If I could give this book no stars I would. There is not a single character that I liked and the plot made literally no sense. She is supposed to be keeping her identity a secret but she sucks at it. Also the love interests did not spend enough time with each other and it was just bad all around.

I received an arc through netgalley.

Oh. The. Drama. This was absolutely delightful. I was laughing, gasping, and rolling my eyes in the best way throughout this whole book. I didn’t know how I felt about Lars. I went back and forth almost the whole time. Miles was a little too hesitant for my personal liking.

Some parts were so cheesy! But so necessary in your ideal RomCom. So many good scenes- absolute chefs kiss (carriage, all the park scenes, the ballet, the anniversary party, the PRESENTATION 🔥🔥🔥). One I couldn’t put down.

18+ the spice we got was alright. Descriptive up to a point.


Special thanks to Netgalley and Escape Publishing for this digital ARC.

Miles Franklin comes from a line of award winning writers. She's even named after a prestigious Austalian authors award. She has a secret. In her spare time she writes historical romance fiction under the pen name Emma Browing. She's only ever told one other person but all of that is about to change, now that Emma Browning has won the Stapelton Prize.

It took me about 20% in to this book to actually start to enjoy this story. Miles is such an introvert that at times she was hard to relate to. The love interest Lars was equally frustrating.

There were a few things that kept me reading; the will they won't they tension and anticipation of Miles and Lars, the side characters like Jack and Pippy made the story more relatable, the gorgeous Sydney side scenery and the overall message that romance is an important genre and the sparkle of HEA gives hope to all.

I enjoyed how Miles grew to accept herself and love not only herself but Lars as well.

What a to like:
❣Enemies to lovers
❣The parallelism of the characters in Emma Brownings writing with the novel
❣ Quality secondary characters
❣ Happily Ever After (what more could you want?)

This review will be posted to Good reads and my Instagram @thebluereadingchair during the week of publication.

On first thoughts, I really liked this book, but then I realised there were a few problems. There wasn't really a plot, and I felt that it was just dragging for quite a bit. Also, the MC was a little bit childish for my taste. I did really like the romance though, and it was a cute, escapist story. The writing was good, and I would recommend for fans of rom coms, the world of writng, and horses!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

DNF @ 28%

I loved the premise of this book. And the cover was so appealing. I wanted to like it. But I could not suspend disbelief with the inappropriateness and unprofessional things that Miles did. Seemed wildly unrealistic for a lawyer, even one trying to hide that she’s a romance writer. The book starts out quite slow and I couldn’t connect with any of the characters or the story. I didn’t particularly like the writing style either. So unfortunately, this is a DNF. It just wasn’t for me.

This was a funny, witty, sweet little romance about friendship and romance that I enjoyed reading. The author sis a superb job of fleshing out the characters and I enjoyed each one of them. The secondary characters were just as witty and great as the MC's.

This was an ARC read for me, special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher.

Book tropes: historical romance, slow-burn, enemies to lovers, secret identity.

I liked this book! I thought it was captivating, intriguing, and unique. I loved the premise, that a lawyer is secretly a best-selling author and wins a prestigious award but hides her identity under a pseudonym. I loved the historical romance excerpts from Miles/Emma's previous novels sprinkled throughout the book. I loved Jack, heroine's best friend and knight in shining armor, always coming to Miles' aid.

I admired that Penelope Janu addressed the snob in literature and how romance novels are looked down on compared to other works. It's important to respect and admire romance novels, so I wholeheartedly agreed with this motif throughout. I also liked how the topic of girls at risk was introduced, and how extending a bit of kindness and compassion can change someone's life.

