This book had so much potential, but I found the writing style so off-putting and I had to force myself to finish — it ended up being just one-and-a-half stars from me (which I will round up for Goodreads).

Just Like In The Movies by Heidi Rice is set in a quirky theatre in North London, where Ruby Graham is coming to terms with the death of her boss, and father figure, Matty Devlin.

She is now half-owner of the Royale, with Matty leaving the other half to his elusive nephew, a property developer from Manhattan. 🎥🎬🌌

I knew from the blurb how this was going to end, but it still seemed like a fun read anyway and that doesn't normally put me off. It started off averagely well, however, about a third of the way through the novel I found myself completely losing interest.

There was very little substance to Ruby, and we find out very little about her back story — instead, the focus was on Luke, and the 'dramatic family secret' was just a little predictable.

Some of the descriptions, particularly of the women, made me audibly cringe; I lost track of the number of times Luke drooled over Ruby's 'bounteous curves', and the less said about the sex scenes the better.

[Thanks NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review]

[Thanks Netgalley for the ebook. This review is my honest opinion but just another opinion, you should read this book and judge it by yourself]
The blurb seemed great but I couldn't connect with the story. It's easy to read and without tension, a light reading, but I think we need something more, everthing felt plain, superficial and too cliche for me.
I love classic movies and I thought I was going to enjoy the references but that didn't happen, I found them forced and even distracting to me.
I didn't love the MC, Ruby is weak and almost always crying. Luke is more complex but he seems lost in his own book. I didn't like them as a couple, therefore I didn't enjoy the book.
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//REVIEW IN ENGLISH SHORTLY//
2,5 estrellitas
Otro chasquito colorinchi. Como todas, tiene un buen planteamiento y un desarrollo, mñe. Lo mejor del libro es que tiene poco conflicto y de verdad que agradezco una relación de pareja con poco drama entre ellos, pero es que tiene tan poca sustancia todo... La gracia de todo, que se supone que son las referencias cinéfilas, están muy forzadas y metidas con calzador.
Los protagonistas son clichés con patas. Él me ha gustado algo más, es el personaje que más evoluciona. Comienza siendo un poco estirado y acaba menos estirado y con un trocito de nuestro cariño. Ella no tiene remedio y es un personaje inconsistente por todos lados (para repetirse hasta la saciedad que es una mujer fuerte que no llora he perdido la cuenta de la cantidad de veces que lo hace).
No es un bodrio y no se lee mal, alguna escenita hot bien lograda hay pero es un libro al que le falta una vuelta y que a mí no me ha convencido.

After Matty, the owner of the cinema where Ruby works and lives, dies she finds herself co-owner of the cinema with his nephew Luke, an American billionaire property developer. He is adamant that he won't financially back the cinema despite the outstanding debts, however he does end up helping her out.
Not quite enemies to lovers this is a story with some spicy moments, slower paced but with some humorous parts. There are references to films and Ruby's obvious affection for them in memory of Matty, who was like a father to her. It was interesting seeing how the emotional, friendly Ruby developed a chemistry with the outwardly child, emotionless Luke who had his own reasons for not starting any relationships.
A book to sit and quietly read on a Winter's evening, or even buy the side of a pool in the sunshine when we are finally allowed to go out again.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley, however this did not influence my review of the book.

Just Like in the Movies by Heidi Rice

****This ARC was provided by NetGalley for a free and honest review.**** Ruby has just lost her best friend, mentor and father figure, Matty. He owned an independent theatre in Nottingham and it was his pride and joy. Upon reading the will, she discovers she was given half ownership in the theatre. The other half has been left to Matty’s grumpy nephew he’s never even met, Luke. Luke’s parents are both famous and beloved actors. He wants no part of the limelight. He’d rather sell and be done with the whole thing. Ruby has other ideas. She’s made it her goal to save the struggling theatre and intends to show Luke just how important it is to the local community. I thought this book was adorable. Ruby was so lovable as well as some of the supporting characters. I loved the storyline of Luke’s famous parents and the little bit of mystery as to why he was included in the will. This book is set to publish March 12, 2021.

