If Not You by O'Clover, Ellen

Five years of history. Four weeks on the road. Two rival copywriters learning love is the hardest sell of all.

Mattie French has always known how to tell a good story. It's why she stopped at nothing to land her dream career as a copywriter at a scrappy independent advertising agency. In fact, if it weren't for one person, Mattie would probably be the most-talked-about rising star in town.

Campbell Porter is a senior copywriter at Chicago's slickest agency. Absurdly talented, incredibly aware of it, and the bane of Mattie's existence since they were interns together, Campbell is always just...there, with his golden-boy smirk and the familiar gaze that never fails to taunt her across a crowded room.

Mattie would love nothing more than to avoid Campbell forever. But when their agencies are pitted against each other to compete for a luxury resort account, it's her chance to prove she can beat him--and earn the promotion she covets.

During the month of travel required for the pitch, Mattie and Campbell are thrown together as fierce competitors and, slowly, as unexpected witnesses to each other's hidden wounds and softest parts. As their trip barrels toward its final pitch, Mattie is forced to confront the increasingly obvious truth: the story she's crafted for her and Campbell over the years might need a new ending.

Author: Ellen O'Clover
Publisher: Berkley Books
Published: 09/15/2026
Pages: 400
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.64lbs
Size: 7.99h x 5.25w x 0.87d
ISBN: 9780593952566

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 08/01/2026
Kirkus Reviews 09/15/2026

About the Author
Ellen O'Clover writes stories about love, identity, and belonging for both teens and adults. She grew up in Ohio and studied creative writing at the Johns Hopkins University before moving west to Colorado, where she lives in a little green house under a giant aspen tree with her rocket scientist husband and two perfect bulldogs.