3.5 ⭐️

The Rom-Com Agenda was an enjoyable winter-y read for me, but there was something about the story that I couldn’t totally get into.

I really enjoyed Leah’s character and all of the jobs she was working around town, which was definitely very reminiscent of Kirk in Gilmore Girls, but I do also feel like I didn’t get a great sense of her actual goals in life. Leah mentions many times that she has all these jobs so she can save up enough money to move away, but she only mentions one time what career she’s actually interested in and she doesn’t give a lot of details. It felt like something that could have been focused on a little bit more, especially because there is such a clear storyline about Eli’s future career paths and pursuing new opportunities.

I liked Eli as a character, but I was a little bit disappointed with how his plot played out. Obviously Eli’s storyline is about changing himself to win back Victoria, but I just felt like there wasn’t enough of how Eli usually is. I enjoyed the makeover and all of the rom coms they watched to make Eli the perfect boyfriend for Victoria, but there are a lot of other activities Eli mentions being interested in that just happen off page. He mentions kayaking, snow shoe hikes, white water rafting, and his main job is as a wilderness guide, all of which sound like they would be so much fun, but not once do he and Leah do anything like this. Maybe it’s just my own personal preference, but I don’t understand why you’d give a character this job and then not explore it at all during the relationship. This could have led to some really cute, fun dates!

Eli’s friends and family definitely play a huge part in this book and I absolutely loved all of them. They brought a really fun dynamic and all the activities that included, or were orchestrated by, Eli’s friends and family were probably my favourite.

Leah and Eli were definitely cute together and I enjoyed some of their moments, but Eli spent a long time still hung up on Victoria. I was a little unclear on the timeline for parts of this one since there weren’t really any dates mentioned for chapters 1 and 2, but I believe that by chapter 2 Eli and Victoria have already been broken up for longer than they were together. I maybe could’ve believed this more if there wasn’t a time jump between chapter 1 and 2, but 5 months was kind of a weird gap between the breakup and when the makeover to win her back started. And Eli was so committed to this makeover for months, despite the fact that he also kind of struggled to list specific things he liked about her? He genuinely says ‘she was nice’ as a reason he wants her back.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

THE ROM-COM AGENDA by Jayne Denker doesn't hit the mark for me. Elements of this book have the potential to be a hit but the book falls flat. It is so slow and repetitive. Overall, a sea of sameness that doesn't make me giddy to read. Bummer.

2.5 Stars After spontaneously proposing to his girlfriend of four months before she leaves for a European sabbatical and getting rejected, Eli is determined to win her back. His gal pals agree to help him in his quest and transform Eli into the ideal pan. Leah is still reeling from the loss of her foster mom, but is inadvertently pulled into the scheme to transform Eli and guides him through the world of rom com meet cutes and grand gestures. Leah doesn’t think Eli needs to change anything about himself in order to be loved, and finds herself falling for him.

This was a sweet slow-burn with many classic rom com elements. I love the idea of the classic rom com “makeover,” but this time it’s with a man. An easy, fun read!

Eli is in love…with someone who isn’t in love with him. But he’s determined to win Victoria back after her research trip to Rome, and his sister and friends decide to give him the makeover of a lifetime to reach his goal. They change his style and tell him to learn from the men of classic rom-coms, enlisting the help of new friend Leah. The problem is…Leah doesn’t think Eli needs to change at all.

Leah and Eli have a really sweet love story, slowly falling for each other as they watch rom-coms together. It’s all part of his education, but when they’re together, they both seem to forget his end goal. They have great chemistry. I love when a book couple are new friends first, because the transition to romance always feels so natural.

I think overall, though, I needed just a little more depth from this book. Leah has some serious trauma in her past, and it does get discussed, but it’s all a little surface level. Her trust issues are barely a factor between her and Eli. There’s drama promised with her foster brother, but it kind of fizzles out before it even starts. And while I liked the supporting characters, they all had very similar personalities and sort of blended together.

If you’re looking for something light and fun though, with cute main characters, this is the perfect read!

Friends to loved AND found family? Count me in! ✨

This book was so fun! The characters were so well-written and I loved the town so much!

The characters all felt so real, and I’m rooting for them to get their own books. The humor in this one is top notch and kept me laughing all throughout the book.

I can’t wait to see what Jayne Denker comes up with next! ✨

DNF after chapter 2…

i found the storyline or this book strange after reading the first couple chapters. it open with the main guy proposing to his girlfriend of like four months, she says she doesn’t want to marry him, breaks up with him, and she moves away. the main girl also was a witness to this situation.

the next chapter is a year forward and he is still hung up over his ex and his sister’s are going to help make him over to win her back. after reading other reviews, it seems that he spend the majority of the book still in love with his ex, so therefore i will not be continuing this book.

