Big Fan

August 15, 2024
A woman fresh off a painful, public divorce falls in love with a rock star on the comeback trail. Maya McPherson was right where she wanted to be in her career as a high-powered Washington campaign operative. But when her husband was caught up in a sex scandal, it tanked not only her marriage but also, unfairly, her reputation and career prospects. Maya finally has a chance to get back in the game when a Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate offers her a position as the campaign's policy specialist for universal basic income. At the same time, Maya receives an interesting offer from her past. As a teenager, Maya and her best friend organized and ran the fan club for the wildly popular boy band Mischief. Charlie Blake, one of the band members, has been out of the music business for years. Currently in D.C., he sends Maya a cryptic message asking for a meeting. Charlie reveals that he's working on a solo album and wants to hire Maya as part of the PR team that will manage his comeback. Even though Maya is flattered, she refuses, since a condition of her new campaign job is keeping a low profile. Maya and Charlie are attracted to each other and begin a coy, flirtatious texting relationship that spans several months. When Maya discovers that Charlie has a personal belief in UBI, she recruits him to be a spokesperson for the campaign. When they meet in person to plan his remarks, Maya finds it impossible to resist the attraction between them. Romanoff successfully portrays Maya's struggle to recover from the emotional devastation of her divorce in the punishingly sexist world of the D.C. political scene. Charlie's character is generically good and underdeveloped by comparison. Earnest and thoughtful, this romance highlights a woman's brave decision to love again.

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