I found the book repetitive at times -- the need for Emma's true identity not being exposed was reiterated many times. Miles' severe anxiety and frequent anxiety attacks were concerning, since she did not have a solid foundation for dealing with her anxiety other than refusing to answer phone calls, emails, push everyone away, and live in her own world where she writes romance novels. It's hard to wrap my head around a successful lawyer's practice staying afloat when she does not deal well with confrontation in any part of her life. Her parents' belittling treatment toward Miles throughout the novel was tough to read, and she never really stood up for herself. Her anxiety was never fully addressed (she sometimes (?) had a therapist and a hypnotherpist, but neither professionals could correctly help treat Miles' condition). It's not believable to the reader to assume Miles' crippling anxiety just goes away, especially since the aftermath of Miles' confession about Emma's true identity is not shown. Also, the romance between Miles and Lars was at times difficult to believe since they had limited interactions but somehow that was enough for Lars to end his engagement with another woman, proclaim his love for Miles (even though he often yelled at her and cussed at her), and suddenly wanted to get married at the end. I found Lars abrasive at times and cold toward Miles, not really showing empathy or support. I think their physical attraction was apparent but not enough to distinguish love. Also, he had no problem kissing Miles or holding her hand in front of Cassandra and his mother at the party? He *just* ended his engagement to Cassandra and was already willing to put his attraction to Miles on display for everyone to watch, which seemed very impulsive, and again, hard to believe.

Anyway, overall, the book was a quick read and was enjoyable.

Miles Franklin is a lawyer that writes romance, but she doesn't want anyone from her family or the publisher she now works with to know she is Emma Browning. After she wins a prestigious literary award she does everything to keep herself anonymous. Lars, is the CEO of the publishing house and tries all sorts of different ways of finally meeting Emma until he figures out who Emma really is.

Cute story! I like that the main character is a romance writer. This books has all of the regular romcom tropes in it. It is set in Australia and the author is Australian, so at times I had to figure some words out or whatever they were talking about actually was. I don't mind. It helps me to learn about other places.

I have mixed feelings about this novel. I found Miles endearing and very real. I relate to her less desirable traits like being anxious and out of shape. This may have also contributed to me finding her a tad annoying at times, but I was willing to push past it because I understood the struggle with her family and related to that too of course. I felt like this was an easy read and very cute. Lars was just a literally dream come true. He was the standard grumpy, intelligent, hottie that we all hope for. All in all, it was a decent read and it was engaging enough for me to finish it with a smile.

I like reading about writers, and based on the blurb it sounded like a fun, sweet story. I liked the premise of a lawyer with a pseudonym secretly writing romance novels. Unfortunately, I didn't like the author's execution of the idea.

First of all the book is quite repetitive. Yes we get it, Miles is actually Emma and she doesn't want to tell anyone. Second, I like enemies to lovers but this went there too abruptly without time for the characters to actually spend time together and get to know each other. Sure they had attraction and chemistry from the start but suddenly he loves her and it's like what? How did that happen?

My biggest issue with this book is that our heroine, Miles, suffers from severe anxiety and it isn't really addressed. She has panic attacks so severe that she passes out! Frequently! It's practically a running joke. She goes to a hypnotherapist who tells her to put peppermints under her tongue when she's feeling anxious. *facepalm* This is written by an Australian author, so perhaps there is a cultural difference I'm not aware of when it comes to mental health and medications. The people in her life are compassionate and take care of her when she has these episodes but no one is ever like, hey maybe there's a medication that could help you or perhaps you should see an actual therapist. (That's not to dismiss hypnotherapy because I've had success with it myself)

I almost quit reading at 50% but I wanted to give it a chance to get better but it never did. I can't recommend this one.

Penelope knocked it out of the park on this one! On the same page is a cute rom-com book that will leave you in your feelings.

Cute story but I found it to be a bit flat at times. While I like the premise behind being a "secret" author I feel like it lacked a bit of depth. I did appreciate the "excerpts" from the fictitious book within the book - reminded me of Bridgerton. Quick read

I loved it! It was catchy and cute, fun and impossible to put down. I haven't liked a romantic comedy this much since I've read The Love Hypothesis!

