I liked the concept of this book but ultimately, it wasn’t for me. I didn’t really feel the connection between the characters and wish we were given more information about their history.

I really enjoyed this! As someone who loves the cheesy tropiness of a Hallmark movie, this was all of that plus meta since it was a romance story about two screenwriters writing a romance movie. I like it just a bit less than the first novella in the series since that one has a time loop (love me a time loop) and because this one felt less complete, which is a hangup I generally have reading novellas--but not a bad thing really since I wanted more of their story! Looking forward to the rest of the novellas in this series!

This review will live on my IG @chronically_KD in the story highlight called ARCReviews. My rating was actually 4.5 stars, which I'm not able to portray here. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC, apologies for the late review since this was released earlier in the week on Jan 3/23.

I enjoyed this novella for a short read. I loved Harrison's character and doubt in love and romance however I wish there had of been more to Hayley's character. Along with the addition of Lee and Harrison's sister, I think the characters could have developed more and a couple more steamy scenes. It could have been a longer more fulfilling read.

The novella tells the story of Harrison, a screenwriter who has always been cynical when it comes to romcoms, that is forced to work alongside the romance lover Hayley. They secretly like each other, and writing a romance together may not be the best way to excuse and hide these feelings.

This was a super quick and cute read for me. It’s a good Valentine’s day read, and it’s just sad that it was short and doesn’t have a dual P.O.V., which makes it harder to connect with both characters, but overall it is a great story and definitely worth a shot.

Too slow of a slow burn for me. Loved them when they were finallyyyyy together though lol just wish it was half the book sooner since this was novella.

Surviving this rom-com might not be so easy
Hayley and Harrison are forced to work together to create a rom-com screenplay but agree to it for different reasons. As told through Harrison's POV we see how difficult and jaded he is on matters of the heart, meanwhile Haley lives and breathes this genre. Having hooked up once before, we all know the attraction is there, but the forced proximity awakens feelings he never had before.
A short but slow burn read that has you waiting for the "will they" moment to happen.
Thanks Netgalley for the chance to read this book and give my honest opinion.

Super cute fast paced read. I loved the main characters. Great second book to series. I can’t wait until book 3 comes out .

This was a great second chance, grumpy/sunshine, forced proximity romance novella. I have been absolutely loving this series! The stories are full of heart, have the perfect amount of steam and deliver the most feel-good happily ever afters that defy the usual romance stereotypes. Much thanks to NetGalley and the author for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

ESP/ENG
No diría que la historia es mala. Simplemente, no me convenció.
Me encontré verdaderamente confusa con el desarrollo de su historia y todo lo que pasaba, la conexión entre ambos personajes. No le encontré la magia de San Valentín. Tuve muchos problemas siguiendo la lectura, lo tomaba e inmediatamente tenia que volver a bajarlo porque no me lograba atrapar. Se supone que el libro tiene temática del 14 de febrero, pero no logre conectar con el amor, no pude sentirlo. Una historia bastante plana.
En este caso, nos encontramos con Harrison, un escritor que se ve obligado a trabajar con otra escritora pero que solo hace romance. Harrison no cree en el amor, sus escritos son mas realistas, pero acepta ese trabajo porque significa que estará libre para escribir lo que el quiera, solo que ellos ya se conocían, tuvieron una noche juntos hace tiempo y ya lo demás es bastante cliché.
-------------------------------------------------------------
I wouldn't say the story is bad. It just didn't convince me.
I found myself truly confused with the development of the story and everything that was going on, the connection between the two characters. I didn't find the magic of Love. I had a lot of trouble following the reading, I would pick it up and then immediately have to put it down again because it didn't grab me. The book is supposed to have a February 14th theme, but I couldn't connect with the love, I couldn't feel it. A rather flat story.
Here, we meet Harrison, a writer who is forced to work with another writer but she only writes romance. Harrison doesn't believe in love, his writing is more realistic, but he takes that job because it means he will be free to write whatever he wants, only that they already knew each other, they had one night together a long time ago and the rest is quite cliche.

Second chance, forced proximity, and super sweet. Set in the cutest town during a Valentine festival. Two screenwriters "forced" to work together on a new romance. Harrison, the hater of all things romance and Hayley, the master of the genre... what could possibly go wrong?

Nothing. Everything went right. Harrison experienced all the best tropes and the ending was perfect.

The heat was also incredible. I'm looking forward to reading everything Dani writes.

Thanks netgalley for the ARC.

This is easily one of the sweetest romances I've read in a while.

