I had such high hope for this book. I loved the premise, told in flash backs and present time where there was a correlation between one situation and another. It was told in both the scenes of a movie theater and a political campaign. Unfortunately I had a really hard time connecting to the characters. The girl that the main character is chasing didn't seem likable to me and therefore I didn't really care if they got together again or not. The main character was ok but didn't have anything that made me fall in love and root him on. This made me sad. I really wanted to like this book a lot.

Have you ever wondered where things went wrong in a relationship? That's what this novel is about. Nick loved Ellie and thought everything was perfect from the moment they met in 2008. It's the present, though, and she's left him. Multiple time lines show how things worked out - and didn't. Nick is a film geek and projectionist who wants to relate his life to the classic (and not so classic) movies. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This isn't a light rom com but it might make you think about your own backstory.

Disappointing... I'm all for a book that empowers people to be happy with themselves, but when a book is marketed as a rom-com I have certain expectations that this book did not live up to.

Wouldn’t it be nice if life and love was like a movie. Characters who are likable but maybe a little rough around the edges. A script provided so everyone knows exactly what to say and nothing gets messed up. And the ability to yell cut if something just isn’t working. That would be ideal, but it also wouldn’t be life.

Owen Nicholls provides a unique love story in Love, Unscripted. Unique in that the book is from the main character’s point of view. The main character is Nick, a late twenties male who is an aspiring film writer, living in London and currently working as a projectionist at a local cinema.

The book alternates between current time (2012ish) and November 8, 2008 the night of Obama’s election, and the night Nick met Ellie.

In 2012, Nick and Ellie are on a ‘break’ but not really sure exactly what happened. Throughout the book you learn about the night they met and the night it all fell apart and everything that has happened in between over last 3.5 years.

I really enjoyed reading this one. Thank you Netgalley, Ballentine Books and Random House for an ARC copy to read and provide an honest review. Love, Unscripted is out 2.11.2020!

This is one of those books that I would never have thought to pick up, but I’m glad I did. It isn’t revolutionary or mind-boggling. It isn’t a book that changed my life. It’s a genuinely good story about Nick and Ellie, a young couple that broke up, and Nick trying to figure out what went wrong. From meeting election night 2008 in London to their breakup in 2012, you’re given a glimpse into the realities of a relationship between two people who love each other but drift apart. It’s refreshing to read this type of story from a male perspective. Littered with movie references and quips that sting, this novel is a heartwarming love story that involves Nick coming to terms with how their relationship ended and accepting his life changing.

I loved this book because it wasn’t your usual love story where everything works out perfectly throughout the story. The characters went through changes within themselves and within their relationship. I liked the story format of going from the night the characters met to present time because it kept the overall story from being too heavy. I also enjoyed that the story was written from the guy’s perspective. It provided a different take on the typical romantic comedy. I thought that the overall story and challenges of the characters were very honest and realistic. I would highly recommend this book to my friends.

Thank you to Owen Nicholls, Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a sweet story, the characters were so compelling and you become so invested in them you want to keep reading even way after the story ends!

I went into this expecting a rom/com, but found a story that was much less uplifting. Nick was sad through much of the book and I never really felt a connection to the characters. I really wanted to love this based on the cover and description, but it just didn't have that happy feeling that I look for in a book.

I was expecting this book to have a lighter tone based on the cover and it’s listing as a romance. I found this to be a more reflective, somber, and slow moving story than I had anticipated. However, I did like the premise and I liked the way the story was told through different intertwined timelines. I also thought that the ‘Intermission’ chapters were a great touch and really fit the movie theme. And I honestly was very drawn to the cover.

Something that I think will get different mileage depending on the reader is the almost constant quoting and references to movies, and less frequently, songs. Often, the reference isn’t given, so if you don’t know what the character is referring to when he talks about how a situation makes him think of the lyrics to a song written by half of Simon and Garfunkel to Carrie Fisher, you either have to move forward with reading or try to look online to figure out the song and lyrics. Also, after awhile I started to have times when I grew weary of the constant references, even though I realize that was Nick’s character trait.

My biggest overall thought is that I never felt connected to Nick and Ellie and I truly didn’t care whether their relationship worked out I would have preferred if this had been shorter because I felt that the story felt stagnant for a chunk of the book. Other readers will enjoy this more than I did. I truly didn’t dislike this book, it was a decent read for me, but I was ready for it to be finished before I reached the last page. I would recommend this to someone looking for a general contemporary fiction read dealing with a male character’s self- reflection and flashbacks related to a romantic relationship.

Review: Love, Unscripted 🎬
First of all I would like to thank @netgalley and @harpercollins for the ARC.

Set in England, we learn the story of Nick and Ellie who met at an US Presidential election party in England. I thought this was such an interesting aspect to the story, I’m from the USA and remember that election but hearing the thoughts/reactions from the outside was enjoyable.

There are different timelines and all of the chapters centering on when they met are clearly labeled.
While I didn’t love the story, I didn’t not like it. There were parts I loved and one scene in particular where I felt for Nick.
I’m glad I read, as it is beautifully written and I enjoyed the nostalgia associated with the story. I know the perfect reader for this book is out there, it just wasn’t me, and that’s ok.

3 stars. This cover was so cute - I wanted to give this book a shot! I enjoyed the overall story. I think a movie buff who likes contemporary literature would really enjoy this book. It’s down fall for me - at times, it was a little hard to follow.

