Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine for a complimentary copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

Love, Unscripted
By: Owen Nicholls

REVIEW ☆☆☆
I love romcom and chicklit stories in both movie and book format. What I expected from Love, Unscripted was a charming fun story. What I got was, well, depressing and just a downer. I did like the male point of view for a change. This particular guy believed in happily ever after, but reality slapped him hard. Life is not a romcom. I wish! The guy, though, was just too morose and melodramatic for my taste and kind of ruined what could have been much better. Just average overall.

I tried. I really tried but this book just did not work for me. I stopped reading about halfway through the book. This is one of those examples where the past and present in books does not work well. If anything, this book just dragged out so much. Also, I really did not care about the main characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my review.

I love movies, and I love a good love story, so I was excited to get to read this one. Overall, the book was just fine but not my favorite.

I started this one last fall, and I couldn’t get into it. So I decided to put it aside. I didn’t mean to put it aside for the better part of seven months, but that’s ultimately what ended up happening. On my second go, I found it easier to get into the story of Nick and Ellie’s relationship, and my hopes went up on how I would feel about the story.

Where I struggled was with the pacing of the story. I liked the formatting of jumping back and forth between the beginning of their relationship and where they were in the present, but overall I felt the story dragged on. The plot also sat at one level. There were no major ups and downs to it and was just a basic telling of their relationship.

I did appreciate how this book was more realistic about relationships, though Nick (and many of us) have these cinematic dreams of what love should be. Nick was honestly an annoying character, but he did show some growth and realized why their relationship took the turn it did. It encompasses a theme I think we are all familiar with about how love and relationships take effort. Once we stop putting in the effort, the relationship fizzles (which is true of all relationships, not just romantic ones)

This was a fine story. It wasn’t my favorite, though I did enjoy many of the movie references. It did give off When Harry Met Sally sort of vibes, but lacked the charm.

Unfortunately, I didn’t get very far into this book. The writing style really wasn’t for me and I just was not intrigued by the plot. And from the looks of it, a lot of people feel the same way.

really enjoyed this one. IT had two things i like, movies and now i get to read a book. I was very pleased with this book and the author.

1 star
To be brutally honest, I fond this book depressing and sad. If I wanted that, I would not read romance books. Of course real life is not like it is in the movies. But that is also why we read romance, because real life is not like in books either.

Movies give unrealistic expectations when it comes about love. And Nick is in rude awakening when his life exposes.

Nick is true romantic that he expects his relationship to be exactly like the movies. But love is never perfect, it’s messy and complicated. And that’s his love with Ellie.

I truly wanted to like this book but it keep dragging the story line. Like pick up the pace. I want to know where this is going.

Love, Unscripted is a book about what happens after the "meet cute" and the supposed HEA. What's fun about this book is that we get a male POV, and there are lots of great movie references, like some of my favorite romantic comedies. What didn't work for me and may not work for some other readers is that it focuses just a bit too much on Nick's disappointment and sifting through his memories about what went wrong in the relationship.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

I like this book, but did not love it. I was hoping for more of a second chance romance, and while the ending hints at this, the book never actually includes this trope. I normally love books with different POVs, but it just didn’t do it for me in this book. I liked reading about the present day and the little intermission parts where he’s writing about their life, but I honestly didn’t really enjoy the POV from the past where we get to see Tnoer first date. I would have liked to see more of their whole relationship rather than just the first date. I liked how the POV of the novel was from a male perspective because I don’t think we see that a lot, but the main character was very flat to me, and very “woe is me,” and not really willing to try and make his life better. I also decided after reading this book that I don’t really enjoy books with tons of pop culture references in them. A lot of the movies mentioned I haven’t seen (so I didn’t really understand how they were relevant), or considering the book took place in 2008 and 2012, I haven’t seen in years so I don’t really remember them well. I think the author did a good job including them, I just realized I don’t like it. Still, I did enjoy the story.

As always, I appreciate the opportunity to read and review your titles. I have chosen to DNF this title...actually, I did a while ago but wanted to wait (although I didn't intend to wait this long) to post this so it didn't impact review decision for other reviewers.

I look forward to the next title from your authors/company.

