In Mrs. Nash's Ashes, Sarah Adler's witty and charming debut romantic comedy, a historian sets out to prove the existence of true love--alongside an MFA grad acquaintance who seems determined to do the opposite. Former child star Millie is going through a rough patch. In the past few months, she has broken up with her longtime boyfriend after an unforgiveable betrayal, been forced to move apartments twice, and lost her elderly best friend, Mrs. Nash. Rose Nash spent her final days telling Millie about her long-lost love, Elsie, and Millie is determined to bring Mrs. Nash's ashes to Key West, Fla., to find her. Unfortunately for Millie, all flights from D.C. are grounded due to a technological glitch, and she's stuck getting a ride from Hollis, a cynical writer she met through her ex, who doubts the very existence of lasting love.
With laugh-out-loud dialogue, emotional acuity, and undeniable romantic chemistry, Mrs. Nash's Ashes will do more than satisfy seasoned romance fans and newcomers alike. Adler proves herself to be an expert at crafting delightfully eccentric characters whose dynamic is recognizable and unique, comforting and fresh. The novel's road-trip structure provides Adler with ample opportunity to stretch her comedic legs, too, as Millie and Hollis encounter everything from a small-town broccoli festival to an Italian-Mexican fusion restaurant and its sombrero-wearing bear mascot. And while Mrs. Nash's Ashes has more than its fair share of laughs, flirtation, and sexual tension, it still manages also to deliver a refreshingly self-aware meditation on what it means to craft and record a true love story. --Alice Martin, freelance writer and editor