I think I was expecting this book to be a little more focused on rom-coms then it was.

This is a book that follows Ruby, a woman who loves movies and worked in a cinema and Luke, son of movie stars who now works in construction and hates movies. When Ruby's mentor and Luke's uncle dies, he leaves them both the cinema and Ruby has to convince Luke to help her keep it open.

I didn't like Luke very much. I understand he had a hard past and that he has things he needs to deal with. Seriously, I did feel sorry for him, but I still just wasnt a fan. And I didn't like Ruby much either. I found it difficult to care about what was going on to either of then, and that made this book a slog.

What I did like were the little movie opinions at the start of some of the chapters. The first one was my favourite as a lot of the others...well, they were just boring. We get that Brokeback Mountain is sad already! But they were a little bit of movie related fun, and I wish all the chapters had featured them.

Overall, not a book for me.

Cute, fun, and perfectly lighthearted! I really enjoyed this read, I absolutely loved hearing from both perspectives. It really helps understand Ruby and Luke as characters. Overall, this one is a light, fun, rom com that flowed well and had me engaged from page 1!

This was a super cute read. I thought this book gave a lot of realistic portrayals of relationships, and I enjoyed getting to know the characters. I really enjoyed the main characters, and I found them believable and likable. I also identified with their struggles, and I liked the pacing of the story. There were parts I felt like the author rushed, but that didn’t detract from the overall story. Overall, this was a nice addition to my February reading rotation, I would like to read more books by this author!

This was such an enjoyable book from start to finish. I loved Ruby and Luke as separate characters and together as well. Such lovely, surprisingly hot chemistry. Ruby was so relatable and you could not help but root for her to succeed throughout. Luke was wonderfully complicated and broody but still likeable. I appreciated the alternating POV’s as they gave us proper insight into both Ruby and Luke, letting us get to know them properly as they got to know each other. I enjoyed the movie theatre setting and eclectic mix of supporting characters. The mini movie reviews of Matty’s classics were great too. A really engaging, fun and romantic read.

Took me a little bit to get into this book as it does drag into parts but once I was into it I was hooked. The characters became loveable and I loved seeing their relationship grow. Good plot twists. Wasn't a big fan of the random metaphors being repeated IE meteor in her throat , mariachi band in her stomach etc , as it felt a little out of place to me and was repeated so much in a short amount of time.
But this is a good enemies to lovers romance novel . Very cute , funny , steamy. Great ending too! Also good representation of LGBTQIA+ in the book.

Such a perfect story, I flew through this book in one day, I loved the plot the characters and the writing style.

The perfect story for a bit of escapism!

This book gave me all the feels. I enjoyed it so much. Loved all the Wizard of Oz references, as it’s my favorite movie. Enjoyed all the additional movie references thrown in as well.

Loved the banter between Ruby and Luke. It was just the right mix of cute, flirty and steamy. Also enjoyed seeing the story from both of their viewpoints.

This was my first book by this author. But I will definitely be reading more immediately!

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter for allowing me to read this e-book.

The story - ⭐
The writing - ⭐
Overall - ⭐

The characters felt wooden, the sex scenes were cringey, the plot was just fine but not massively engaging.

I did enjoy some of the movie references but it felt like the author was just nicking bits from their fave romcoms and smashing them all together.

Fave quote - 'Luckily she had tons of time, because tonight’s film was The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, which lasted well over three hours thanks to its twenty-five endings.'

Fave moment - Scattering Matty's ashes

I thought this was a cute enemies-to-lovers romance. I liked the connection between Ruby and Luke. I thought they had great chemistry. It's the kind of story that you would find on the hallmark channel, and I loved that. I did find parts of the story a bit slow and repetitive. I think that there is definitely some info that could be edited out. It was, overall though, a solid romance, and something that I think readers will enjoy!

I was provided a gifted copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.

3.5/5.
What a cute, easy read! Just Like in the Movies centres around our main characters, Ruby and Luke, as they take on the ownership of an independent movie theatre. It tackles grief, addressing your past and of course, romance.

