Erin Hahn's Built to Last is a sparkling second chance romance about owning what you're worth and fighting for the one who got away.
As someone whose house was damaged during Hurricane Ida in 2021, I have been spending a lot of time recently on home renovations and decor, and funny enough, reading novels that feature plots about home renovation and decor! It definitely feels like “fixer uppers” are having a moment in fiction right now, so if you love books where characters build a home they love alongside a person that they love, you’re in for a treat!
The latest novel to hit the home makeover scene is YA-author-turned-adult-novelist Erin Hahn’s Built to Last. This cheeky, sassy rom-com incorporates home renovations, former child stars, and HGTV all in one fast-paced, heartwarming story. This book tells the story of three former singing-dancing child TV stars who wind up working on a home renovation TV show together in their 20s.
Shelby Springfield, the girl of this trio, found herself torn between her two co-stars - Cameron Riggs and Lyle Jessup - as a teen, and after a very public break-up with Lyle (think Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake-level drama) and an even more public break-down, Shelby has stepped out of the spotlight and into the workshop, where she has done furniture restoration as part of her dad’s house flipping business ever since.
When Shelby is given the opportunity to work alongside Cameron on an HGTV-esque home renovation show called HomeMade, she isn’t keen on the idea because Lyle is producing, but she wouldn’t mind spending more time with Cameron, who has had her heart since they were kids. Little does she know that Cameron feels the same way about her, and as the two former sweethearts rekindle a home together, they discover they are also rekindling their romance.
Built to Last is not short on entertaining plot points, including the home makeover reality TV show, Shelby’s questionable past and her selfish stage mother, the drama of Shelby and Lyle’s break-up, and the trio’s former lives as child stars - there’s a lot to keep readers turning the pages here. This second chance romance is witty and steamy, and feels like it is written for Millennial romance readers. It makes sense that Hahn would write a “young” romance for adults since her area of expertise is YA. The book moves quickly, and is told from both Shelby and Cameron’s POVs, giving us a glimpse into both of their thoughts of their former and rekindled romance. My biggest fault with this light-hearted novel is that once Shelby and Cameron have reconnected, his personality seems to change and he becomes a typical sex-obsessed guy à la romance novels everywhere.
Built to Last is recommended to those who loved How to Hate Your Neighbor, Lucy Checks In, and Love at First Spite.
- Brooke, Public Relations Librarian