Welcome back to Love or Like?! A speedy and spoiler-free review of romance novels I genuinely enjoyed. Today, we dive into Hayley Fleming’s debut novel, Thighs Wide Shut.
Emma thought her late twenties couldn’t get more complicated. But then she quit her teaching job and moved across the country—only to find herself living right below the man she tried for years to avoid.
Emma hasn’t seen Harrison since an explosive fight ended their college friendship and eliminated the possibility of anything more ever happening between them. Now that his apartment is right above hers, Emma is privy to every detail of his active (and noisy) dating life. She knows she has only herself to blame for their estrangement: her inability to be honest with Harrison drove him away. It’s clear he’s moved on; why can’t she?
Presented with an opportunity to reignite the long-smoldering flames of their relationship, Emma realizes that to seize the moment, she will have to finally face the women’s health condition holding her back from intimacy and truly open up. But can she let her desires overcome the resistance in her mind and body?
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance
Publisher: The Dial Press
Publication: July 21, 2026
Page Count: 348
Tropes/Themes: second chances, miscommunication & friends to lovers.
Heat:🌶️x 3
Emma struggles with vaginismus, a condition which leaves her both embarrassed and an unwilling virgin in her late 20s. What is vaginismus? It is the involuntary (and painful) contraction of the pelvic floor in response to attempted penetration. As you might imagine, this puts a downer on Emma’s dating life.
Then we have Harrison, her former best friend and now new upstairs neighbor. He is also the man whose heart she cruelly broke five years ago. How is a girl to deal? As Emma navigates her new life in Boston, she attempts to make amends and rekindle her friendship with Harrison, while struggling to open up (pun intended) to him.
This cute second chance romance is charming, witty and filled with miscommunication. While sex is at the center of this romance, this is not a “sexy” romance, but a tender one.
Some links in this newsletter are affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.