Ex and The City by Sally Clements; Fluffy Rom Com With Some Edges
By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: Ex and The City by Sally Clements seems like a fluffy light Second Chance Rom Com/Chick Lit about ex spouses working together on a project. However if you look beyond the formula, there are some deeper edges about toxic relationships, the pressures of fame, and the complexities of balancing a public persona with a private life.
Country singer Stacy Gold needs a new opportunity to branch out and refocus after her career goes into decline. That's where her ex husband, Adam Logan comes in. He is the CEO of Plaxair, an animated production company. His latest film features a singing squirrel and unfortunately his first choice is caught in a scandal so who can he call to fill the role? Why who else but his ex-wife Stacy of course.
There is enough sugar and sweetness in this book to spare but the darker edges keep it from being too mawkish and cloying. It plays with and slightly stretches the formula while sticking to it.
It has the usual Second Chance Romance tropes, so present that even someone like me who hasn't read a lot of them can identify them. There are the dates, intimate conversations, and sexual by play before they completely reconcile. Stacy and Adam go through fights and misunderstanding but clearly still care about each other.
Another trope explored is the cute endearing couple brought together by outside circumstances, in this case making a movie. It is actually an interesting look at the making of an animated film. Adam and his colleagues watch different shows and movies to match a potential voice to Bibi Squirrel, their film’s protagonist.
They weigh options as they look for a famous name that will draw in audiences, does not bring objectionable controversy (like Stacy’s predecessor did), and also to find someone who has the personality, voice, and demeanor to play an ingenue squirrel. There are endless voice over sessions where Stacy works alone in a studio and has to keep her energy and Bibi’s character going as she reads the script.
The behind the scenes details of making an animated film sprinkle throughout the book. For example, Stacy records Bibi’s voice as computer animators model Bibi’s facial expressions and body movements around her. Animation fans might enjoy this inside look at the animation process wrapped inside a Second Chance Romance.
Other tropes in this book are misunderstandings and other people that influenced Adam and Stacy’s breakup. After all, if there were actual potentially toxic reasons like infidelity, addiction, abuse, and so on we would not be rooting for these two kids to get back together.
In this case most of the break up is engineered by Stacy’s unscrupulous manager, Lester. He isolated Stacy by causing her to doubt Adam's intentions to keep her under his management. Lester is a particularly sinister addition to what is usually a light hearted fluffy subgenre in Romance. He also is who turns the book into a much darker, more layered narrative than is expected.
He has all of the symptoms of being an abuser particularly with how he arranged Stacy and Lester's divorce. He withholds money and information from her. He love bomb her after she is rejected by her birth parents. He makes her think that he is the only trustworthy person in her life.
Unfortunately, Stacy is so susceptible to his manipulations that she can't completely cut off from Lester even when she finds out about his duplicity. She considers him a father figure to her and integral to the beginning of her career. It's a toxic relationship that she still can't walk away from personally even when she has to professionally.
In fact within the romance, there is an ongoing theme of Adam and Stacy moving forward creatively. Adam runs his own animation company so he and his staff can make movies that they care about and have a final say in the production. It's clear that he sees animation beyond just a children's medium but a legitimate work of art that appeals to all ages.
Stacy also has ideas about moving forward in her career. Lester wants her to perform her older songs and look like the girl from her first album. But she writes deeper, more personal songs and matures in appearance. She has grown in age and experience and wants to express that. If she can't do it with Lester, then she intends to do it by herself. Bibi and Adam provide that first step.
Ex and The City can fall into formula but it also shows how people can change themselves by separating from toxic influences and exploring their professional creativity to form a real partnership.
