Sarah Adler’s latest offering, Finders Keepers, presents readers with what initially appears to be a straightforward second-chance romance wrapped in the whimsical premise of a treasure hunt. However, beneath its charming surface lies a more complex examination of self-worth, personal growth, and the stories we tell ourselves about who we’re supposed to be. While the novel succeeds admirably in delivering the romantic comedy beats readers expect from Adler, it occasionally stumbles under the weight of its own ambitions.
The Heart of the Story: Nina’s Journey Home
Nina Hunnicutt arrives back in her hometown of Catoctin, Maryland, with all the grace of someone who’s just watched their carefully constructed life collapse like a house of cards. Recently unemployed, newly single, and temporarily homeless, she’s the embodiment of millennial anxiety wrapped in self-deprecating humor. Adler excels at capturing the particular brand of existential dread that comes with realizing you might not be the person you thought you were—or worse, that the person you thought you were might have been a carefully constructed fiction all along.
The author’s portrayal of Nina’s internal struggle feels authentically lived-in. When Nina reflects on losing her identity as “Ambitious Nina” and finding herself unable to locate that driven version of herself, Adler taps into something universally relatable. The way Nina oscillates between different versions of herself—from “Badass Nina” to “Ambitious Nina” to just plain confused Nina—speaks to the fluid nature of identity that many readers will recognize from their own experiences.
Quentin Bell: More Than Just a Pretty Face
Quentin’s return to Catoctin serves multiple narrative functions, though not all of them land with equal success. As Nina’s childhood neighbor and first love, he represents both the road not taken and the possibility of redemption. Adler wisely avoids the trap of making Quentin too perfect; his decision to hide the treasure’s location for seventeen years, while emotionally understandable, reveals a character capable of self-serving choices disguised as romantic gestures.
The dynamic between Nina and Quentin crackles with the particular tension that comes from shared history and unresolved feelings. Their banter carries the weight of years of silence, and Adler demonstrates skill in showing how childhood patterns of interaction can persist into adulthood. The competitive streak that defined their teenage relationship manifests differently in their thirties, but it’s still recognizably them.
The Treasure Hunt: Whimsy Meets Historical Intrigue
Julius James Fountain, the eccentric seltzer magnate whose posthumous riddle drives the plot, emerges as one of the novel’s most successful creations despite being long dead. Through cleverly integrated oral history interviews—a nod to the WPA’s Federal Writers’ Project—Adler brings Fountain to life as a delightfully odd figure who feels both historically plausible and narratively convenient.
The treasure hunt itself serves as an effective metaphor for Nina and Quentin’s relationship. Just as they must decode Fountain’s cryptic clues, they must also unravel the miscommunications and hurt feelings that drove them apart. The physical search for treasure becomes a psychological excavation of their shared past, though Adler occasionally pushes this metaphor to the point of heavy-handedness.
Technical Strengths and Stylistic Flourishes
Adler’s prose demonstrates a confident command of romantic comedy conventions while occasionally reaching for something more substantial. Her dialogue sparkles with wit, particularly in the exchanges between Nina and her friend Hanako Hughes, who serves as both a grounding force and a mirror for Nina’s growth. The author excels at capturing the rhythms of contemporary speech, from Nina’s anxious rambling to Quentin’s carefully controlled responses.
The integration of historical elements through the WPA interviews adds texture to what could have been a simple contemporary romance. These segments provide welcome breathing space from the romantic tension while enriching the novel’s sense of place and history. However, the historical research occasionally feels like window dressing rather than integral to the story’s emotional core.
Supporting Cast: Hit and Miss
The secondary characters in Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler range from delightfully realized to frustratingly underdeveloped. Nina’s parents, particularly her mother Patti, feel authentic in their well-meaning but slightly overwhelming concern for their daughter’s wellbeing. Hanako Hughes emerges as a standout, representing the person Nina might have been if she’d stayed in Catoctin and grown comfortable with a smaller-scale version of success.
However, some characters feel more like plot devices than fully realized people. Cole, Nina’s ex-boyfriend, exists primarily to represent everything wrong with Nina’s previous life choices, and Eugene Aaron serves mainly to provide convenient exposition about the treasure hunt’s historical context.
