Overall I did enjoy this book and that it was a second chance, kind of opposites attract kind of vibe. He hates everything romantic, she loves romance and everything about it. I liked that there were lots of romantic clichés/tropes throughout, the coffee shop scene I loved, however towards the end I did think it was a little overkill with the amount that there were.

I loved the layout of the book and that the title page was set out to look like a movie poster and at the start of each chapter there was a header which set out the scene, location and what the first shot would look like, as if it was a film script and really liked that it married up the book and the plot of the book.

3.5 stars

*Thank you so much to NetGalley and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me this arc in exchange for an honest review*

Unfortunately I had to dnf this book. I learned near 60% that this was the second book in a series. I dnf it after that. Had I known already that it was the second my review might be different. Other than that I couldn't connect with the characters, it was very unreasonable and I didn't enjoyed at all.

This book just wasn’t for me and I sadly had to dnf halfway through. I didn’t connect with the characters at all and I would have preferred dual pov when I‘m honest.
Harrison to me was just way too negative and also not really helping, but to think about her body and sex while she works felt awkward.
Also I really didn’t understand the magic that‘s supposedly happening in the town, was it part of this magic why so many people just randomly hit on Harrison in a cafe?
I personally never experienced anything like that so it‘s difficult to believe that it would actually happen like 3 times in the time that he takes to order coffee.
One thing that really annoyed me was the reason he gave for not believing in love anymore or believing that it‘s fake? Idk, but the reason was so weird to me like.. that‘s all it takes for you to not believe in love anymore?!
Maybe things are different in the end but that‘s what I‘m feeling at this point in the book.

Anyways, I had high hopes for this book because the synopsis sounded so good and I‘m sad I couldn’t make it through.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

The premise sounded intriguing but unfortunately I struggled with the narration and to connect to the two characters. Harrison seemed entirely fixated on just sleeping with Hayley and this felt really jarring as every page was a different description of her skin. The sex scenes felt odd too ("globes of her ass"), so sadly this was not for me.

Thanks to netgaley and the publishers for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

3.75 stars for this grumpy/sunshine, second chance, forced proximity novella with a decent dose of spice!

Dani McLean is back with another novella! "Not My Love Story" follows Harrison (Harry) and Hayley as they are thrown together again after not seeing each other for a long while. This time, they are forced by a movie studio to write a romantic comedy screenplay together. I love the second chance aspect of Harry and Hayley's story, but the story itself fell a little flat for me, especially when compared to "Midnight, Repeated," which I read right before this. Luckily, Dani McLean's banter writing is fantastic, so what could have easily been a flop in someone else's hands excels despite the narrative feeling a bit familiar. Ugh, I want alllll the Dani McLean steam there it! It's also a fast read, so any problems I had dissipated quickly, too. Extra points about adult conversations, working through miscommunication, and constant consent.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dani McLean, and Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op for providing me with an ARC copy of this book! All opinions are my own, and I was not compensated for my review.

Thank you Netgalley & Victory Editing for an eARC of Not My Love Story ,a steamy contemporary romance and the 2nd in the Movie Magic Novella series by Dani McLean.

I absolutely love Dani’s romance novels, so her novellas are great to enjoy as a quick, delicious snippet of romance and steam.

Harrison Kyle hates romance and is a cynical screenwriter. His studio has a final request - write a rom-com. Oh, and he has to do it with Hayley Bennett, a sexy and smart woman who enjoys arguing with him and teasing him. Love is in the air, literally, and Harrison finds himself suffocating in it.

This is a super quick read that will give you the typical rom-com feels - Laughs, steam, sexual tension and love love love. I hope we continue to see these characters meet up again in the future of this novella series!

Thank you Netgalley, Dani Mclean and Set the mood Publishing for this early copy in exchange for an honest review!


I really enjoyed this book! I though the steam and slow pining were both great. This was a quick novella to read, so if you are in a slump I highly recommend. Even if you are not, this story was just so good!

I loved Harrison's inner dialogue, even though at times he annoyed me with how hard headed he was being! But I could not put this book down!!!.

