BOOK OF THE WEEK

Impossible by Sarah Lotz, HarperCollins, £14.99

There’s a long-held conventional recipe for a love story. We usually expect the predictable – boy meets girl, girl meets boy, a lot of highs mixed in with some scattered lows, and maybe some sexual tension here and there, depending on the age of the intended audience.

Yet, Sarah Lotz’s latest book, Impossible, puts a whole new spin on the genre.

We meet Nick and Bee through an email thread. Nick accidentally sends Bee an angry email after failing to get paid for his work as an editor.

He must have mistyped the intended address as Bee is neither a writer nor within the industry.

Instead, Bee is a seamstress who upcycles people’s old wedding dresses. However, rather than Bee simply ignoring the email, the two end up in a (lightly flirtatious) back and forth email exchange.

Seeing their story described this way, one may think: “So, what is different here?”

What truly gets you hooked on this novel is the twist once the two try to meet.

I believe that twist is better left for the reader to discover themselves. Suffice to say it is what instantly got me hooked, to the point that I could not put the book down until it was done.

In saying this, the way to truly enjoy Impossible is to not focus too much on the logic of the book’s universe. Admittedly, at times the reasoning in how Nick and Bee’s world works can be a little complicated to follow. But when you simply sit back and enjoy the story, as the two work out how to fully experience their relationship, that’s where we see Lotz’s talent.

The twist does not come from nowhere. Looking back, there are hints and clues all around the book’s introduction – I am unsure how I missed it, to be honest. Lotz is clever in her use of pop culture to drive

the mystery between the two. What does Nick mean he has never heard of Tinder? And where did this mystery David Bowie album come from?

The characters themselves make this story. From Bee’s doubting best friend and Nick’s playful pup, all the way to a conspiracy group, all flourish in their own perspective.

This is a refreshing tale, ideal for anyone wanting to read a romance novel that gives them something new to think about.

I will never forget it – in fact, forgetting about this story would be rather… Impossible.