2.5⭐

DNF @ 28%

I really wanted to get into this book, but I couldn't. There was no chemistry between the main characters. I couldn't like Miles no matter how hard I tried to. I wanted to finish it but I would just be wasting my time if I did. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

This was so much fun, I really loved the back and forth snappy dialogue. It's been a long time since I read a book that made me smile so much. I definitely recommend.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me this eARC to review! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this, but sadly, the lack of plot twists and tension between the MCs are the weakest points for me.
Miles isn’t particularly likeable, and it has nothing to do with her condition—I suffer from anxiety as well, so I understand—and more with her not having a flashed-out personality. The side characters were unremarkable, a few of them could have easily been omitted because they didn’t help take the plot forward. Miles and Jack’s (her best friend) relationship was…weird. I can’t think of another word, because it made me slightly uncomfortable at times. There are so many literary quotes, which I would normally appreciate; but the general amount was disproportionate to the rest of the narration. There were also a lot of excerpts from Miles/Emma's actual novels , which I didn't feel provided necessary information.
Now, the romance. The potential for a good enemies to lovers was there, but I would have enjoyed more thorough development between them. Why did they fall for each other exactly, except for physical attraction (which I think is perfectly acceptable for the first stage of the romance), was unclear. It felt very insta-love, which I don’t think was intended. The stakes were high in theory, but it didn’t feel like it when it came to the final conflict and resolution. Overall, I would give it a ⭐️⭐️ 1/2 or 3 stars, because although it took a while to pick up pace, it was still enjoyable once it did, and Miles and Lars made a cute couple and I was still rooting for them in the end.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.

DNF @ 80%

I was trying so hard to push through this book because I really wanted to like it, but it just wasn’t it for me. I struggled to connect with Miles. She comes off as bratty, weak, and immature, to the point where I wasn’t even rooting for her any more. Lars isn’t perfect by any means, but he is at least attempting to act like an adult. The tension between the two was good, but then when they actually get together it was quite lacking.

There were so many elements in this book that could’ve made it great, but it fell flat for me.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this book, but it just wasn't for me. I was confused a lot throughout the book and the timeline and writing style just did not make sense to me. I LOVED the idea of the book. The storyline is so unique and the characters are fun and sweet. However, the book fell flat for me, but I can see how others enjoyed it!

I was really excited about this book. The premise called to me - I love a book where the main character is an author or works in publishing, and enemies to lovers is always a hit! Unfortunately, this didn’t live up to my expectations. It was difficult to see the book as a romance when there was no real romance. Miles and Lars developed a physical connection as their paths continued to cross, but there was no emotional connection there. We (and Miles) know next to nothing about Lars as they never delve into personal matters - it’s all business. What does he like? What makes him tick? Who are his friends? What does he like about Miles? I’ve been left hanging! The pair never went on a date but were discussing marriage by the end of the book - it all seemed a bit back to front, like their relationship had skipped ahead and missed out all the key steps that would make their romance convincingly based on anything more than lust.

The idea of including the excerpts from Emma Brown’s books was inspired, though. It was a great addition to the story to be able to understand what she was talking about when she referenced her books, and to feel like we’re reading along with Lars. I also enjoyed the way the chapter structure Emma uses is mimicked in On the Same Page - with key events happening in certain chapter numbers. However, I found Miles (and her odd relationship with her author alter ego, Emma) incredibly frustrating and combative - making it hard to relate to her and to truly get to know her, beyond her issues with her parents. I sympathise with Lars’ irritation with Miles throughout the book but don’t feel we were shown the qualities that could endear Miles to Lars - who seems to only experience her being petulant, wilfully uncooperative and unprofessional in their working interactions.

I would have loved to see more of the romance and a spark between Lars and Miles and have them build an emotional connection (the first seduction scene came really out of the blue) outside of their working interactions. And a date! I don’t count the ballet. It felt like this couple didn’t get a chance to know each other and develop a true relationship, and we readers don’t get to know them either.

On The Same Page by Penelope Janu

This is a tough one to rate. I was really excited by the premise but I didn’t enjoy the execution as much as I hoped I would.

I really enjoyed Miles’ inner monologue, her reasons for not wanting to reveal her true identity and how she researched and wrote her books. Anytime a book includes some behind the scenes of the publishing world, I really enjoy it. I also liked how the author stands up for romance readers and writers in the story.

The rest of it was a bit of a mess, honestly. The writing was choppy and there were times when I couldn’t figure out what was going on. The two main characters had barely interacted before they suddenly started making out, which was jarring and almost uncomfortable. Miles' behavior was also very frustrating. I found her to be very unlikable and hard to relate to.

I really wanted to like this, but it was a miss for me. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Escape Publishing for the advanced copy to read and review.