The Things We Leave Unfinished

by Rebecca Yarros

Overview

Told in alternating timelines, THE THINGS WE LEAVE UNFINISHED examines the risks we take for love, the scars too deep to heal, and the endings we can’t bring ourselves to see coming.

Twenty-eight-year-old Georgia Stanton has to start over after she gave up almost everything in a brutal divorce—the New York house, the friends, and her pride. Now back home at her late great-grandmother’s estate in Colorado, she finds herself face-to-face with Noah Harrison, the bestselling author of a million books where the cover is always people nearly kissing. He’s just as arrogant in person as in interviews, and she’ll be damned if the good-looking writer of love stories thinks he’s the one to finish her grandmother’s final novel…even if the publisher swears he’s the perfect fit.

Noah is at the pinnacle of his career. With book and movie deals galore, there isn’t much the “golden boy” of modern fiction hasn’t accomplished. But he can’t walk away from what might be the best book of the century—the one his idol, Scarlett Stanton, left unfinished. Coming up with a fitting ending for the legendary author is one thing, but dealing with her beautiful, stubborn, cynical great-granddaughter, Georgia, is quite another.

But as they read Scarlett’s words in both the manuscript and her box of letters, they start to realize why Scarlett never finished the book—it’s based on her real-life romance with a World War II pilot, and the ending isn’t a happy one. Georgia knows all too well that love never works out, and while the chemistry and connection between her and Noah is undeniable, she’s as determined as ever to learn from her great-grandmother’s mistakes—even if it means destroying Noah’s career.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781682815663
Publisher:	Entangled Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	02/23/2021
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	1,819
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Rebecca Yarros is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than fifteen novels, with multiple starred Publishers Weekly reviews and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. A second-generation army brat, Rebecca loves military heroes and has been blissfully married to hers for more than twenty years. She’s the mother of six children, and she and her family live in Colorado with their stubborn English bulldogs, two feisty chinchillas, and a cat named Artemis, who rules them all.

Having fostered, then adopted their youngest daughter, Rebecca is passionate about helping children in the foster system through her nonprofit, One October, which she cofounded with her husband in 2019. To learn more about their mission, visit oneoctober.org.

To catch up on Rebecca’s latest releases and upcoming novels, visit RebeccaYarros.com.

Editorial Reviews

★ 01/11/2021

Yarros (Great and Precious Things) masterfully weaves two love stories—one in the present day and one during WWII—into an ambitious story of family, sacrifice, and trust. Following a high-profile divorce, Georgia Stanton returns to Poplar Grove, Colo., to take over the estate of her late great-grandmother, Scarlett Stanton, an immensely successful romance novelist and owner of Poplar Grove’s beloved bookstore. In an unguarded interaction with a bookstore customer, Georgia dismisses the works of popular author Noah Harrison as “boy meets girl, they fall in love, tragedy strikes, someone dies.” Of course it turns out that she’s speaking to Noah himself—and he’s in town to negotiate the rights to complete Scarlett’s unfinished masterpiece, a romance based on her own great love. Scarlett met American pilot Jameson Stanton while working for the British Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Their love story unfolds in Scarlett’s drafted manuscript and through a collection of love letters that Noah hopes to use as source material. Noah persuades Georgia to trust him to craft a happy ending worthy of her great-grandmother’s legacy, but will they be able to find one of their own? Yarros’s characters are vibrant and her story gripping. Readers will be wowed. Agent: Louise Fury, the Bent Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

2021-01-20
In Yarros’ latest romance novel, a young woman hires a handsome but infuriating writer to complete her late great-grandmother’s half-finished book.

After her marriage to a Hollywood producer ends in high-profile divorce, 28-year-old Georgia Stanton returns to her childhood home in Colorado. When she arrives at the house where she was raised by her great-grandma—the famous romance author Scarlett Stanton—she finds her mother, Ava, lying in wait. Georgia is in possession of the only unfinished manuscript that her deceased relative left behind, and her own mom wants her to sell the rights so they can get some cash. Georgia succumbs to the pressure and enters a deal in which another author will finish the book’s second half. The manuscript tells Scarlett’s life story, including how she found, and lost, her one true love. Georgia feels strongly that the finished novel must reflect the true events of Scarlett’s life, as difficult as they may have been. Unfortunately, the publishers hire Noah Harrison, a stubborn writer at the height of his career, who has his own fictional vision for the novel’s ending. As Noah and Georgia butt heads, each of them researches Scarlett’s history in England during World War II. As they learn more about Scarlett and Jameson Stanton, the fighter pilot she loved, Georgia and Noah must navigate their own increasingly complicated relationship. With two equally engrossing storylines, this book will draw in even seasoned romance readers. As the story jumps between past and present, the author also alternates present-day perspectives between Georgia and Noah, moving deftly between her characters’ distinct voices. The relationships are well developed, and the love that Scarlett felt for Jameson is especially palpable. Along with the sweetly romantic themes, the book explores several heftier topics, including personal ambition, grief, family discord, and self-esteem. The story has a few digressions that do little to advance the plot, but the main characters are sufficiently engrossing that readers will want to stick with them to the end.

A charming dual-timeline romance about learning from past mistakes.

Kirkus Reviews