REVIEW: This Disaster Loves You by Richard Roper

This Disaster Loves You by Richard Roper: Life as Brian knew chanced six years, eleven months, one week and two days ago, it was the day that his wife Lily disappeared. Not a day has gone by without Brian thinking about Lily or hoping to find her again, however their beloved pub has taken a bit of a beating in Lily’s absence, so when he finds an active TripAdvisor called PinkMoonLily1972 on the anniversary of her disappearance, Brian just knows that this is a sign that she is still out there somewhere and he needs to find her. Which is how he finds himself jumping from destination to another with the help of his new travel buddy Tess, as they try to find Lily. Soon what started out as a mission to find Lily becomes a journey of reflection and new discoveries about the truth behind their relationship, forcing Brian to decide if he wants to continue to live in the past or to take a leap of faith into something unexpected…

This Disaster Loves You was a heartbreakingly beautiful read. This book is packed with so much of heart and soulful emotions, it was truly impossible not to get invested in Brian’s story. The only thing that I was not largely a fan of was the constant jumps between timelines of the story, though in this book I found that it kind of worked in helping understand how and why things were unfolding the way that they were. I will say that Roper has done a great job in setting the scene of the bar and capturing all of the characters that were instrumental in what made up that environment, though I couldn’t help but feel like we could have had a bit more from Jeff and his storyline.

This book largely focus on Brian and his journey to find the way forward after Lily disappeared. Brian was truly a soft character, his love and dedication to Lily could not be questioned and for that I had to say he did melt my heart a bit. Though there were a few moments that I just couldn’t help but want to shake some sense into him, especially when it came to his search for Lily. I will say that I liked the way that the entire story wraps up, it has a nice sense of closure and we come to understand a lot of unanswered questions from the beginning of the book. As for Tess, well I just loved her sassy banter and the lightness that she brought to the story. I liked the way that Tess and Brian bonded over the end of their respective relationships, and that she largely helped give him a much needed push towards the end.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I don’t think I can really say that I loved it. Yes, it was a good read with an emotional and heartfelt journey but this really wasn’t not the book I had expected it to be. In saying this I will still recommend reading This Disaster Loves You.

Book Info:

Publication: February 13, 2024 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |

From the author of Something to Live For , a poignant and funny story about a man whose wife disappeared seven years ago and his journey to find her or find out what happened, interwoven with the story of their relationship, revealing how sometimes the biggest secrets are the ones we keep from ourselves.

Twenty years of love. Seven years of absence. One journey to find out what happened.

Brian’s wife, Lily, disappeared from his life without a trace six years, eleven months, one week, and two days ago, but Brian never lost hope. Since her disappearance their once beloved English pub—and Brian’s livelihood—has been crumbling piece by piece. As the anniversary of her absence approaches, Brian desperately needs a sign. One doom-scroll on his business’s reviews later, he finds an active TripAdvisor account for PinkMoonLily1972 that he knows in his heart is his Lily.

Interspliced with Brian’s journey to find Lily is the story of their love—how it started, and the twists and turns that brought them to this moment. As Brian jumps from one destination to the next to find Lily, and the truth behind their story comes into focus, Brian comes back to life with the help of Tess, a sarcastic, kind, and surprising traveling companion. But in order to move forward he’ll need to decide—stay in the past or take a chance on something unexpected.