Emergency Contact by Lauren Layne and Anthony Ledonne (Review by Stephanie Rowitz)

Rating: 3.5/5

Katherine is an ambitious, 36-year-old attorney who gets a concussion after a nasty car accident, and needs to be monitored for 48 hours. Unfortunately, she failed to update her emergency contact information, so the person called to take care of her is Katherine’s ex-husband, Tom. Tom likes having a plan and a few spreadsheets to boot. He doesn’t like being pulled back into Katherine’s chaotic orbit anymore than Katherine likes having him there, but like it or not, they’re stuck with each other. That is, until he makes it home to Chicago to propose to his new girlfriend on Christmas Eve. 

This Murphy’s law, dual POV book is chock-full of witty banter that somehow captures Tom and Katherine’s animosity and affection for each other. It probably has something to do with the fact that this book is written by a husband and wife team, which means you get a more well-rounded view of both characters and their feelings for one another than you might otherwise in a cozy read like this one. Their banter felt real and landed on just on the right side of a romantic relationship as opposed to a brother/sister relationship. The writing really is spot-on. 

I wouldn’t necessarily call this a romance because if it were, the reader probably wouldn’t like Tom very much. However, it’s a heartfelt story about what happens when a couple stops communicating and starts making assumptions about each other. It’s about the inconvenience of loving someone who maybe isn’t right for you on paper, but you can’t help loving anyway. 

Emergency Contact is a sweet story about reassessing your priorities, and finding your way back to someone you thought you lost forever. For those looking for a lighter, contemporary novel with a bit of romance that still delves into nuanced, adult relationships, this book is for you.