DNF at chapter 2. I don't think this title was for me. I wasn't invested in the characters or what was happening. Perhaps this this the fault of the author because I am not usually a fan of romantic stories or stories that deal with politics. I think this could be a lovely story for someone else, but just not for me. I appreciate the opportunity to review it.

This book suffers from "too many timelines not enough character growth" issue something fierce. Additionally, the protagonist was just not someone whose head I enjoyed being in. I did like the movie references, which is what lured me in with this book.

As much as I wanted to love this one, I just didn't. The plot was interesting enough and the three separate timelines added a nice way of breaking up the story while also advancing it forward. My main issue with this one are the characters. The main character, Nick was insufferable. He was whiny and too idealistic, and unwilling to accept his faults. He really didn't seem to grow as a character and remained the same, annoying person throughout. Nick wasn't the only awful character though. Ellie was just as bad. She was too set in her ways and determined to be right. Their breakup was confusing and they didn't really seem to have any resolution of their issues. Instead, Ellie was just like "hey come to America with me" but there was nothing in the story to lead us to believe they had worked out their issues. Finally, the movie references would have been cute, except they are constant and obscure to the point of annoyance. I'm afraid this just wasn't the book for me.

Love, Unscripted is a particular contemporary romance about a projectionist going through a breakup with his girlfriend and analyzing their relationship to see what went wrong. There are funny movie references that the character Nick uses that showcase his humor and wit.

The story follows Nick and Ellie's relationship. Nick is a film lover and uses many references throughout his life that were from some of his favorite movies. When his girlfriend Ellie tells him that she doesn't love his the way she once did, he remembers specific dates and jogs his memory to see where it all changed. Can he figure out what went wrong? And will he be able to fix it?

Overall, I liked the story. I will admit that it was a tad underwhelming. The story did drag at times and some scenes felt like they were in there just to add to the word count.

I give Love, Unscripted 3 stars. Although it fell short for me, I thought the character Nick's charm, humor, and unique wit kept me reading.

I could not get into this book. I am not sure if it was just timing or my lack of knowledge related to movie trivia. After reading other reviews and talking to others who have read this book I believe I will just set it down and maybe pick it up at a later time.

So, I really wanted to love this book. It sounded like the perfect little romance, something sweet and great to read, I mean hell even look at the cover. How do you NOT buy this book?! But this book just didn't do it for me. And to be honest, there's three timelines going here, and I've read plenty of stories that follow through multiple timelines but this just didn't to it very well. It jumped around so much I couldn't really keep everything in the right spot in my mind.

This book also felt a bit slow at times to me. So I had some trouble trudging through it and to be quite honest I didn't really connect to either of the characters which makes reading a book really difficult for me. Although I got through it, it was just kind of meh. Nothing stood out to me and I feel bad because I really wanted to enjoy this book.

I was a little disappointed with this book. I felt like everything was overdone. The movie references were overdone. The narrative was confusing and made it difficult to follow the timeline. I had so much hope for this book, but was left wanting more. The characters were difficult to connect with. Probably would not recommend this book.

I don't want to rate this book as I couldn't complete it. I got about 25% done but really didn't like the characters or where the story seemed to be going. The plot seemed a bit flat and I just really wasn't enjoying how mopey the main character seemed. It was just not something I was enjoying.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the complimentary e-ARC.

As a huge fan of media and pop culture, I fully expected to love Love, Unscripted. Unfortunately, it fell flat for me.

First, I found the two main characters difficult to connect with. Nick came across as pretty immature and kind of a jerk, and Ellie, while witty and sarcastic, didn’t really make me want to be her friend.

Secondly, the narrative unfolds in parallel timelines—the night they met and the present, after they broke up. The back and forth narrative can work really well, but this time it was more confusing than helpful. Their first night and the beginning of their relationship was cute, fun, and relatable. But that relatability quickly faded, and then I was just annoyed at both of them, and at the writing in general. I didn’t even really care if they got back together or not. That’s how annoyed I got with it all.

I get that movies are the “gimmick” of the whole novel—Nick’s an aspiring script writer and movie aficionado after all, but the device was used with too heavy a hand. It quickly got to the point where I was throwing up my hands and exclaiming, “I get it! You like movies. Now move along.”

And I won’t say that men never write good love stories—because I’ve read some excellent male-penned love stories—but it takes a certain skill to really pull it off and make me want to invest in the characters. The author gave it a good shot, but for me, it missed the mark.

I did like this one quote—I literally laughed out loud: “And now I have to break their hearts by telling them that their dreams of both their children finding everlasting happiness are as dead as Sean Bean in
every film Sean Bean has ever been in.“

Ellie, with the neon red hair, caught Nicks eye immediately at a 2008 presidential election party hosted by his friends. Nick is a cinema buff who loves romantic comedy, always viewing himself as the Tom Hanks of his own love story. He loved Ellie just as much as he loved his job and the cinema. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Fast forward four years, and Ellie has moved out, convinced that she doesn’t love him the way it’s supposed to be. Nick is left to sort through the memories the past four years.From their meet-cute at the party, to the following years of moving in together. But maybe not everything was as perfect as he let himself to believe. Was he really the rom-com hero he believes he has been? Or did this Harry let his Sally down?⁣⁣
⁣⁣
If you are expecting a cute, rom-com type story out of this, it may be a bit of a let down. I feel like this book more compares to “How Not To Die Alone”. It did have it’s funny moments in it, but the thing that really made this enjoyable for me was all the movie references! I think everyone has been at that stage in life where they are heartbroken over a relationship ending, and it was not what you thought it was. This story is told from Nick’s pov, with flashbacks to that first night he met Ellie. It was actually quite heartbreaking at times. Nick was so sad but came to terms with everything at the end. I wouldn’t say this had the HEA that you would expect it to! However, I did enjoy it! ⁣⁣

Love, Unscripted is definitely a good book. And one I think many romance/rom com/contemporary readers will love. I enjoyed bits of it and ultimately was happy when I was done, but guys, this is a classic, it’s me not you, book.

