It's Different This Time

This was a wonderful contemporary romance set in New York City filled with two of my favourite romance tropes: second chance romance and friends to lovers. Add in great tension, some spice and found family, and I was totally swooning over this debut book by Canadian author Joss Richard.

This is a story about two ex-roommates who are forced back into each other's lives after their former landlord leaves them his amazing brownstone in NYC. Naturally. It gives serious RomCom movie vibes with its setting, awesome banter, romantic NYC setting and unresolved feelings between two people who have a LOT of history. 

The story is told in dual timelines, both of which were equally compelling and the complications between the two felt so REAL! Adam was *sigh* perfection and June was ... complicated. She had a lot of insecurities, but I appreciated how Richard helped the reader understand June's internal struggles and how her emotional baggage continued to impact her life. 

This is a page-turner of a romance for readers who like some humour, heart, complicated feelings and a couple you'll totally root for. I don't know who recommended this book (I have a feeling it was a fellow bookstagrammer) but THANK YOU!

I am delighted to have found this author and was in awe that this was her debut.  I cannot wait to read Joss' upcoming book Let's Kiss and Tell which hits stores in August 2026!

 

My Rating: 4.5 stars

Author: Joss Richard

Genre: Romance, Canadian

Type and Source: Trade paperback from public library

Publisher: Viking (PRHC)

First Published: Sept 30, 2025

Read: May 14-17, 2026

Book Description from GoodReads: In this sweeping, second-chance romance, a twist of fate forces two former roommates to move back into their beloved New York City brownstone and face the events that led to their estrangement—and confront their unresolved feelings for each other.

Subject 74 Perry Street

So begins the email that turns June Wood’s entire world on its head. Five years ago, she lived on Perry Street with her former best friend Adam Harper. But why is the management company reaching out to her about it now? 

Still smarting from the news of her hit TV show being canceled, June has nothing else to lose. She boards a plane from Los Angeles to New York City to find out more about the mysterious email and the promised opportunity it alludes to. It turns out that, thanks to an unbelievable legal loophole, if she and Adam can live together in the stunning West Village brownstone for a month, it’s theirs. Any true New Yorker knows you don’t pass up prime city real estate, and that fall in the city is magical—so what’s there to think about?

And yet, though most things have changed in the time since they last spoke, one thing hasn’ June and Adam have unfinished business. They didn’t exactly end on good terms when they each went off to chase their dreams. Now, confronted with the consequences of their choices, they must navigate the minefield of their past the best way they know together.

Every day they move closer to owning Perry Street reveals misunderstandings, long-term resentments, and long-buried feelings . . . which are suddenly feeling very, very not so buried. But they’ve already lost their friendship once before, devastating them both. Can they risk losing it again for something a little different this time?