A Review of Love You Wrong by Julia Kent

This is the first contemporary romance I’ve read by New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Julia Kent, and I found her style to be engaging. This story is a prequel to her new Love You, Maine series.

Let’s meet Kellan "Kell" Luview, an environmental policy fellow with an international NGO, the EEC, in Washington, D.C. Kell hails from a quirky small town in Maine called "Love You," where every day feels like Valentine's Day. He's romantically involved with Alissa, his confident and driven supervisor, who is also the head fellow. Recently, though, Alissa has been distant, ignoring his calls and skipping their dates.

Things unravel further when Kell’s friend Rachel—who has a bit of a crush on him—reveals that Alissa has accepted a position with MonDex, a big oil company she refers to as the "Evil Empire." Kell feels blindsided, wondering if Alissa was only dating him to connect with his Uncle Ted, Maine’s Commissioner of Agriculture, Forestry, and Conservation, to help her new MonDex contacts with the Canada-Maine pipeline project.

Kell’s trust is further tested when he learns Rachel once did research for Alissa on the pipeline months ago, which eventually led Alissa to his uncle. Betrayed and frustrated, Kell considers leaving the NGO, especially after discovering that two fellows from EEC tried to sabotage a job offer he received in L.A. Rachel tries to convince him to stay and complete the fellowship, but he’s determined to return to his hometown, where trust and integrity still mean something.

Overall, this was a fast, enjoyable read. I enjoyed the storyline. The characters and dialogue felt realistic, capturing the vibrant, ambitious energy of young professionals in D.C. The story offers thoughtful insights into how personal backgrounds shape professional ambitions—especially for Kell, who, despite his grounded, family-centered upbringing, wasn’t prepared for the ruthless job market. An excellent introduction to the series. Two thumbs up!

Rating: 4 stars

Some of my favorite lines:

“I don’t have to understand anything. What I have to do is get the hell out of here and go back home, where your friends don’t lie to your face and smile at you while they stab you in the back. At least in Luview, I know who to avoid and who to trust.”

Tears spilled over, Rachel’s emotions a tornado, yet she fought. She had to fight.

Had to make sure Kell knew what he was giving up.

“Why wouldn't you trust me? Please believe me. I care about you. We’re friends. You got the job offer in L.A. and I’ll be in Palo Alto. I was hoping maybe, someday, we’d be more than friends. That can't happen if you won't even give me a chance to explain.”

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