The False Flat

For fans of JoJo Moyes and Katherine Center…

In this uplifting story about friendship, love, and growth, one woman must untangle herself from a past that’s holding her back in order to move forward into the life that will set her free.

Penelope Auberge is at her breaking point. With an overbearing mother, a married boyfriend, and a boss who gives Pen’s high-profile finance clients to male colleagues, it feels like nothing she’s accomplished in her thirty-three years belongs to her.

Determined to build a life entirely her own, Pen moves from Minnesota to Tennessee to open a solo financial business. There, she meets siblings Deanna and Grant, who attempt to coax Pen out of her socially anxious shell. Hesitant to open up so she doesn’t get hurt (again), Pen is slow to develop a friendship with Deanna, and she’s determined to ignore her feelings for Grant, which is difficult given she’s joined his cycling group and a clear something begins blossoming between them.

Pen’s path in Nashville appears to be smoothing out, but she soon learns that packing up her past isn’t quite that easy. If she wants to start fresh, she’ll have to decide what she really wants—even if that means riding away from her old life for good.

The False Flat Book Club Kit:

Is your book club reading The False Flat? Download the (free) reading guide below for discussion questions, Spotify Playlist, recipes, and other fun hosting extras. 

Praise For The False Flat:

“Melissa Collings’s The False Flat is a haunting, character-driven novel…Pen and Grant’s love story is touching, profound, and fascinating.” ―Readers’ Favorite

“With a particular interest for fans of multicultural and interracial romance, The False Flat by novelist Melissa Collings is a finely crafted work of literary excellence that will be enjoyed by the reader from start to finish. An extraordinary and highly recommended pick for community and college/university library Contemporary Literary Fiction collections…” ―Midwest Book Review

“A heartwarming, heart-wrenching debut for lovers of Emily Henry and Etta Easton, The False Flat is like curling up with a good cup of tea and your new best friends. A must-read.” ―Rea Frey, #1 bestselling author of Don’t Forget Me and In Every Life

“Melissa R. Collings skillfully weaves together a story that showcases life’s happiest moments along with its hardest ones, all while demonstrating how powerful and life-changing it can be to open up and let people in. Profoundly moving and insightful, The False Flat takes you on an emotional ride that’s brimming with heart, humor, and deeply real characters. I inhaled it.” ―Lauren Kung Jessen, author of Red String Theory

“The False Flat is a journey of a story with a heart both hilarious and wise. Melissa Collings gives us a heroine to root for in Penelope Auberge, one with a witty voice who must decide what all of us must decide at some point: what do we really want? And what do we do about it? Through a drastic move to Nashville and its environs, a cycling obsession that carries her through, and friends that might change her life, we are along for the wild ride with Penelope. The False Flat is a beautifully crafted tale of friendship, love, and the poignant desire for freedom and meaning in our life.” ―Patti Callahan Henry, New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Book of Flora Lea

“Melissa Collings will hook you with her vibrant prose and keep you hanging on every word until the very end.” ―Jenny Hale, USA Today bestselling author