You know that warm, fuzzy feeling you get when you stumble upon an old love letter tucked away in a shoebox? Christina Lauren’s novella “The Exception to the Rule” bottles that exact sensation and serves it up with a generous side of modern, email-era sweetness. It’s like finding an adorable time capsule of digital romance that spans a decade, each yearly check-in revealing new layers to its endearing protagonists.
As the first installment in The Improbable Meet-Cute series, this bite-sized story packs a surprising emotional punch. It’s a testament to the authors’ skill that they can make you deeply invested in a relationship that unfolds primarily through yearly email exchanges. By the time I finished, I was grinning like an idiot and maybe – just maybe – wiping away a tiny tear or two.
A Serendipitous Typo Sparks a Tradition
The premise is deceptively simple: a high school sophomore named Terra accidentally emails the wrong person on Valentine’s Day. Instead of reaching her calculus teacher, she connects with a fellow student named Callum. What could have been an awkward mistake becomes the start of a decade-long tradition of exchanging Valentine’s Day emails.
It’s such a small, ordinary moment—the kind we’ve all experienced. But Christina Lauren (the pen name for writing duo Christina Hobbs and Lauren Billings) imbues it with a sense of kismet. You can practically feel the universe conspiring to bring these two together, even if they don’t realize it yet.
Growing Up, One Email at a Time
What follows is a series of yearly check-ins that chart Terra and Callum’s growth from awkward teens to young adults navigating college and beyond. The brilliance of this format is how it allows us to witness their evolving personalities and struggles in bite-sized snapshots.
We see Terra grappling with the pressure of choosing a college major, while Callum deals with family tragedy during the pandemic. Their exchanges become a safe space to share vulnerabilities and dreams. It’s like watching two pen pals grow up together in fast-forward, and it’s utterly captivating.
The Dance of Revealing and Concealing
One of the most delightful aspects of the novella is the self-imposed rules Terra and Callum create for their correspondence. No real names, no specific locations, nothing too personal. It’s a game of reveal and conceal that adds a layer of playful mystery to their growing connection.
Of course, as the years pass, those rules start to bend. The dance between what they share and what they hold back creates a delicious tension. You find yourself rooting for them to break down those walls, even as you understand why they’re there in the first place.
A Love Letter to Digital-Age Romance
In many ways, “The Exception to the Rule” feels like a love letter to the unique ways we connect in the digital age. It captures that special intimacy that can develop through written correspondence, where you feel like you truly know someone even if you’ve never met face-to-face.
The authors nail the evolution of online communication over the decade. We start with formal emails full of “Dear” and sign-offs, progressing to more casual exchanges peppered with emojis and text-speak. It’s a subtle but effective way of showing the passage of time and the deepening of their connection.
The Warm Fuzzies of Nostalgia
There’s a lovely thread of nostalgia woven throughout the story. References to flip phones, early social media, and changing email etiquette will resonate with anyone who came of age in the early 2000s. It’s like a warm hug of familiarity, reminding us how much technology has changed the way we form relationships.
Characters That Feel Like Old Friends
For such a short piece, Christina Lauren manages to create remarkably well-rounded characters in Terra and Callum. Their distinct voices shine through even in brief email exchanges. Terra’s determination and slight awkwardness are endearing, while Callum’s quiet thoughtfulness makes him impossibly crush-worthy.
The supporting cast, glimpsed only through Terra and Callum’s mentions, still manage to feel fully realized. I found myself genuinely invested in the well-being of Terra’s mother during her cancer scare, and my heart ached for Callum as he navigated grief during the pandemic.
A Slow-Burn Romance That Simmers
The romantic tension in this novella is exquisite. Because Terra and Callum’s interactions are limited to yearly emails, every word choice and shared tidbit feels loaded with meaning. The slow burn of their growing attraction is palpable, making the payoff all the more satisfying when it finally arrives.
Christina Lauren excels at creating that delicious push-pull between wanting to preserve the safety of their email-only relationship and yearning for something more. It’s a masterclass in building anticipation.
When Fiction Mirrors Reality
One of the most poignant aspects of the novella is how it touches on real-world events, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020 and 2021 exchanges capture the surreal nature of that time, with its mixture of isolation, anxiety, and unexpected moments of connection.
It’s a risky move to incorporate such recent, emotionally charged events into fiction. But Christina Lauren handles it with sensitivity, using it as a way to deepen the bond between Terra and Callum. Their shared experience of the pandemic becomes another thread tying them together.
A Format That Feels Fresh
The email exchange format isn’t new in literature, but Christina Lauren brings a fresh energy to it. The yearly check-ins create a unique rhythm, allowing us to fill in the gaps with our imagination. It’s like looking at a photo album where you only see one picture from each year—your mind naturally wants to construct the story between the snapshots.
This structure also lends itself perfectly to the novella format. It’s a story you can devour in one sitting, but it leaves you with the satisfying feeling of having witnessed a epic romance unfold.
The Power of What’s Left Unsaid
There’s an art to knowing what to leave out, and Christina Lauren wields that skill masterfully here. The spaces between the yearly emails are pregnant with possibility. What happened in those intervening months? How did their feelings evolve in the silence? It’s a lesson in the power of implication and suggestion in storytelling.
A Worthy Addition to the Christina Lauren Canon
Fans of Christina Lauren’s full-length novels like “The Unhoneymooners” or “The Paradise Problem” will find much to love in this more condensed offering. The authors’ trademark wit and warmth are on full display, proving they can pack just as much emotional punch into a novella as they do in their longer works.
For newcomers to Christina Lauren’s writing, “The Exception to the Rule” serves as a perfect introduction. It showcases their ability to create memorable characters and heart-fluttering romance, all while experimenting with an unconventional format.
The Verdict: A Sweet, Satisfying Treat
“The Exception to the Rule” is like the literary equivalent of a perfect cupcake—small, but oh so satisfying. It’s the kind of story that leaves you with a goofy smile on your face and a renewed belief in the power of connection, even in our increasingly digital world.
Is it groundbreaking literature? No. But it is a masterfully crafted piece of romantic fiction that hits all the right notes. It’s comfort reading at its finest, offering a much-needed dose of hope and sweetness.
So go ahead, treat yourself to this little morsel of a love story. Just don’t be surprised if you find yourself compulsively checking your email afterwards, half-hoping for a message from your own long-lost Valentine’s Day pen pal.
For Fans Of…
If you enjoyed “The Exception to the Rule,” you might also like:
- “Attachments” by Rainbow Rowell – Another charming romance that unfolds through email exchanges.
- “Love & Other Words” by Christina Lauren – For a full-length novel with a similar friends-to-lovers slow burn.
- “One Day” by David Nicholls – If you enjoy stories that check in with characters at yearly intervals.
Final Thoughts: A Perfectly Bite-Sized Romance
In a world of doom-scrolling and information overload, “The Exception to the Rule” feels like a palate cleanser for the soul. It’s a reminder of the joy of unexpected connections and the magic that can unfold when we open ourselves up to possibility.
Christina Lauren has crafted a story that’s both timeless in its romance and uniquely of our digital moment. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to reach out to old friends, check your spam folder for missed connections, and believe in the power of a well-timed email to change your life.
So here’s my advice: Grab a cupcake (you’ll understand why when you read it), curl up somewhere cozy, and let yourself fall into this sweet little love story. Who knows? It might just inspire you to send your own valentine to that person you’ve been thinking about. After all, sometimes the exception to the rule is exactly what we need.
