INDIEREADER DISCOVERY AWARDS WINNER 2023: BEST FIRST BOOK (Fiction)

Thelma and Louise meets Eat, Pray, Love meets Me Before You in The Placeholder, an unconventional, unforgettable, unputdownable story of loss and love.

Serenade Kincaid has lost everything: her stepchildren, her house, half her earnings, her sports car, and her husband, all to a much younger-and more fertile-woman.

Sera now drinks boxed wine from a plastic cup, lives in a seedy motel, and spends her time scrolling dating apps searching for a semi-decent-not-a-mass-murderer-please-just-spend-time-with-me port in the storm.

As Sera leapfrogs through men, her snarky, meddling boss and sometimes-best friend Carolyn encourages Sera to invest in a friend with benefits. Just until Prince Charming comes along, of course.

Enter Zac, a self-proclaimed unsuitable boyfriend who looks to have jumped straight from the pages of a romance novel. He insists he's only looking for some fun, which is perfect for Sera. Cue the booty calls. While avoiding her issues, Sera finds it challenging to stick to her boundaries regarding her too-consistent hookup. But when life takes a sharp left, all fun and games come to a screeching halt. Sera, Zac, and Carolyn must race against time to disentangle their web of lies and deceit before it's too late.