Mabel Willicker is a cheerful and friendly ghostwriter, but doesn't quite have the confidence to write her own stories. When she gets selected as a replacement ghostwriter for Alfie Harding, she's not very excited, especially since Alfie has already gone through multiple writers and lives up to his jerky reputation. Alfie is no more excited than she is - Mabel is everything he's not, and he's not ready to adopt her particular brand of lighthearted cheeriness. But as they each get to know the true person below the grump and sunshine surfaces, Mabel and Alfie learn that it may not take much to adapt to each other.

This is the first of two Ted Lasso-inspired stories, with Alfie as the stand-in for Roy Kent. Does that mean I'm particularly predisposed to enjoying this? Yes. Is Roy Kent my favorite TV grump? Also yes.

So all that being said, this is a light and fluffy confection of a story, with very low stakes and an outcome that you know is coming the whole time. Mabel is a lovely FMC who makes mostly reasonable decisions, but is also frustratingly obtuse about Alfie and his feelings. The miscommunication toward the end of the story is as frustrating as miscommunication often is, but that's obviously not entirely on Mabel.

But while Alfie also bears responsibility for the 3rd-act breakup, I still adore him because he's Roy Kent-coded, whether that's fair or not. The way he clearly loves Mabel is wonderful, and his gruff exterior is very funny and charming.

If you're a fan of Ted Lasso, this is a lovely homage. It's very light, low stakes, and not particularly deep, but still a fun way to spend a few hours.