Coming in at ⭐️⭐️⭐️, I just didn’t connect with the story or our main character, Nick. The story is told in alternating timelines of past and present. Past, Nick and Ellie meet at the 2008 election night party to watch Obama secure the presidency. It’s adorable. Present, Nick and Ellie are broken up and Nick’s life is imploding. The story follows both timelines to help put all the pieces together.

And guys, it’s a good story, but not what I was craving at the time. Nicholls wrote about amazing story and one that will definitely pull heartstrings and help others feel seen, but I just didn’t love Nick or Ellie and I wish I did. Once again, ITS ME, NOT YOU.

Long story short: Nick sucks and I'm glad Ellie left him.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

“Love, Unscripted” by Owen Nicholls is like a sad country western song with a self-deprecating narrator. A cynical and honest depiction of falling in and out of love.

Blurb: Nick and Ellie break up and Nick spends the rest of the novel looking back on how everything went wrong.

In the process of his reflection, we get the entire retelling of Nick and Ellie’s love story retold from Nick’s perspective. He explores the ups and down that come with any relationship and how, ultimately, love isn’t like the movies.

I had a really hard time staying focused while reading this one. While the writing is stellar and I loved the retelling of their love story, Nick’s ego got in the way of me truly falling in love with his character.

The constant movie references and film talk left me confused and bored. I really wanted to love this one, but I just didn’t relate to anyone in this book. If I was more of a movie buff, I probably would have fallen in love with all the movie references. This one just didn’t do anything for me.

2/5 stars

DNF. I'm sorry to say that I DNF'ed this one. The premise sounded so good and I generally love anything regarding film. I wasn't able to connect with the characters or writing style.

I started this one a few weeks ago and really wanted to love it especially since a trusted rec source really enjoyed it. However, I just could not get into it. I think I’m going to wait a bit and give this one another try, because I was enjoying the story, but I just don’t think it was the right time for me to read this one.

The one word I would use to describe this book is forgettable. I enjoy my love stories and romance, so going in I was excited to think I might find another book I loved. This wasn't the worst book but certainly not the best. As I said it was pretty forgettable, I didn't care much for the characters, and I really didn't like the flipping of timelines

Nick and Ellie meet at a party in London that’s celebrating the 2008 presidential election coverage. After a magical evening spent together, they decide to start seeing each other. The book alternates between snippets of that night in 2008 and present day in 2012 when Nick and Ellie break up, but we don’t know why. As the book goes on we learn what happened between them and whether or not they can find a way back to each other.

The premise of this book really intrigued me and that was my main reason for picking it up. I like the idea of a rom-com from a male perspective (Don’t @ me, I promise to read Bromance Book Club soon), but unfortunately this one just did not work for me.

Based on the title, this one had a lot of movie and music references and I did not understand many of them. That was kind of a bummer. My biggest issue was I just did not like the characters. Nick was immature, unmotivated, and just overall weak. These are just not characteristics that I like in my hero. Without spoiling too much, Nick and Ellie seemed so petty and we’re not communicating well. It was very frustrating.

If this sounds like a rom-com you want to read, please don’t let my review deter you. It’s still worth a read, it just wasn’t for me.

I truly appreciate Netgalley and Ballantine Books for the gifted copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is written in 3 different timelines which I thought was interesting and cool but the storyline moved sooo slow. I was half way through and still didn't know where it was going. I think movie buffs would love this book as it's filled with movie references. Unfortunately, that's not me so most of them were over my head. I enjoyed the sarcasm in the dialogues between Nick and Ellie though! Overall it fell flat for me.

DNF @40%

I really struggled connecting with the characters. Nick didnt pull me in at all, the back and forth between timelines, and the continuous word vomit made it hard for me to continue. I really expected the story to take another turn and not the continuous back and forth of Nick realizing how he screwed up. I might try to go back and finish but currently I cannot keep reading. I found the book to have some coming of age characteristics due to Nick's lack of growth during his relationship with Ellie. Also I struggled with Ellie's character. The small glances in her past self and nonexistent future one made it difficult to get a feel.

Unfortunately the lack of depth during the back and forth timelines had me struggling to stay engaged and focused and I found myself confused and distracted often. I also struggled with a lot of the movie references and understandably couldn't relate. I think any movie buff would easily devour this book but unfortunately it wasnt for me.

I was provided an ARC of this book via the publisher and Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

This was given to me by Net Galley for an honest review.

Nick and Ellie met at a 2008 Obama/McCain election party run by a british liberation. The story goes through the night they met and the four years leading up their break up. Nick is trying to find reasons for why they broke up.

I loved this book. The movie references were spot on. The movies they talked about tied into their relationship pretty well. There was build up for the break up. I was rooting for Nick and Ellie throughout the entire book. They seemed good together.

However, I didn't like her dad. Such a prick. Rude. Her mother wasn't great either. Two selfish people who didn't think about Ellie at all.

I would recommend this if you love time jumps and romance. Movies, too.

Enjoy.