Yes, it's a quick novella. Yes, it has "doesn't believe in love/loves love" cliché. And yes, it is written in third person (which I'm not very used to) but it's so well written that I enjoyed every second of it.

Most of novellas always have me feeling like the end is rushed and the love story wrapps up so quickly but with Not My Love Story that wasn't the case at all.

It's starts with Hayley and Harrison, a couple of screenwritters who have such a different style, having to work together to write a rom-com in a little town where a Valentine's festival it's causing such impossible things to happen that had me laughing at the improbability of them.

Nevertheless, what made this feel real and well-paced for me was the fact that it's a second chance romance, where Hayley and Harrison have already met, spent time together and have underlying feelings for eachother, making it so much more believeable for me the fact that they end up together at the end without feeling rushed.

Definitely, 5 stars for me.

Thanks so much NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for a copy of an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

2.5/5 ⭐️

Harrison and Hayley are both screenwriters and their studio is having them write a rom-com together. Hayley normally writes rom-coms but Harrison is not a fan of this genre and would prefer not to work on this project. However, in order to write his magnum opus, the studio needs him complete this rom-com with Hayley first.

I wanted to like this one more as I enjoy novellas and think they’re perfect for an afternoon read. But I think I would have enjoyed this one more if it was longer as I didn’t feel like certain parts of the story were fleshed out enough. This book is advertised as part of a series that can be read as a standalone but I kept feeling like I was missing something especially in regards to Harrison and Hayley’s history. There were some cute parts though like when Harrison kept encountering rom-com moments and tropes in his own life.

Harrison and Hayley have history and we enter this screenplay as Harrison discovers that he is being forced to write the screenplay for a romantic comedy with Hayley. They have a deadline of a week to finish and if he accomplishes this, the studio will let him write whatever he wants. Set in Chance, anything can happen and it does. Harrison is put into situations that seem to be straight out of a romantic .com and these eventually force him to confront his feelings for Hayley. They end up in a relationship and meet the goal that was imposed on them for the screenplay. It was a fun, short read and I really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed the first novella in this series, Midnight Repeated. This one fell a bit flat for me. I would’ve like a little more character development especially for Hayley.
We came into their story halfway. They had a history that we didn’t get too much information about. All in all it was a little bland.

This novella is a cute and easy read. I got it as an ARC from Netgalley and it’s out January 3. The formatting, partially, as a screenplay was interesting and added something different that I hadn’t seen before. The story itself was likable and I liked both Henry and Hayley but I just didn’t fall in love with them or feel super attached to the outcome. I knew they’d end up together and I did like how against love Henry was and getting to see that change for him. The one spicy scene was really good and was probably my favorite part of the book. If you are looking for something short and sweet that you can read in a couple hours I’d recommend this book.

Thank you so much NetGalley for providing me with this book!

A very cute, fast paced love story. I really enjoyed Harrison and Hayley’s story. I am looking forward to the other books in the series.

This was a hug in a book and it had the spiciest scenes which make this a very adult book. This had the miscommunication trope and once the two main characters realize that they are madly in love with each other. The epilogue ties up all of the lose ends and give context to the characters futures and lifes

This was a cute and funny novella. I liked that each chapter started with the blocking for the scene like in a movie. The romance calamities that our romance hating male lead kept finding himself in were hilarious. There was definitely some spice in this story 🌶️. One bed and grumpy/sunshine troupes.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review.

After reading Dani McLean’s previous novella, “Midnight Repeated”, I quickly searched for more of her work and requested “Not My Love Story”. I thoroughly enjoy magic realism. It’s a genre that makes my heart happy.

That being said, there wasn’t much “magic” in this story. There was the coffee shop scene, which was fun, but it felt like it ended there. I guess you could say the tropes that played out in Harrison and Hayley’s story, bringing them together was the magic?

If you’re looking for a quick, sweet and spicy read for Valentine’s Day - pick this one up. And I’ll be looking forward to more stories from this author.

Plot: It's just around Valentine's Day, Harrison a screenwriter who's a cynic when it comes around writing romcoms is literally forced to work with romance lover, Hayley. The two secretly like each other, so will they be able to keep their feelings to themselves, when they are forced to write a romcom together in a hotel? Or will their differences affect their work? Read the book to find out!

My thoughts: This book makes for a good Valentine's Day read, its short and I did enjoy it. Coming to the rating I would give this book 3 stars, the only thing I would like to point out would be is that I just couldn't connect with the characters this could be coz it wasn't written as a dual POV. However, the author does have potential and I would like to read more of her work in the future.
And to be honest I do understand the fact a short novella leaves very little space for the writers to express themselves. So, all in all, it was a good attempt.