One Week Later by KJ Micciche Book Review
I recently listened to the audiobook of One Week Later by K.J. Micciche, and it’s the perfect Summer read. I might be saying this because it’s 94 degrees in May and I have Summer on my mind, but I also might be saying this because it’s a sweet love story that begins on an Aruba vacation.
Are you interested? Good! Because I’m not kidding. This book is an emotionally layered journey that will break your heart. But keep reading because it will also put your heart back together. This is a story of what happens on vacation, when you’re away from your real life.
I’ll be sharing all of my thoughts and opinions in today’s book review of One Week Later by K.J. Micciche.
And if you enjoy romance novels, you can read more of my romance book reviews here.
Trigger Warning
This book containts themes of profound grief, as one of the main characters suffers from the loss of a parent. You may want to skip this one if that gives you an unsettling feeling. Always put yourself and your mental health first!
What is One Week Later by K.J. Micciche About?
They had one perfect week. Then they vanished from each other’s lives—until his book inadvertently made her the villain.
Two years ago, romance novelist Melody Adams and aspiring author Beckett Nash met on a sun-soaked vacation in Aruba. Seven days of stolen moments, midnight swims, and intimate conversations left them both certain they’d found the real thing. Then a tangle of missed flights, mixed signals, and bad timing tore them apart before they could say goodbye. Neither could reach the other—so both assumed they’d been dumped.
And both did what writers do: they turned heartbreak into a novel.
Now Beckett’s debut has made him a literary sensation. Melody’s book? Critics call it a shameless rip-off. The only way to salvage her career—and her sanity—is to reconnect with Beckett and set the record straight. There’s just one problem: Beckett is engaged to someone else. And seeing each other again reminds them of exactly what they lost…and how much they both still want. (from Amazon.com)
My Initial Thoughts
I listened to the audiobook and so it was very interesting to listen to Melody and Beckett’s story unfold. Because their initial meeting was 2 years ago, the story is told through 2 different timelines: the past and the present. There’s also this fiction aspect because in the present, Melody is reading Beckett’s book (that is loosely based off their own love story).
It’s a little hard to keep track of! I really enjoyed the story, but I think it might have been easier to understand if I read the paperback. But that’s just me.
I love to read about writers and so this book was right up my alley.
The Main Plot
I felt that this was a very unique story. Melody and Beckett meet while on vacation in Aruba. And although Melody tries to avoid him at first, there’s not denying their attraction. He’s just so sweet. It really made me smile how he got Melody to open up little by little. It was clear to me that she was being brave and doing things that she wouldn’t normally do, all because of Beckett’s encouragement.
This book is a sexy love story and a passionate second chance romance all in one. I wasn’t sure how the two stories were going to connect at first, but I thought K.J. Micciche did a good job of connecting them and bringing the characters back to each other.
You Need to Suspend Your Disbelief a Little
I found it a little hard to believe that nobody caught how similar Beckett and Melody’s stories were prior to them publishing them. It’s not like I’m an expert in the publishing industry, but I’ve watched Younger. It seems like publishing people would talk about their similarities beforehand.
But in the end, does that really matter? Probably not. It made for a good plot device and an interesting story. Being accudes of creative theft could totally ruin Melody’s career, so it added some high stakes to the story.
I Listened to The Audiobook
With this being a dual-timeline narrative, there are two narrators for this audiobook. Melody’s parts are narrated by Kristen Leigh while Beckett’s parts are narrated by Nick Mills. Both of them did a good job but I think Kristen nailed the sweetness of Melody. The audiobook is 9 hours and 55 minutes long, so if you need something to listen to on a road trip, I’d highly recommend this romantic gem.
Who Will Enjoy This Book?
That’s a good question. I think this contemporary romance is perfect for fans of Emily Henry, since it’s about writers. I love that most of Emily’s books have to do with books and writing in some capacity. There’s also the added bonus that Melody is a high school english teacher, which also adds to her interesting backstory.
I would recommend it to readers who enjoy contemporary romance stories that also feature emotional subplots. Melody’s Mom was a really enjoyable character to read about and I love how her good advice and love for her daughter was woven into this story.
In Conclusion
Thanks so much for checking out my book review of One Week Later by K.J. Micciche! I thought it was a really fun story idea to have to writers accidentally publish the same book (based off of their own love story). I’m sure that people in publishing are like, “That would never happen”, but I know nothing about the world of publishing so I’ll stay blissfully unaware, thank you.
One Week Later is an emptionally layered journey of letting go and giving true love a chance. It’s a story that starts with a simple meet-cute at the airport, but continues on to tell a story about grief and love with emptional depth.
