REVIEW: The Reunion by Kayla Olson

In The Reunion by Kayla Olson, Liv Latimer spent most of her teenage years filming the TV show, Girl on the Verge. And for six seasons, she and the rest of the cast lived directly in the media spotlight with tons of pressure to be as perfect off-set as they were on the screen. That’s one of the reasons Liv has only taken smaller movie roles and has stayed out of the public eye since. But it has also meant not spending time with her former best friend and on-screen love interest, Ransom Joel. He’s gone on to make a huge name for himself as an action star on the big screen. But for fourteen years, there’s been only the occasional text when there would have once been constant daily contact between them.

‘We lock eyes, and oh–this is new. In all the times I’ve looked at him as more than just a friend, I’ve never seen those feelings reflected back at me with such sparkling clarity.’

Now that Liv has signed on for a reunion episode of Girl on the Verge, a nod to the show’s twentieth anniversary since it first aired, she’ll come face to face with all of her previous castmates. Including Ransom. And, wouldn’t you know, but it’s like no time has passed. Liv, Ransom, and their other close friend Ford Brooks, fall right back into their old dynamic. Well, almost. Because now with fourteen years’ worth of growth and life experience under their belts, Liv can tell that what she and Ransom have now is something true. Something so real that it takes her breath away. If they can just stay out of the public’s scrutiny for a while, maybe they just might have a shot at a relationship this time around.

‘People have a hard time separating us from our characters, I know that. Sometimes we have a hard time separating ourselves from them, too.’

A reunion of not only former TV cast members but also of two former best friends, Kayla Olson’s latest novel paired all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood with a lovely romance that was two decades in the making.

‘He grins. Our eyes meet, and for a split second I’m sixteen again, the girl who was only just starting to realize she was falling in love with the boy in front of her and not just acting out the part.’

The Reunion was a shining example of the friends to lovers trope done exceedingly well. Former co-stars Liv and Ransom literally grew up on the set of their uber popular TV show, Girl on the Verge, as teens and became fast friends over the six years the show ran. Told from Liv’s POV, it was both fun and bittersweet to get her take on their history and how things went awry between her and Ransom–as well as how it had been about fourteen years since they’d really had any contact.

Kayla Olson created a ton of sparks between Liv and Ransom. Something that all of their cast members and friends could see plain as day. But it felt extremely realistic that the duo couldn’t get their heads wrapped around the possibility of them becoming an *actual* couple thanks to not only the media and the fact that they played boyfriend/girlfriend on TV, but also because of people close to them giving possible misinformation. Olson used strategic social media posts in between chapters to show how easy it would be for either Ransom or Liv to believe the rumors–as well as giving insight into gossip about other castmates. It all added up to be a very entertaining read but one that also had tons of heart and a good dash of steam without being explicit.

QOTD: Did you have a favorite teen drama TV show growing up?

Book Info:

Publication: Published January 17th 2023 | by Atria Books |

When two former teen stars reconnect at the reunion for their hit TV show, they discover their feelings for one another were not merely scripted in this charming and heartwarming novel perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Sally Thorne.

Liv Latimer grew up on TV.

As the star of the popular teen drama Girl on the Verge, Liv spent her adolescence on the screen trying to be as picture perfect as her character in real life. But after the death of her father and the betrayal of her on-screen love interest and off-screen best friend Ransom Joel, Liv wanted nothing more than to retreat, living a mostly normal life aside from a few indie film roles. But now, twenty years after the show’s premiere, the cast is invited back for a reunion special, financed by a major streaming service.

Liv is happy to be back on set, especially once she discovers Ransom has only improved with age. And their chemistry is certainly still intact. They quickly fall into their old rhythms, rediscovering what had drawn them together decades before. But with new rivalries among the cast emerging and the specter of a reboot shadowing their shoot, Liv questions whether returning to the past is what she needs to finally get her own happy ending.