I may have mentioned (once or twice or a dozen times) that I am not much of a romance reader. I’m not fond of the prevailing tropes of enemies-to-friends or city-folk-migrate-to-a-small-town-and-fall-in-love; I find the ways many romance authors choose to put their protagonists together to be manipulative in the extreme and not particularly clever; and a lot of the sex scenes turn out to be cringeworthy. But occasionally I come across one that feels genuine, despite itself, and worms its way into my affections, and that is the case with my most recent gamble on Kindle deals, Weather Girl, by Rachel Lynn Solomon.

Interestingly (to me, at least), many readers, both newbies and former fans of this author, did not like this book. But I guess I am usually the contrarian, so what the hey. I thought it was cute, poignant, more realistic than many, and included some elements not usually found in romance novels that made it appealing.

Ari Abrams is, first of all, a Jewish protagonist, which is rare; she is also a successful young TV meteorologist with a depression problem, who portrays herself as all sunshine and hides her dark side. Her love interest, Russell Barringer, also Jewish, is a sports reporter, a big teddy bear of a guy who is self-conscious about his weight. These two departures from the norm made me much more likely to enjoy this book.

Then there is the plot, which is silly enough to be light entertainment but plausible enough to carry the story: The two “bosses” of the TV station are a phenomenally popular meteorologist and her former husband, her producer, who make the station their daily battleground to the discomfort of all the other employees. But Ari and Russell see glimpses of former love and passion between these two and decide to “Parent Trap” them by trying to encourage them to renew/salvage their relationship; in the process, Ari and Russell also begin to find one another more appealing than their initial friendship would have indicated.

I enjoyed getting inside the head of someone who was fighting depression, mostly successfully, but who had deep doubts about her ability to be real with anyone and still be loved. I also liked finding out Russell’s secrets and wondering how they would fit into the mix. And finally, the sex scenes were steamy and appealing and not at all creepy, which is a big hurdle in most rom-coms.

So—a rare recommendation from me for a mostly cute, mostly light romance with some unexpectedly well handled serious subjects.