Love Overdue

Love Overdue
By Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus
Allen and Unwin 2025

Lauren, AKA Wren, AKA Birdie, is the vice principal at a primary school in Melbourne with aspirations to be a writer. BAM! You’ve got me intrigued. It’s a rom-com, it’s my career choice and it’s set in my neighbourhood. So, with a bright playful cover, and a premise that promises to deliver, I bought the book. And what a perfect school holiday read it was.

This is a love story about a single, career focused woman who tries to bury her teenage trauma of losing a loved one and losing the love of her life. Now she believes that working hard in a rewarding career, albeit alone, will be enough. Everything is meandering in just the way she desires until her teenage heartbreak re-enters her life, now a parent of one of her students. The strange, and infuriating thing is, he doesn’t seem to recognise Lauren. Sure, she’s changed her name and grown older, but Lauren can’t understand how he could just forget her.
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Lauren fluctuates between frustration, confusion, lust and grief. The reader is in for a ride. The story is light, fun and satisfying, just as the cover promises. Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus have four published romantic comedies all with a splash of cosy bookish drama. These co-authors are definitely ones I’ll be following.