My final read of 2016 was the (unfortunately named) Ally Hughes Has Sex Sometimes by Jules Moulin. It’s a light read about Ally Hughes, a professor and single mother in her early 40s with a twenty-year old daughter named Lizzie. When Lizzie was ten, she went to stay at her grandmother’s house so that Ally, then an economics/women studies professor at Brown, could grade papers all weekend. While Lizzie was gone, Ally ended up hooking up with Jake, one of her former students who had come over to do some household repairs for her. Over the course of the weekend together, Ally fell for him, despite their age difference and the fact that he had been her student. Ally decides not to pursue him, though, because she doesn’t want to lose her job and she’s focused on being a mother.
Ten years later, Jake is now Noah, an A-list actor with a new name and an impressive list of credits. Ally, who doesn’t pay attention to pop culture or technology, has no idea who Noah is when he shows up at her house for dinner one night, accompanying Lizzie. She is shocked to find her former crush, Jake, in her kitchen. But is Jake surprised? Or has he orchestrated the evening just to get back in touch with Ally?
Ally Hughes Has Sex Sometimes was easy to finish, which is what I needed in these waning hours of the year. But it’s a somewhat silly story. Jake is just too good to be true, and Moulin tried too hard to make Ally seem “complicated”. Lizzie was self-absorbed and annoying, despite a twist at the end that shows that she’s actually pretty smart. The dialogue was unrealistic and confusing at times, and there were characters and references who floated in and and out and/or made no sense. It’s basically a romance novel with a little bit of edge.
Again, this was a light read that served its purpose. Not the most fulfilling, but quick and fun and sorta cute.