Pacing and Plot Development
The novel’s pacing reflects the leisurely rhythm of a summer treasure hunt, which works both for and against it. Adler allows her characters time to breathe and develop, but occasionally the plot feels stalled by repetitive searching sequences and internal monologues. The middle section, in particular, suffers from a sense of treading water as Nina and Quentin work through the same emotional beats multiple times.
The resolution, when it comes, feels both inevitable and satisfying, though some readers may find the treasure’s ultimate revelation less significant than the personal growth it facilitated. Adler wisely focuses on the emotional payoff rather than the material reward, but the balance between the two plotlines doesn’t always feel perfectly calibrated.
Themes That Resonate
Beyond its romantic comedy surface, Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler grapples with themes of belonging, ambition, and the pressure to constantly optimize oneself. Nina’s struggle with feeling “behind” in life will resonate with readers navigating their own quarter-life or midlife crises. Adler’s exploration of how social media and cultural expectations create artificial timelines for success feels particularly timely.
The novel also examines the way childhood homes can both nurture and constrain us. Catoctin represents safety and limitation in equal measure for Nina, and Adler captures the complexity of returning to a place you’ve outgrown but still need.
Critical Assessment: What Works and What Doesn’t
Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler succeeds admirably as comfort reading that doesn’t insult its readers’ intelligence. Adler delivers the satisfying emotional beats of a second-chance romance while incorporating enough complexity to elevate the material above pure escapism. Her characters feel like real people dealing with recognizable problems, even when they’re engaged in the fantastical pursuit of buried treasure.
However, the novel occasionally feels uncertain about whether it wants to be a light romantic romp or a deeper meditation on identity and belonging. Some plot threads—particularly Nina’s job search and her relationship with her parents—feel underdeveloped compared to the central romance. The treasure hunt, while thematically relevant, sometimes feels like an elaborate excuse to throw two people together rather than a naturally arising conflict.
The book’s treatment of mental health, particularly Nina’s anxiety and depression, feels authentic without being heavy-handed. Adler avoids the trap of suggesting that romantic love can cure mental health issues, instead showing how supportive relationships can provide stability during difficult periods.
Adler’s Growing Voice in Romance
Compared to Sarah Adler’s previous works like Mrs. Nash’s Ashes and Happy Medium, Finders Keepers represents a more ambitious and sophisticated approach to the romantic comedy formula. While her debut novel charmed with its road trip energy and Happy Medium explored themes of authenticity and self-acceptance, this latest effort tackles weightier emotional territory without losing the humor that makes Adler’s work so appealing.
The author’s background as a historian enriches the novel’s attention to place and detail, though she occasionally seems more comfortable with research than with the messier emotional work of romance. Her voice continues to evolve, finding its own space in the increasingly crowded contemporary romance landscape.
Verdict: A Treasure Worth Finding
Finders Keepers offers readers exactly what they’re likely seeking from a Sarah Adler novel: smart characters, witty dialogue, and a romance that feels both inevitable and earned. While it doesn’t quite achieve the perfect balance between its various elements, it succeeds more often than it fails, delivering a story that satisfies on multiple levels.
The novel works best when it focuses on the small, specific details of its characters’ lives—Nina’s anxiety spirals, Quentin’s careful way of speaking, the weight of returning to a childhood home. These moments feel authentic and earned, even when the broader plot mechanics occasionally creak under examination.
For readers seeking escapist romance with just enough substance to justify the time investment, Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler delivers. It’s the literary equivalent of a perfect summer afternoon—pleasant, engaging, and surprisingly thoughtful when you’re not expecting it to be.
Similar Reads for Treasure Hunt Romance Enthusiasts
Readers who enjoy the blend of romance and adventure in Finders Keepers by Sarah Adler might appreciate:
- Beach Read by Emily Henry – Another story about a writer rediscovering herself and confronting her past
- The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren – Features a similar blend of forced proximity and romantic tension
- What a Duke Dares by Anna Campbell – For historical romance readers who enjoy treasure hunt elements
- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang – Combines romance with characters working through personal challenges
- Swept Away by Beth O’Leary – Features creative storytelling and characters healing from past relationships
Sarah Adler continues to establish herself as a voice worth following in contemporary romance, delivering stories that balance heart, humor, and just enough depth to linger in readers’ minds long after the final page.