with true emotion, unforgettable characters and just the right amount of sexual tension. But Ridge can’t hide his feelings for Sydney long-and they face their dilemma with refreshing emotional honesty. Independent Maggie never complains about Ridge’s friendship with Sydney, and it's hard to even want Ridge to leave Maggie when she reveals her devastating secret. But Ridge’s lingering feelings for Maggie cause heartache for all three of them. Peterson’s eight original songs flesh out Sydney’s lyrics with a good mix of moody musical styles: “Living a Lie” has the drama of a Coldplay piano ballad, while the chorus of “Maybe Someday” marches to the rhythm of the Lumineers. In fact, it creates opportunities for sexy nonverbal communication and witty text messages: Ridge tenderly washes off a message he wrote on Sydney’s hand in ink, and when Sydney adds a few too many e’s to the word “squee” in her text, Ridge replies, “If those letters really make up a sound, I am so, so glad I can’t hear it.” While they fight their mutual attraction, their hope that “maybe someday” they can be together playfully comes out in their music. Ridge’s deafness doesn’t impede their relationship or their music. She finds out after the fact that Ridge already has a long-distance girlfriend, Maggie-and that he's deaf. The two begin a songwriting partnership that grows into something more once Sydney dumps Hunter and decides to crash with Ridge and his two roommates while she gets back on her feet. While music student Sydney is watching her neighbor Ridge play guitar on his balcony across the courtyard, Ridge is watching Sydney’s boyfriend, Hunter, secretly make out with her best friend on her balcony. Hoover is a master at writing scenes from dual perspectives.

Sydney and Ridge make beautiful music together in a love triangle written by Hoover ( Losing Hope, 2013, etc.), with a link to a digital soundtrack by American Idol contestant Griffin Peterson. Those who have been immersed in Holt since Plainsong(1999) will appreciate one last visit. The author even has a little metafictional fun with his premise, as the characters comment on those “made up” books about the (fictional) Holt and how they’d hate to be in one of them. Through Addie’s initiative, she and Louis find an emotional intimacy beyond anything either has previously known, and both come to recognize that they “deserve to be happy,” no matter what friends and family think. And they each have a back story about the sorts of disappointments and perseverance that mark any longstanding marriage. Addie and Louis both have adult children who aren’t enthusiastic about the arrangement. How uncertain I feel, and sort of nervous.” Word gets out, and those who will gossip do, assuming the salacious details. He appreciates the risk she's taken in making the request, and he agrees, though on their first night he's filled with thoughts of “How strange this is. Not to have sexual relations, but just to have someone with whom she can talk and share and make it through the night. She and Louis don’t really know each other that well, other than as nodding acquaintances, but she has a novel proposition: she wants him to sleep with her. Here’s how it opens: “And then there was the day when Addie Moore made a call on Louis Waters.” Addie is 70, a widow, and she was close with Louis’ late wife. This isn’t a dark night of the soul but one filled with hope and with second chances. It’s a slim novel of short chapters, and it would seem to bring the cycle of books about small-town Holt, Colorado, to a close. If Haruf (who died in November at age 71) hadn’t titled his previous book Benediction (2013), that might have been perfect for this one.

A sweet love story about the twilight years.

Our souls at night book reviews