The Ex Talk, by Rachel Lynn Solomon

13 October 2021

How far would you go to save the organisation that has employed you for ten years, a place so beloved, you couldn’t imagine working anywhere else? For Shay, a producer at a radio station in the American city of Seattle, the question seemed like a no-brainer until she was told she must co-host a new show with a colleague, Dominic, whom she detests.

As if that’s not bad enough, she and Dominic need to pose as exes, dispensing relationship advice to their listeners. This is the premise of The Ex Talk (published by Penguin Random House, January 2021), by Netherlands based American author Rachel Lynn Solomon. To the surprise of everyone, especially Shay and Dominic, the show becomes a hit, but as their success grows, the two hosts become ever more uncomfortable with the lie they are forced to live.

The Ex Talk has divided reviewers on Goodreads. Some people feel the story is a tad predictable – would a rom-com be a rom-com if it wasn’t? – while others are, if I may, enamoured by it. I’m yet to partake, so I can’t tell you what I think, but it was the plot outline that caught my eye: would devising story scenarios be the most enjoyable part of writing fiction?