The Rom-Com Agenda has all the elements of a Rom-Com. It is a quick read with and endearing group of friends and two main characters that find each other in a comical way.

This was cute, but it felt like it was missing something? The entire concept was fun, and honestly the story was very sweet, but I think I just never believed Eli and Leah's jump from friends to more. The development of their friendship felt perfectly paced, but the next step, especially given how hung up Eli was on Victoria, just felt too rushed.

I still liked this overall though, particularly with the found family aspects, but it just felt like it could have benefited from a bit more development in places.

3.5

For a book with such a cute title this one was not my cup of tea. I really didn't like any of the characters, that may totally be a me problem though. I am sure many folks will like it, I just personally didn't resonate with either character.

In The Rom-Com Agenda, Eli’s friends are giving him a makeover to get his ex back, and Leah is cleaning her late mother’s house and waiting to get out of Willow Cove. But when she finds herself involved in Eli’s makeover, things get a little more complicated.

This book and the small town of Willow Cove were cozy but not isolating. Eli and Leah fit together on their own and in the world around them.

I loved the meddling friends, but I wish they were more self-aware of their attempts at trying to change Eli - it felt like they already had a list of his faults and were waiting for the opportunity to pounce. Still, I loved the book and look forward to reading more from Jayne Denker.

*Thanks to Netgalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Jayne Denker for this ARC!

2.5 stars rounded up.

I had high hopes for this one because what a cute name, The Rom-Com Agenda. I love rom-coms! give me the Sandra Bullocks and the Hugh Grants and the less-problematic John Hughes movies.

But, this book wasn't really delivering on the roms or the coms. At least for me.

The premise had promise. Leah accidentally is a witness to a man (Eli) getting dumped by his girlfriend right after he proposed, or rather gave a ring as a promise propose (I refuse to say "promise ring"). She leaves in a rush to head to Italy, and Leah feels bad for this heartbroken man.

But Leah has other worries. For the past few years she has taken care of her ailing foster mom's who died recently. She is not working many odd jobs to save up and move out of the small town. She is living rent free in her foster mom's house and her foster brother keeps dropping hints that he wants to sell. She is independent, and has no family or ties to the town she grew up in.

Meanwhile, Eli has let him self go after the breakup, even though they were only together four months. His wacky group of friends and family are determined to make him over because he wants to win back his ex. So, they take him to various places in their small town to get new clothes and a haircut. Who happens to work at all these places? Leah. His group of friends ropes her into joining them on Operation Eli Makeover. They give him homework to watch romantic comedies so he can learn from them. Throughout the process a friendship forms between Leah and Eli, and she catches feelings for him. But it's hopeless, because all this work is to win back his ex, right?

Listen, this book was...fine. I just didn't really connect with the characters and the wackiness of the friends felt forced. All the beats of romance (meet-cute, conflict, grand gesture, swoony moments) kind of fell flat for me. All the references to romantic movies from the 80s and 90s made me think I would rather just re-watch When Harry Met Sally.

Thank you St. Marten's Press and Netgalley for the ARC for my honest review.

Thank you St.Martins Press and NetGalley for a copy of this ARC.

After Eli’s girlfriend turns down his proposal and temporarily moves to Italy for work, Eli’s family and friends put him through a makeover to try and help win Victoria back.

The premise of this book was super cute, but the length of time Eli spent pining over Victoria was getting a little too much for me. I will say though that the rom-com movie references were a hit!

I adored Leah and just wanted to wrap her up in a huge hug. She was always so positive even after the life she had. I’m so happy that she found her own family with Eli’s friends and family.

Typically closed door romances are not my thing, but it just worked with this book. This was my first book by Jayne, but I would be open to reading more of her work :)

A cute contemporary romance with bundles of pop-culture references which I absolutely loved! This was a cute story but it felt like Eli spent most of the book missing his ex. That kinda killed it for me. A little residual heartbreak is fine but don't let it outshine the main coupling that's supposed to be happening. Denker did a great job utilizing the friends to lovers trope though, over all.

I want to start off by saying I really did with this books. Every time something happened that made me uncomfortable I tried to just push through cause I liked the premise of the books and loved the romcom references but I just couldn't read anymore. I DNFed at 42%.

First, I want to start off by saying that I don't know how I am supposed to like Eli after what he pulled in chapter 1. Proposing to a girl after only dating 4 months because she's leaving, and sure I sound a little bit like a hypocrite cause I am a fan of instalove. But Victoria's reaction to his proposal should've give him enough information that she was not interested in him.

