Marry Me Juliet, Book 3
A New York Times Best Romance of 2024
In this “full-on villain romance” (The New York Times) a group of women on a reality dating show should be vying for the love of their Romeo, but it turns out one of them only has eyes for the showrunner.
Murray O’Connell is standing on the greatest precipice of his career. As showrunner of the reality dating show Marry Me, Juliet, Murray is determined to make this season a success.
Nothing and nobody will stand in his way.
Except perhaps Lily Fireball, the network’s choice for this season’s villain. Lily has classic reality TV appeal: She’s feisty, dramatic, and never backs down from a fight. She also happens to be Murray’s estranged best friend and former co-showrunner.
What was once a perfectly planned season turns to chaos as the two battle for control. Working in reality television, they’re used to drama, secrets, and romance. But what happens when suddenly they’re at the center of the storyline?
I picked this up on the strength of a New York Times recommendation. The Times only started reviewing romance novels a couple of years ago, and their coverage has grown alongside the genre’s popularity—particularly romantasy and LGBTQ+ romance, which happen to be my least favorite subgenres. Fortunately, this book is neither. It’s a contemporary romcom set in the world of reality television, which also isn’t my usual preference, but having watched enough of the genre (“Married at First Sight,” “Love is Blind,” and more than a few unhinged Bravo housewives shows), I thought it might be fun. It wasn’t.
The story takes place during the COVID pandemic, when lockdown restrictions are complicating the production of a new season of the reality dating show “Marry Me Juliet.” Producer Murray is already under enormous pressure: it’s his first time convincing the network to cast a diverse group of contestants, he’s running the show without his best friend and co-showrunner Lily Ong, and he desperately needs a hit. He wants everything under control—so when “Lily Fireball” walks through the door and reveals herself to be that very same Lily Ong, he’s blindsided. She’s back with an agenda, determined to play the villain and stir up as much drama as possible. Murray can’t figure out what she’s after, can’t focus on his job, and finds himself scrambling to protect her from the inevitable fan backlash. Will the season be everything he hoped for, or will it all blow up in his face?
I generally enjoy books that move between timelines, but the constant interruptions for backstory frustrated me here—possibly because I hadn’t read the first two books in the series. More significantly, I struggled to invest in Lily and Murray as a couple. It’s clear from early on that they’re in love with each other, yet both have married (and divorced) other people. I understand that reality television thrives on moral ambiguity, and apparently, at least here, so do the people who make it, but that made it hard to root for anyone. Their relationship is built on emotional manipulation and game-playing that, while true to the world the book is depicting, simply isn’t enjoyable to read. I put it down several times before finally pushing through to the end. By the time I finished, it had earned a lukewarm okay from me—nothing more.
2/2026 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
NOT HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS by Jodi McAlister. Atria Books. (June 4, 2024). ISBN: 978-1668075265. 400p.
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