Thanks,
Laura

This was a rom-com inspired book that I read because I saw it on Netgalley and was approved for it. It was released last June and I just finished it in January. It took a while to read because it took a while for me to get into it, and in the end, I didn't feel like it was worth my time. Nick, a movie buff and employee at a movie theater, is going through a breakup with his one true love, Ellie. After, he can't help but wonder (Carrie Bradshaw style) if love even exists. The entire book goes back and forth between the present & past when Ellie and Nick first met. I felt like nothing really happened in this book and I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. There are other romantic comedies based books out there.

I really did enjoy this book. It was a nice change to get to see the males POV, that rarely happens!
It was a bit hard for me to get into at first. I love happy go lucky love stories, which this is not.
But, I will say it did end on a good, hopeful note and that helped a bit!
Overall, I'd give it 4 stars. I think the author did a good job at character building and letting us see how the relationship progressed, good and bad.

The nostalgia Nicholls gives Nick as he tries to find what went wrong with him and Ellie is warranted for the occasion. Nick is blindsided to find out Ellie isn't happy and once she leaves him all he has left are questions. I think there is a place for realistic romance in novels, but it's not my cup of tea. I want it to work out and a happily ever after or at least a happily right now. I also found Nick incredibly whiny and full of manic-pixie dream girl feelings that it was hard to root for him or stick around while he figured out what I already knew about why Ellie left. Overall, not a romance I wanted to watch unfold and then fall apart.

Love, Unscripted by Owen Nicholls is a witty, contemporary romance about Ellie and Nick reflecting on their relationship.
I wasn’t a big fan of the three timelines, but appreciate the greater understanding of the characters that it gave. Honestly though, I wasn’t a big fan of Nick and his woe-is-me, rude attitude throughout. I ended up agreeing with Ellie and kind of rooting against Nick at times. I’m not saying that I expect all characters in books to be perfect, that would be annoying and too unrealistic, but some of his flaws I had a hard time moving past. Still, the story was entertaining for a light read.

My favorite part of the book was all of the old movie references and the speed in which I was able to finish the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this early copy!

Did not finish - I did not connect with the plot and writing and decided to put it down.

Another one I wanted so badly to love but it just fell flat% I was excited for this one too so I think that made me a little more frustrated.

Funny movie references throughout this one, and the romance was sweet -- but I couldn't identify with the characters at all, unfortunately, and the timeline hopping got a little confusing.

Love, Unscripted was such a fun read! All the theater and movie references and settings made it a fun read for anyone who's got some love for those things. The character development was realistic and enjoyable, and the stakes and the relationship ups and downs kept me hooked and entertained from start to finish! An enjoyable and fun read for sure!

Despite the cute title and fun cover art, this is not ur typical heartwarming romcom. And u know, I think I liked it even better because of that. I think it's good to know that going in, so u can properly appreciate the sentiment of the novel. This is story about Nick and Ellie. The chapters go back and forth between how they met/the start of the relationship, and then to the present day the unraveling of it.
What I liked a lot about the narrative is that it is entirely from the perspective of Nick. We rarely get the guy's side! And especially not without the girl's side alongside it. Once u get over it not being a happy go lucky read, u come to really appreciate the cleverness, the tangability of a real live relationship- the hope at the prospect of one just beginning, and the despair at the reality of one ending.
I'll be honest, it's not the easiest reading through someone's thoughts and feelings during probably one of the lowest or hardest times in their lives. Even if u put a funny sarcastic spin on it lol. I'm really glad I took my time with it though, because a lot of it was so relatable and pertinent and true to life. It's not easy looking inward, putting the spotlight on yourself and admitting to ur shortcomings. But I think everyone faces this at one time or another in life, and it's nice to know that even if you're a person adverse to change, u can get through it (maybe kicking and screaming but u can 😜). Anyway, I'm grateful to @penguinrandomhouse #ballantinebooks for the early copy. And thanks to @owenpaulnicholls for taking us on this journey

I wanted to like this. I wanted to like this so much. Unfortunately, there were too many allusions to movie references or bands that I didn't know. Also, I never really loved either of main characters. Nick was like a walking red flag. He wasn't really going anywhere, he didn't have a lot of motivation. We didn't really get to know Ellie all that much, because of the limited point of view, and I felt like maybe she should just cut and run, which I know wasn't the authors intention. I didn't follow the back and forth timelines well...the past on Election Night just was not worth half the book, and it made the overall speed of the book sloooooooow. Overall, I am going to say that I didn't love this one.

*Not posting review online