A Novel Love Story

Anders is Elsy’s love interest and a foil to her throughout much of the novel. Whereas Elsy is friendly and optimistic, Anders is often cold and pessimistic. He grew up in Los Angeles with his parents and sister and was neighbors with Rachel Flowers. Anders and Rachel went to middle and high school together and started dating just before prom. Anders went to New York City for college and graduate school, wanting to be as far away from his parents as possible, and he and Rachel eventually became engaged. Anders got his dream job working as a book reviewer for The New York Times and felt lucky when he got the chance to review a romance novel, as romance is his favorite genre.

A few years before the beginning of A Novel Love Story, Anders and Rachel got in a car accident where they were hit by a drunk driver, killing Rachel. Anders didn’t know how to live without Rachel and fell into a depression where he began to lose interest even in books. One day, without a specific reason, he decided to return to the spot where Rachel was killed in upstate New York, and there he stumbled upon the fictional town of Eloraton. Wanting to be close to Rachel and live in the world she created, Anders decided to stay in Eloraton for years. He took up a position as a background character in the stories of Rachel’s protagonists, opening up the vacated bookstore Ineffable Books and letting each day pass the same way.

Wanting everything to stay exactly how Rachel left it, Anders resents Elsy when she arrives in Eloraton and things begin to change. However, through Elsy, Anders learns the importance of change and moving on. He ultimately realizes that, though Rachel is gone, she and her stories live on through people like Elsy, who keep Eloraton alive. While in Eloraton, Anders looks for pieces of himself, thinking that Rachel might have included him and their love story in her novels. Though Anders is unable to see it, Elsy shows him how bits and pieces of him exist in all the characters. Anders ultimately moves on from Eloraton—which vanishes after he returns to the real world—and decides that he wants to live like the main character of his own story and take a chance on the future.

Pru is Elsy’s longtime best friend and favorite person, who Elsy wants to spend the rest of her life beside. The two have planned out their lives together and have been by each other’s side at every important moment. Whereas Elsy describes herself as a secondary character, she describes Pru as the main character in her own story, as she always has the confidence and courage to do what she wants. Pru often gives Elsy the confidence she needs to take chances, such as when she established an online book club without Elsy knowing. Pru and Elsy share a profound love of the Quixotic Falls novels, and the thought of this is what ultimately leads Elsy to leave Eloraton to return to her best friend. Right before the events of the novel, Elsy knew that Pru was about to become engaged to her boyfriend, Jasper, when he booked them a last-minute trip to Iceland, causing Pru to cancel the annual book club retreat. Pru ultimately feels guilty about this, knowing that there are things Elsy is not telling her, so she leaves Iceland early to return to Elsy, where they begin talks of opening a bookstore together. Though Elsy recognizes that Pru’s life is moving on in certain ways, she also learns how loyal Pru is and that she has no intention of abandoning her best friend.

Rachel is the author of the Quixotic Falls series and Anders’s late fiancée. She grew up with Anders, who influenced many of the characters and content of her writing. Though relatively little else is known about her life, she is described by others as kind and creative. Elsy particularly loves Rachel for her ability to transport her to fictional worlds and make the experience feel magical, an idea Anders also echoes. The one time when Elsy and Pru met her in person, Elsy found her to be surprisingly normal but like someone who could easily be their friend. Rachel was open and generous at this meeting, which is part of the reason why it was such a surprise to Elsy when she was killed in a car accident when she was only 32, Elsy’s age in the novel. Rachel’s novels were well loved by a small yet dedicated fanbase during her lifetime, but her tragic death caused the Quixotic Falls novels to surge in popularity. Though she never told the public that she had started the fifth novel in the series, she left Anders with a nearly finished copy in which everyone gets their happy ending. Though she died before the beginning of A Novel Love Story, Rachel is still one of the most influential characters for the protagonists of the novel.

Liam is Elsy’s ex-fiancé at the beginning of A Novel Love Story, yet he still has a strong influence over Elsy and all her decisions after he has left her life. The couple met at a New Year’s Eve party at which Liam was bartending. He made Elsy feel safe and seen while she felt lonely, leading her to kiss him at midnight, beginning their relationship. Liam and Elsy’s relationship took off quickly, and she learned everything about him, from where he was born to how he liked his burgers cooked. However, Liam rarely took the time to learn about Elsy. Their relationship was characterized by Liam’s decisions and interests, and Elsy’s personality became absorbed into his. Elsy wanted to be likable for Liam, believing that she had found her “happily ever after” with him, so she went to music festivals, went on hikes, and planned a wedding all because Liam wanted to. Liam ended the engagement a week before their wedding, saying that it was because he hardly knew Elsy but also because he had met someone at work. A few months after their breakup, Liam became engaged to this woman, and they married shortly before the events of the novel. However, when Elsy meets Liam again at the opening of her bookstore, he mentions liking whatever his wife likes, showing an ironic shift in his character that Elsy feels vindicated by.