I liked the fake dating with a high school acquaintance angle and the white collar / blue collar contrasts, and I really loved the grandmother and the deli and the small town outside of Boston. I liked the premise of how a town would be changed with the arrival of an Eataly type mega-market, not just for the food businesses that directly compete but also with shopper traffic, rents, and infrastructure. I didn't love how judgy Ellie was. She makes assumptions about everyone and then is constantly surprised that people are nicer or more sincere than she expects.

(I spent a lot of time trying to figure out where this imaginary town is and landed on it being south of Boston like the Foxborough area since characters take 93 and the tunnel into the city even though the author is from the North Shore. Jilly Gagnon if you see this, I'd love to know!)

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. I am required by federal law to disclose this.