Hopeful Romantics by Susan Rufai
A Contemporary Romance Novel published by Susan Rufai (07/11/25)
I received an Advanced Review Copy (or ARC) on Reedsy Discovery
Summary:
“Loneliness can have you bringing people into your life that aren’t good for you, just to fill the emptiness.”
Maya just got out of a relationship with someone at work and she vows not to bring that kind of drama into her life again. She’s a love cynic until she meets Damian, the new hire. He’s a hopeful (not hopeless) romantic. Does she dare date another coworker?
Keywords:
Romance, POC, authors, publishing, senior editor, office romance, micro-aggressions, exes
My Review:
From the first chapter, I was hooked. The voice is strong, and the setup is quite promising from the get-go.
Maya is a people pleaser with a toxic tendency to fall for her coworkers. Her last workplace romance ended so badly that she still has emotional whiplash. It wasn’t just that Maya and Ramon weren’t a good fit, but he was trying to mold her into his life, ignoring the reality of her own. Kudos to Maya for having the personal strength to end it, but the guilt of the breakout keeps her from really moving on. You can feel the weight of her choices and her internal tug-of-war as she navigates office politics, but you might also get just as mad as I was for Maya every time Ramon tries to make her feel bad for ending their relationship.
It’s not all relationship woes for Maya; she’s also navigating her position in a company that promotes diversity but doesn’t always live up to that pledge. Maya sometimes feels like the token diversity hire, but she’s also sometimes treated like one, too. I’m not sure if I was madder at Ramon for how he acted post-break-up or the other dude bros and her sometimes micro-aggressive boss Bruce.
“Moments like this are when I doubt myself, questioning whether I belong in this company. Bruce constantly undermines my choices, giving amazing offers only to the books he can relate to, while paying my author’s dust. It’s a perpetual battle I keep losing.”
This book doesn’t shy away from the very real challenges faced by women of color in professional spaces — Maya must fight for almost every inch of her voice to be heard. You can clearly read the privilege in the room during the scenes at Peelback Publishing, but at least Maya isn’t completely overlooked. That’s where the weight of reality hits. The book feels contemporary and like an authentic and honest story without being overly dramatized.
Maya isn’t the only character with depth and backstory. She’s been shaped by her past just as much as the book’s love interest, Damian. He is opinionated but truthful, telling it like it is. Watching them circle each other with their emotional baggage was so satisfyingly messy.
The cast of characters feels like it’s just the right size, and they are all impressively well-developed. No one felt like filler, and every subplot added to the main story without feeling too complex. If you love realistic romances with depth, you’ll enjoy this perfectly balanced book.
This novel was published by Susan Rufai 07/11/25 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 5.00
Links for more information:
Rachel Author Barnard 