Second, I was listening to the audiobook, to clarify English is not my first language, both names of the main characters were confusing. Eli and Leah in this narrators voice sound similar in some moments and I confused some things Eli said with Leah... and don't get me started when Eli thought Leah and Leia are the same thing.

Third, this book has a lot of pop culture references, if this is not your cup of tea, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK... I got at least 4 or 5 Harry Potter references.

Now to the reason why I did not finish this book:

Eli is still in love or interest in Victoria at least 40% of this book. The reason why I couldn't continue is because (spoilers ahead) (view spoiler)

Another thing I didn't like, personally to me it felt like everyone pity Leah cause she is an orphan. It made uncomfortable. I don't think any of the characters are likable.

Like I said, I like the concept and I am not a fan of the execution.

Thank you NetGalley for the e-arc and audiobook arc of this book.

Read this book in two days!!! Nice cozy read loved this book will be reading more from this author in the future... will be recommending to my bookstagram followers! Thank you for providing me with a free copy for review! Much appreciated!

"The Rom-Com Agenda" is a sweet story written by Jayne Denker. The setting of the North Country area of New York was unique and interesting to read about. Getting to know the characters was so much fun! I think the author has done great work creating three-dimensional characters. By the time I finished the book I felt like I really knew them and they were old friends. I like the pacing of the plot - it matches the story well. It was great to see the characters gradually realize the depth of their feelings for each other. The author's writing style is smooth and each chapter moves the plot and story along, without the use of filler chapters. It was great to follow Leah and Eli on their personal and emotional journeys and to see them both realize and strengthen their self-confidence and self-worth. I loved all of the romantic comedy film references! So much fun. I would like to see the author write another book following the story of Delia and Gray. This book focuses on the themes of: family, friendship, love, and healing. Blanche was so cute! I hope we see her in another book too. This was a sweet, fun, and emotional read with endearing characters and one very unlikable character. I highly recommend it! Even to readers who may not often read contemporary romance. Five stars! Thank you very much to the author, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy to read and review honestly.

This book has my heart. I abs loved and felt for leah so much! She deserves all of the happiness in the world
Dealing with heavy topics such as grief my heart was mended by the end of this book. I abs loved Eli and leah

If you’re a fan of
Rom-Coms
New found family
Small town romance
Friends to lovers

Please consider reading this one ❤️❤️❤️

This is a really cute small town, friends to lovers rom com. I loved Leah! Eli really irritated me when he wouldn't let Victoria go. Over and over and over again. I think that that part could have been less prevalent in the story.

Of you’re looking for a sweet uncomplicated romance, check this one out.
I liked the crowd of friends that Leah developed.
Eli. Sigh. If ever there was a man who was obtuse, clueless, and oblivious, it is him. I had to squelch the urge to,shake some sense into him.
I loved it when Leah spoke the truth to him, but he still clung to his made up fantasies.
I liked all the movie references and Analyses.
There is a HEA, of course, or I wouldn’t read books like this.

The following review will be posted on my blog, Thursday, January 5th, 5 days before publication. It will be shared on Twitter and Instagram between that day and the day of publication, and has already been posted on Goodreads. The blog post includes links to order the books and to its Goodreads page, so readers can add it to their to-be-read books.






“Do I belong here?”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 2 fire emojis
Content Warnings: Discusses death of parent/foster parent, grieving, breakups, struggling to make ends meet, potential homelessness, and an honest addiction to an ex.

“The Rom-Com Agenda” starts with a rejection. Eli is proposing to Victoria, is utterly turned down, and Leah is there to witness it all. Talk about secondhand embarrassment. Now, months later, Eli and his friends are trying to have Eli go through an extreme makeover in order to win Victoria back when she comes back to the States, all with the help of Leah, who volunteers to help him after befriending Eli’s sisters. Little did they know, they were lowkey made for each other. Through rom-com movies and mishaps, Eli and Leah get to really know each other, and question all about the future they envisioned apart—and how that might look if they were together.

I have to be honest, throughout this book I defaulted at times to just reading the dialogue. Eli’s back and forth was driving me insane. His sisters’ and friends’ obsession with meddling with his life felt so forced and unrealistic. Take this book as a true fiction romance—this could never happen in real-life.

I was so hyped for this book and I just simply didn’t vibe with it. The jokes weren’t funny, the dialogue was iffy, and the romance was alright. Leah and Eli seem like a good match, I just hated how they got there.

I would recommend this book, perhaps, as a palette cleanser between tough books. It’s lighthearted mostly and is an easy read. The pop culture and rom-com movie references were awesome—it just wasn’t as life-changing and heartwarming as I was expecting it to be.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: January 10, 2023

“When we said we are family, we meant it.”