This book! Annabel Monaghan has just gone to the top of my instant buy list with her upcoming release of Nora Goes Off Script-a book that has jumped to my top reads of 2022!

In Nora Goes Off Script we meet Nora, a recently divorced mother of two who writes screenplays for The Romance Channel (TRC) - think Hallmark Channel. After spending the entirety of her relationship with her husband making herself small so as not to outshine his lack of contributing nothing while taking everything, he up and leaves her and the children. She pens a new screenplay based on the relationship that becomes her first Hollywood film. As the backdrop of the script takes place at her home, Hollywood comes to her quite setting to complete a couple days of filming. From here, Nora and the leading man Leo start up a friendship that blossoms into something that could be pulled straight from one of her TRC movies.

A couple of years ago I decided that I spent way too many of my waking hours in front of a television screen and basically cut that down to almost nothing and filled that time with more reading. One of the only things I miss about television is my guilty pleasure for Hallmark movies-especially the Christmas ones. Annabel Monaghan has given me everything that I love about those movies in this book.

I can't recommend this one enough, I loved everything about it!

A recently divorced screenwriter finds herself in a whirlwind romance after her latest movies leading actor finds himself crashing on her property well beyond the films wrap date. I have been in a reading slump and this book snapped me out of it. The pacing is perfect and the writing style does not drag on making this super binge-able - I read it in two sittings. While the premise of the story does err on the side of unrealistic, it such a lovely little romantic fantasy and makes a great poolside companion.

This was adorable and I loved it. Super light and fun with just enough tension to keep me going. I loved all these characters and thought Nora was a super likable but well fleshed out main character. This was a great summer read!

A cliche romance I couldn’t get into. Flat characters and flat story lines that made me realize why I don’t care for romance books. 🥴

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for access to this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fun, quick, & light read that will grip your attention in the right way and you won't be able to put it down until the last page....then you'll wish it wasn't over. Nora Goes Off Script is the perfect little beach read or when you're lounging by the pool this summer. I loved it. It was just the story I needed right now to give me a little downtime from all things life. Nora, Arthur, Bernie, & Leo would even make great companions for you as you watch the sunrise. Nora and Leo give sunrises a whole new meaning for me.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Nora Goes Off Script was a great read with two amazing main characters and two children that were fantastic secondary. I love how this story showed a strong woman who carried her family and worked her butt off to give them the best she could. I also appreciated the romance and heartbreak. This was so well done and I loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Putnam Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The beginning of this book about a made-for-tv-romance-movie writer falling in love with a leading man was so unappealing to me that I almost didn't finish it. The set up for the romance was almost worse than a Hallmark movie. But then the book started to grow on me and the book took some unexpected turns. By the end I was cheering for Nora and her family.

I could not put this book down for love or money! Since the main character is a screenwriter for a romance movie cable network, you know this story had to delve into the classic tropes, and this author was skilled at making it winky fun meta, not obvious "saw this coming a mile away" meta -- like, to the point that I couldn't actually guess how the story was going to play out. The characters felt real, the setting felt charming without being cloying, and I honestly did not want the story to end.

I devoured this book!! Nora is a recently divorced single mother of two who writes HEA television movie romance scripts. Her quiet life gets turned upside down though when her latest script gets turned into a big Hollywood movie that's filming at her house and the grumpy star decides to stay after the filming is done.

What follows is a grumpy/sunshine, opposites attract romance full of heart, charming small town life and adorable kids. Warning, miscommunication is a big plot point for this book and it might frustrate some but I found it forgivable due to how integral it was to the story.

Perfect for fans of Katherine Centre's The bodyguard and a must read for the summer! Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy! I can't wait to see what's next from this new to me author!!

Nora wrote a screenplay about her marriage ending, and some A-List stars are coming to her house to shoot the film. Despite Nora writing successful films for The Romance Channel, she was incredibly relatable. Leo, the actor, is swoon worthy. Monaghan nails the witty banter.
This is a fast-paced, closed door romcom and I highly recommend it. I loved it!

My reading time for NORA GOES OFF SCRIPT came to me courtesy of pregnancy insomnia. Considering I’m not a romance reader and the fact that I read this entirely between the hours of 3 and 5 AM, I thoroughly enjoyed this delightfully sweet story! The story follows romance screenwriter Nora Hamilton as she picks up the pieces after her divorce. As she moves on, Nora writes her heartbreak into a screenplay starring international heartthrob, Leo Vance and the sparks fly.

I loved the small town setting and the way Nora knew exactly what she wanted out of life despite her previous losses. The way Leo adored Nora as well as her children was so tender. The unexpected twists and turns throughout the story kept me guessing until the last few chapters. If you’re looking for a light read and a big-hearted story about finding happiness, this would be a great pick!