The cover and description of ‘Love, Unscripted’ had me expecting a fluffy, light-hearted rom-com. It had its moments, but that’s not what this book was. It was more. It was real. We’ve all known Nick and Ellie. This wasn’t just a story about falling in love, it was about what happens after that. It was about the choices people make to grow together, or grow apart, and ultimately to just grow up. The way Nicholls broke down the story, alternating between the distant past when they first feel in love, the present where they have split, and the more recent past where things fell apart, was such a unique and powerful way to tell a love story, and without giving anything away, I think it ended perfectly. I sincerely enjoyed the book and hope there will be future works by Owen Nicholls to look forward to. Thank you to NetGalley, Nicholls, publishers, and anyone else who made it possible for me to receive this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the story of Nick who was recently dumped bu his long time girlfriend Ellie. Nicholls’ tells this story over 3 timelines, the night Obama was elected in 2008, 4 years later post breakup and then there are 4 interludes that help fill in the blanks.

Nick is in search for so many things in this book, what went wrong with his relationship, his career or the so called job he has a projectionist that he is in fear of losing over modernization, and there also big changes that are happening with family.

There are many movie references that occur, though I have to say some of them went over my head for this book. Comparison to Waiting For Tom Hanks it is not. However, there is some merit to this story on its own. It is labeled as a rom-com, but this much deeper than that. Nick is depressed most of this book, at least it feels that way. He is extremely introspective, and his entire goal is to figure out what went wrong with his relationship with Ellie.

While this book is a bit on the down side, no worries, because I felt completely uplifted at the end, and not in a cheesy HEA way. I am definitely interested to see what else Owen Nicholls writes.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine Books for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ohh boy. This was a drag. I was hoping for a cute chick-lit to get me through a long weekend and I almost gave up a few times while reading. Also there's no damn Happily Ever After (HEA) that I could see so this being in the romance category of NetGalley and Goodreads ticked me off. The main character sucked (Nick) and I didn't really get a sense of Ellie at all. My main issue is that this book jumps around timelines so much I didn't have a great idea of what was going on. If this had been the published book maybe there would be more cues that would help me out. I don't know.

"Love, Unscripted" follows Nick who gets dumped by who he considers the love of his life, Ellie. Nick thinks of his life as a Classic Romance Movie at all times pretty much. Or at least the book is littered with those references. After Nick is dumped, he starts trying to re-examine his relationship with Ellie. Think of Nick Hornby's "High Fidelity" but less good. I didn't really enjoy Nick and Ellie was an enigma.

The book is set up in three I think timelines. I can't recall. Thank goodness for the notes I jotted down. Timeline 1 is 2008 (When They First Met). Timeline 2 is (Present Day which I think may have been 2012 or 2013. I can't recall) and Timeline 3 starts to show the cracks between Nick and Ellie from 2008 onward. The flow was up and down and didn't go together very well.

As I already said, the ending was just a big no no in the romance world.

Love isn’t anything like what the movies portray and this book sets out to show you that real love is a million times better then the ones that you see in the movies and read about in books. Brilliant book, so funny, so real, wonderful characters full of flaws. Great read! I loved it!

I'm bummed because I really wanted to enjoy this book but really, really didn't. I think the premise was great and this is an author that I think I may like to try again in the future but I truly just couldn't get into the story or connect with the characters. DNF'ed at 20%.

While I didn’t necessarily dislike this book, I also didn’t love it. The narrator is looking back on his former relationship with hints of hope and regret, and it’s a nice remembrance. However, this book is marketed as a romance or rom-com, and it just didn’t fit the bill for those in my opinion. I would just consider it a Contemporary NA story.

For me to love a book I need to be invested in the characters. They either have to be written so that I am supposed to hate them (and do or don't) or supposed to love them (and do --only). This time, the protagonist just rubbed the wrong way and I probably would have broken up with him too... That sounds harsh, but it just wasn't for me. Overall, the book was just good, not great. Oh well, they can't all be my favorite.

This was right up my alley—a movie centric romance, riddled with references. I loved how much Nick truly loves the art of filmmaking from unabashedly loving Garden State to wanting to hold on to his job as a projectionist, unwilling to give in to digital films. 

The great thing about this romance is that it could have been formulaic and cliche, it worked with dual timelines in a really great way: the night they met and four years later during the months after they break up. Then four pivotal moments from their actual relationship were told through intermission breaks and when looking at these four specific scenes of their relationship, Nick can understand and recognize where exactly everything went wrong.  at times I wanted to shake Nick for being so obtuse.

I did have a little trouble connecting to the characters at the beginning, but as the story progressed we learned more about our couple and I became invested. Nick and Ellie are definitely flawed characters—there were times when I wanted to shake Nick for being so obtuse, but in the end, I was fiercely rooting for them.  

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Love, Unscripted. I wouldn't call it a happy, feel-good book or a romance at all, really. To me, it felt more like a story of self-discovery. The problem is, I didn't really care about Nick's - our main character - journey.

This story is written in 3 timelines. You have the moment where Nick meets Ellie, his perfect girl, the night of the 2008 US presidential election, present day, which in this case is 2012, and a few intermissions where Nick goes in-depth on certain moments within their four-year relationship. Spoiler alert: they're broken up in the present. The multiple timelines serve to help Nick figure out what went wrong. But the answer is easy - Nick is a sad sack and he needs to get with it.

The plot, in general, was a little slow. I had a hard time investing my time in this story as I just didn't get good vibes from Nick, in the past or present timelines. It's hard to connect with someone who simultaneously takes no blame for his actions while somehow being incredibly anxious, overthinking decisions, and lashing out at those around him. And I really don't think he learned too much by the end of the book. Everyone around him worked hard to help him, and he really wasn't helping himself at all.

At the end of the day, I just didn't think Nick and Ellie's story is worth a book.