DON’T TELL ME HOW IT ENDS
Dial/Penguin Random House, SPRING 2026
Kaia Harper isn’t “bad at love.” That would imply she’s trying.
A floundering twenty-something, who’s sworn off romance finds herself roped into her meddling sister’s matchmaking business—in this sparkling debut rom-com that asks if we can protect ourselves while falling.
Kaia Harper may not have a plan for her life, but she knows what she won’t be doing—falling for somebody’s dusty son, promising forever. She’d rather spend the summer after college having disappointing one-night stands and watching crime show reruns. At least those things can’t catch her off guard—she already knows how all those stories end.
But when her very pregnant and newly single sister calls for reinforcements, Kaia reroutes, stumbling back home to suburban Connecticut…and into the business plan of her sister’s new matchmaking company. Kaia’s views on love remain as bleak as her career prospects, but if posing as the inaugural client helps silence her existential questions—like “What am I even doing with my life?”—Kaia will suffer through a few bad dates and call it a favor.
When Ro Jackson finds Kaia stalled on the side of the road, he isn’t put off by her antagonistic mood. His steady disposition is Kaia’s opposite and makes him exactly what she needs—a friend in town who can handle her just as she is. But as Ro talks Kaia through a summer of failed matches, she finds herself drawn to more than just his poetic outlook and friendship.
Kaia hadn’t seen this one coming, but as she and Ro grow closer, she’ll have to decide what’s more important: needing to know the end of every story, or jumping into the unknown.