Contemporary Fiction Review : If You Ask Me | Libby Hubscher

Libby Hubscher’s If You Ask Me tells the story of an advice columnist who is on the brink of career success, when suddenly everything in her life is torn apart. This was one of the surprisingly cathartic books that I wasn’t expecting to react to the way that I did. It’s a story about processing difficult times and living as our most vulnerable selves, neatly packaged alongside a sweet and funny romantic comedy.

About the Book | If You Ask Me

When an advice columnist’s picture-perfect life implodes, she opts to go rogue in this hilarious, heartwarming romance from the author of Meet Me in Paradise.

Violet Covington pens Dear Sweetie, the most popular advice column in the state of North Carolina. She has an answer for how to politely handle any difficult situation…until she discovers her husband, Sam, has been cheating on her. Furious and out of sensible solutions, Violet leaves her filter at the door and turns to her column to air her own frustrations. The new, brutally honest Dear Sweetie goes viral, sending more shock waves through Violet’s life. When she burns Sam’s belongings in a front-yard, late-night bonfire, a smoking-hot firefighter named Dez shows up to douse the flames, and an unexpected fling quickly shows potential to become something longer lasting.

A lot of people want to see the old polished Violet return—including her boss, who finds her unpredictability hard to manage, and Sam, who’s begging for another chance. But Dez appreciates Violet just the way she is—in fact, he can’t get enough of her. The right answers don’t come easily when Violet finds herself at her own personal crossroads. But maybe, by getting real, Violet can write her own happy ending. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

Review | If You Ask Me

Lately, a lot of contemporary romance delivers on the light notes, sometimes on the steam, and can verge on the unserious end of the spectrum, which is why they are so fun. If You Ask Me delivers more than that and I’d actually consider it contemporary fiction with a romance storyline, rather than contemporary romance outright. I found it to be one of those rare books that is well-rounded and could hit in two or three genre.

The story itself markets as a romantic comedy, but it’s also one of those books where the romance plotline could be removed, and it would be just as good. At its core, this is actually a story about a woman who is pulled to her lowest point, and how she pulls herself back up and finds a way to be happy with the life she has, even if it isn’t the life she expected.

If You Ask Me follows Violet Covington, a writer who pens a popular advice column in North Carolina called Dear Sweetie. Violet has advice for everything, from relationship issues to interpersonal conflict. Violet has built a great life, with a dream husband, dream house, and dream job. When she learns her column is up for syndication, she’s excited to go home and share the news with her husband Sam.

Violet arrives home early and finds Sam in bed with Shelby, a woman from up the street. Violet does the only thing she can think of in the moment—she pushes her feelings down, refusing to let Sam and Shelby see her cry. So she goes to the shower, steps under the hot spray in her blouse and spanx, and lets her tears flow. Afterwards, she calmly blow dries her hair and reapplies her make up before returning to her bedroom.

Sam is waiting to talk to her, but Violet isn’t interested. She sends him on his way and pushes aside what just happened. But eventually, Violet can’t ignore what happened. Sam begs her to meet to talk, and tells her it’s been going on for months and he is in love with Shelby. This sets off the spiral that Violet had been trying to avoid. She begins to drink more than she should. She burns Sam’s favorite things in a bonfire in the middle of the street in front of their house, drawing her neighbor to call the fire department.

And that’s when she meets Dez, a firefighter who happens to live nearby. Dez is attractive and kind, and he might be just what Violet needs to distract herself and cleanse her mind of Sam. But at work things begin to get more intense. A column she writes expressing what happened to her marriage goes viral. Eventually, her identity is exposed and her life is pushed forward for public consumption.

As Violet continues to spiral, things reach their tipping point at work and with Dez, and Violet sees her whole life finally collapse the way it has been threatening to ever since she discovered Sam’s infidelity. But perhaps in her lowest moment, Violet may finally confront the scariest thing of all—herself. Can Violet face the things that have brought her to this point and find a way to heal and find happiness?

The story touches on infidelity, infertility, alcoholism, and mental health. It handles these issues with authenticity while keeping the story on the lighter side where possible. For those who find these issues triggering due to personal pain, this may not be the book for you. But for many, I think this book will feel cathartic, even if these aren’t your challenges. I found Violet’s story to be a journey of vulnerability. From the beginning she avoids showing (or even experiencing) her heartbreak. But eventually it manifests in other ways. She’s angry, frustrated, injured, and engaging in unhealthy coping through alcohol and other mechanisms.

Peppered throughout are her columns she writes, offering advice that seems to reflect where she is at. The silver lining to this in terms of her career is that she has realized that blunt vulnerability may be more valuable for her readers than her refined but overly polished advice. Despite her improved approach to advice that resonates with viewers, Violet is becoming reckless and once her identity is exposed, shes no longer able to separate Violet the person from her advice column.

Her dark night of the soul comes, and the question is how she will rebuild from it? As all of this is happening, she is also progressing with firefighter Dez, but this plot feels secondary to the story of Violet. Will she be able to heal herself and find love again? And when she does, will it be with Dez, Sam, or someone else?

A great story full of funny moments and emotional ones that all culminate in a journey of reflection and healing. I loved this book!

Thank you to Berkley Publishing for my copy. Opinions are my own.

About the Author | Libby Hubscher

Libby Hubscher is an author of romantic dramedies and a scientist. She studied biology at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine and holds a doctor of philosophy in molecular toxicology from North Carolina State University. Her work has appeared online and in textbooks, scientific journals, and literary journals. In 2018, her short story “The Unwelcome Guest” was long-listed for the Wigleaf Top 50.  She lives near Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband, two kids, and a menagerie of pets. You can find her on Twitter @emhubscher and on Instagram @libbyhubscher.