PUB DATE: June 7, 2022
RATING: 4/5

A big thank you to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review will be posted to www.instagram.com/kellyhook.readsbooks in advance of publication date

This was the first book in a while that I had no idea how it would end. Nora Hamilton is a screen writer for hallmark-type movies where the "formula" is always the same. Until her husband and the father of her two kids leaves her and she funnels that anger and hurt into a new script that is dark and honest. When a big budget production company picks up her script and wants to film in her home she meets Leo, the male star of the movie. After filming, everyone packs up and leaves her house -- except Leo who asks to pay Nora to let him stay for a week. Nora could use the money so she accepts. What she ends up with is more than just some extra cash, but an unexpected relationship with Leo including all the ups and downs that come with having kids, emotional baggage, and living a small town life.

"The trickiest part of being a mom, especially a single-mom is knowing when it's okay to fall apart." -- Nora Goes Off Script.

This book was so fun but also honest and real about life as a single mom and life in a small town. There were so many things I highlighted about this book that just resonated with me. There are so many layers to this story and it kept me guessing more than any book has in a while. This is a beautiful story with amazing characters that I could not put down.

This is a relatively short, easy read, that I am already recommending to everyone I know. Thank you to Putnam for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is a 5 star book and one that I wanted to just hug after reading! I liked that Nora was a flawed mother who took inspiration from her heartbreak and made it into something useful. The connection between her and Leo was awesome and I felt.for Leo wanting a life more than in Hollywood. I had to smile that she was making light of the cookie cutter romance movies that she was writing, even as she was beginning to see that she may be in one! I also thought it was great to include the children and how divorce affects everyone in the family. This was a.quick read and will make a great summer book!

If you know me, you know I love a good movie star/normal person romance. I also love when a text is self-aware of the genre or tropes it's playing with. And Nora Goes Off Script goes all the way with both of those things.

Nora is a single mother of two and screenwriter who rents out her house for the filming of a mostly autobiographical movie she wrote about the dissolution of her marriage. Leo is the star of the movie who's playing the character based on her ex-husband. Although an unlikely pair, the two hit it off and he fits perfectly into Nora's small family until he goes to an audition in LA and things veer off-course.

Being so familiar with the format of a romance novel (or the "Romance Channel" movies that Nora usually writes), I longed for certain things to happen at specific points in the book and I was pleasantly surprised by all the times things didn't go exactly as I expected they would.

I will say, I have a personal aversion to a first person POV, but I was able to get past that by the second chapter because the world and characters completely sucked me in.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loved other 2022 releases, Book Lovers by Emily Henry and The Bodyguard by Katherine Center.

Thanks to Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley for the ARC!

This is a sweet, single mom romance. While the story was cute and sweet, I wasn’t engaged in the romance.

This book gave me all the feels.

It is so much more than your average rom-com... it is raw and real. Anyone who has had to recover and heal from a narcissist marriage (or whatever relationship) will break reading this. Personally, I was going through so much of what Nora described in her flashbacks that I could see how incredibly accurate this writing is. Rather than being too much to read, it was actually so hopeful to have this depiction that made me feel like I was not alone.

Sorry if that was too personal, but this may be a book that I connected to more than any other in a very long time. I think about it often.

I am a new Annabel Monaghan fan for sure!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
The synopsis of this book sounded intriguing to me so I requested a copy to read.
Unfortunately, I have tried reading this book on 2 separate occasions and during this 2nd attempt, I have
decided to stop reading this book
and state that this book just wasn't for me.
I wish the author, publisher and all those promoting the book much success and connections with the right readers.

NORA GOES OFF SCRIPT by Annabel Monaghan takes a typical romance and turns it inside out and upside down in an unlikely love match between movie star Leo and barely-eking-out-a-living romantic movie script writer Nora. Among the charms is Gilmore Girls fantastic, whizzing dialogue, terrors and delights of real life for a divorced woman with too bright, opinionated young children. Well-worn, familiar tropes are brought to radiant, resonant, incredible life believable characters, dirty laundry, and small town relationships. No sleight of hand, no pulling of punches was apparent in a delightful, immersive read. I received an early copy of this novel and these opinions are my own unbiased thoughts.

I really enjoyed this book. It was not what I expected. I liked that Nora, a screenwriter, took inspiration from her heartbreak and made it into something useful. I liked that she made fun of the cookie cutter romance movies she was writing even as she was beginning to realize she may be in one. I think it was written in a way that you’re not being slapped in the face with the romance and instead seeing the emotion of everyone involved, including the children. As a previously divorced mother, I can attest that a lot of what she wrote about and felt was so authentic! I liked the relationship between Leo and Nora and thought the kids were so awesome! I’d definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for access to this digital ARC

4.5 stars, rounded. Nora writes screenplays for The Romance Channel (think Hallmark!) but when her marriage falls apart, she turns her real life story into a successful movie. When the crew comes to film at her home for two days, she meets star Leo Vance...
This book flows SO WELL. I really loved the writing, the whole plot, and especially the characters. Nora is down-to-earth and has worked hard to get where she is. She has nurtured such a wonderful relationship with her two kids and I totally admire her. All the time she spends with Leo is delightful, even if it does have a bit of an insta-love feel. The resolution is *chef's kiss* good.

*Some language, closed door romance

Thank you to NetGalley and Putnam books for my copy of this book. All opinions here are my own.