Good at Being Alive

by Elizabeth O'Roark

First published 2026

Rebecca "Bex" Daniels faces catastrophe after losing her father, stepmother, and stepsister in a train accident. The family travel agency teeters on bankruptcy until her father's British partner Theo Porter reveals their last option: a reality show requiring them to pretend they're newlyweds on a European honeymoon. Bex, a party girl grieving alone, clashes immediately with the rigid CEO. Yet as cameras follow them from Capri's sunlit coastlines to Paris streets and remote fjords, their heated exchanges shift into something deeper. Bex sees past Theo's stern exterior to find humor, protectiveness, and kindness. Theo finds himself drawn into Bex's chaotic energy despite his determination to avoid real connection after his brother's death. Their fake marriage becomes harder to distinguish from genuine attraction as they navigate public scandals and crushing loss. The question remains whether they can overcome their emotional wounds to build something real once filming ends.

Genres: romance, grief, contemporary-romance, family-drama

Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful

Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, fake-dating, found-family

Setting: Capri, Europe, Paris, United Kingdom

Period: 21st-century

368 pages · Paperback · Dell

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