January 6, 2025
The deliciously angsty second new adult romance in Corinne's Undone series (after Unsteady) pairs a jock with learning differences and his brainy tutor. Waterfell University senior Rosalie “Ro” Shariff is on the fast track, headed toward a successful scientific career with Tyler Donaldson, her boyfriend of two years, by her side. She’s also long crushed from afar on hockey star and big man on campus Matthew “Freddy” Fredderic—and when she's assigned to be his peer tutor, she sees a side of him few others know. Freddy, who has dyslexia, dyscalculia, and ADHD, has always hidden his educational struggles—and the pain from his mother’s death and his father’s abuse—under a confident facade, but if he flunks math, he won’t graduate, so he must finally confront his issues head-on. After the increasingly cruel Tyler abandons Ro at a hockey game 50 miles off campus, Freddy comes to her rescue and the pair develop a friendship that steadily grows into something more. Readers will swoon as Ro and Freddy help each other to heal—and they’ll love to hate the self-important Tyler, a prototypical bad boyfriend. This hotly anticipated and impeccably plotted sequel is sure to satisfy fans. Agent: Caitlin Mahony, WME.
Starred review from February 15, 2025
A hockey player falls in love with his tutor. Matt "Freddy" Fredderic is the life of the party at Waterfell University. He's a starter on the hockey team and can have any girl on campus--but he's also in danger of failing out if he can't improve his grades in math and biology. His ADHD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia make him eligible for university tutoring services, and Ro Shariff is his newly assigned tutor. Ro had a crush on Freddy freshman year but convinced herself that she's over it now, in her senior year. She's been in an on-again, off-again relationship with a guy named Tyler for the past two years, but he's manipulative, borderline abusive, and probably cheating on her. Ro is desperate for love and affection and still suffers from bouts of intense homesickness. She and Freddy develop a tentative friendship even though they couldn't be more different on the surface--he's a popular, gregarious athlete to her quiet, introverted academic. Ro sees beyond Freddy's persona as a dumb jock, while he recognizes that she feels lonely and like an outsider. When Freddy swoops in to rescue Ro after an ugly disagreement with Tyler, the two admit that their feelings for each other are more romantic than friendly. Corinne's second novel is an emotional powerhouse. Ro and Freddy share everything with each other: fears of not being good enough for their friends, details of their harmful previous romantic relationships, and the deep feelings of grief related to illness and loss of parents. They have to learn to trust themselves and each other in the midst of the pressures that come with transitioning from college to adulthood. Their evolution from friends to lovers is a classic slow burn, and it makes for an angsty and deeply affecting read. Deeply moving and emotional.
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