This was a solid story. It was a little heavier than I figured given the cover, with quite a few heavy topics discussed well like grief and past incidents that affected our main characters. I will say the highlight for me was our main male character - Luke and his family. I loved his growth in this and how he was portrayed, his backstory of coming from movie star parents was so interesting.

The story did lag a little in the middle and there was some dialogue that I found cringey, but overall this was a solid romance. Quick to get through and sweet.

Big thank you to NetGalley, the author and publication team for sending me an arc for an honest review!

I just finished reading Just Like in the Movies and thank NetGalley for an advance copy. This is the first book I have read by Heidi Rice and it is well written. I wasn't sure about Ruby, the h, at first, but after a few chapters she really grew on my and I really liked her. Luke took a bit longer for me to like, but that was because we were in his head a lot less that Ruby. Ruby is a very fleshed out character and we really understand her and her motivations-I really wish she had shared more of them with Luke, but I can understand why she didn't. I also don't think it would have actually helped their relationship to have shared. I do wish the pace of the book was a bit faster. It isn't that this is a slow burn, it really isn't, but it felt like some of the book was repetitive when it didn't need to be. Still, I enjoyed the book and would most certainly read more by this author. 4.5 stars rounded to 5.

I received an ARC through net galley for an honest review

This book is everything that I want in a romance book, it had the reluctance at first, the silent pining, and the fantastic blow up at the end. At first I wasn't sure what to think of Ruby, it seemed as though she would a typical "film girl" and be kind of annoying, but she was much more than that. She has such a passion for movies and really wanted to save the place that was her home. Seeing Luke help her with that and fall in love at the same time was amazing.

The love story was so cute and I don't think I will ever forget the scene where Luke washes her hair. I would have liked to see him actually say I love you. At the end he says to himself that this must be what love is but he never actually says it out loud to Ruby which kind of bothers me.

An overall fun romantic read, well-written and fast-paced; Rice's novel is the ideal read to get any rom com lover's mind off of things.

Just Like In The Movies by Heidi Rice
Ruby Graham, serial optimist, is having a terrible time. Her best friend and soulmate just died unexpectedly, and left her half of the movie theater that has been her home since she was twelve. He left the other half to his bitter, cynical nephew Luke who may also be the son of a movie star.
Can Ruby overcome imminent closure, innumerable repairs, and mounting debts coming due to save The Royale?
Strong recommendation for film fans. You don't need to be a cinephile- do you miss movie theater popcorn? Take this book for a spin.
I stayed up late to finish this. I love a good heart throbbing romcom, and Heidi Rice nailed it in spades. The book really benefits from having both Ruby & Luke's voices, and I thought having both review the movies throughout the book to be a nice touch.
4/5 stars- points off for a little bit of drag around the halfway point.

Thanks to @harpercollinsuk, @onemorechapterhc & @netgalley for the uncorrected proof in exchange for my honest review.

Yes, this book really was just like the movies.
What I loved
This was simply a very sweet romance. It was the perfect read for a slow weekend. It made me smile all the way through. I liked Ruby and her love for the movie theater and it was just very sweet to see Luke struggle with his feelings.
What I didn't love
Sometimes it felt a little too simple. Ruby changed her mind a lot so it would fit with the happy ending. Also Ruby lacked a bit of backstory. Luke had a lot of history, but Ruby's was never really explained.
Conclusion
Perfect if you want a quick, sweet romance to read.
*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC to review*

Just Like In The Movies isn’t just a book for movie lovers.
It packs in grief, loss, heartache, romance, tension and forgiveness all into a sweet covered tome. The characters where likeable and I enjoyed the sunshine optimism of our main character Ruby in the face of all the turbulence that has landed in her lap. Our other main character Luke has a lot of issues resulting in him being a closed off, grouchy guy with a cynical outlook on life and pretty much everything. I would have liked more of a build up to their relationship and more of that heat building tension and less about The Wizard of Oz (personal preference on account that the film mostly creeps me out). However I did enjoy and any book with a Spinal Tap reference automatically goes on my good list.