Every now and then, a book piques my interest because of its contemporary setting. When I heard about Rosey Storey's debut novel Dandelion Is Dead set in present-day London, I was intrigued. It's not every day you read about a woman impersonating her dead sister on a dating app. I expected social commentary on modern dating and how it relates specifically to singles in their late-thirties. What I got, however, was a modern mess.

Thirty-six-year-old Poppy Greene grieves the sudden death of her thirty-nine-year-old sister Dandelion. She finds Dandelion's phone and decides to swipe on her Hinge profile, despite her relationship with Sam, her boyfriend of five years. She poses as Dandelion for a date with a divorcee named Jake, claiming that it doesn't affect her relationship with Sam because she's not presenting herself as Poppy–her true self.

For the rest of the story, Poppy rationalizes her spur-of-the-moment decisions and hotheaded reactions as a form of grief. Storey writes Poppy’s motivations as secret, long-held beliefs that are finally brought to light by rapid changes in circumstances. Taking a break with her boyfriend of five years, then proposing to him, then leaving him for good–they're all supposedly revelations from her newfound grief.

But Poppy’s actions and reactions extend beyond the bounds of reasonable human emotion, even for someone grieving. You don’t leave a five-year relationship because you miss your sister. It might be plausible if Dandelion had passed away more recently. But nine months had passed since Dandelion’s death–more than enough time for Poppy to control her emotions. Using grief as the primary motivator serves as a poor, unrealistic catalyst to the story’s events.

The narrative also dives into Jake’s perspective. His story begins with a disastrous one-night stand before moving onto how he coparents a young child with his ex-wife, Zoe. During an argument, Zoe reveals that she’s pregnant with her new lover’s child–an ironic twist given her numerous rounds of IVF before getting pregnant with Jake’s child. But this serves no purpose in the story. It could’ve sparked reflections from Jake about how he might be the problem in his own life–about how he sabotages relationships to avoid getting close to people. Instead, it serves as a throwaway plot device to halt the argument and move to the next scene.

Storey does this again when Jake ends up meeting his dad’s new girlfriend–the same girl with whom he had the one-night stand. Jake could have utilized this moment to think about how his past still haunts him, including using it as motivation to finally acknowledge his role in the end of his marriage (he cheated on his wife, but dismisses it as a silly little blowjob). These key misses make the narrative lack the character depth that makes a novel great. The two events heighten the plot at the expense of character development, leaving the reader waiting for a reckoning that never comes.

If you’re looking for a book to pass the time on a long flight, Dandelion is Dead makes for an easy read. But if you want to read something of substance, you should swipe left on Rosie Storey’s debut novel.