If you enjoy these, pick this book up:
-Forced Proximity
-Second Chance Romance
-Single POV [Third Person]
-HEA

This was a cute read. It had all of my favourite tropes.

- Second chance
- forced proximity
- HEA

But it fell kind of flat. Which I was disappointed about tbh. I felt like the execution of the book could of been better given the synopsis.

My second book by Dani McLean and it was similar to the first, but something new. Still good, still funny, still romantic. 
Grinch, but for Valentine's Day and all romantic "nonsense". Harrison and Haley are both screenwriters. But after one night together 6 months ago, Harrison trying so hard to be as far as he can from Haley. Because he doesn't believe in love, in "one true love". He wrote about serious stuff. Hayley is opposite: she believes and wait for love. Her romantic movies are spectacular. 
And once near Valentine's Day, they have to write a screenplay together. A romantic movie. Let the love win!
I guess you should read this book close to the February to fell the holiday atmosphere, because I wasn't totally in the mood.
It was a romcom but with adult prospective, above standard cliché.

This grumpy/sunshine romance novella was a real joy to read. It’s filled with witty banter, includes the beloved ‘only one bed’ trope and is short, sweet, and a little bit spicy.

I particularly loved the writing style. It was punchy and fast paced and a little bit silly in the way you want your rom-coms to be. Dani’s decision, to stipulate before you begin reading that Chance is a place where anything can happen and you as the reader should just go with it, was a fun and unique way to get her readers out of their own heads. Sometimes the believability of a rom-com, and the fact that the wonderful coincidences so prevalent in the majority of them don’t happen in the real world, can pull me from the story. So this reminder was really helpful in increasing my enjoyment of the book.

This was really fun and I’ll absolutely be reading more from Dani in the future.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me and an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Second Chance Romance
Forced proximity
Banter
Grumpy/sunshine


This was a DNF for me half way through this book. I didn't like the main character Harrison Kyle or Haley. Overall, this novella fell very flat and didn't do it for me


Thank you NetGalley and Victory Editing for this ebook for an honest review

Not My Love Story is such a fun and enjoyable read! I love the author's intention behind this story. She clearly wants to gift us with a book we can read and love with no shame! Not My Love Story is an ode to romance books and movies and, above all, it is an ode to people who has had to defend their love of romance or any other interest that other people have deemed ‘not cool’. With this book, the author suggests us to believe in anything that will make us happy.... whether it is a book, a movie, a fairytale or a love story. This book gives people hope and as the author says: "Sometimes hope is as good as happiness, especially when we are striving for something we’re not sure we’ll ever have.” So, thank you Dani McLean (and all the romance writers out there) for constantly giving us readers hope!

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you so much to the author @dmc_lean for an arc of the second novella in her Movie Magic novella contemporary romance series! This book comes out Jan 3, 2023!

This was another fun, sweet, and steamy (steam=🔥) novella! I really liked how it was set up as a movie script- because that’s the whole premise of the story!

For a novella, the story really has it all. For how short it was, it could have seemed like the romance was rushed, but it helped that the two MC’s knew each other/had a “thing” so they were already familiar with each other.

READ IF YOU LIKE:
🎥 second chance romance
🎥 MC’s who are screenwriters & have to write romance script together
🎥 MMC who hates romance
🎥 FMC loves love
🎥 he can’t stop thinking about having that forever kind of love with her
🎥 previous one night stand
🎥 only one bed

I really enjoyed this - it was a cute and sexy read and I loved how Harrison fell hard and fast without knowing how Hayley really felt.

Starting this book, I had a lot of high hopes! So many of the troupes I love and look for, all wrapped up into a fun Novella, and although it had the potential, I just couldn't quite get as into it as I liked.
Worth a read, if you can look past some of the cringy/awkward moments, and focus on the fun, feel good vibes and the great writing style

First off, thank you NetGalley, Dani McLean and Victory Editing for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I absolutely enjoyed this once I was able to sit down and really take in this story. It was super cute, and I loved it being set for Valentine’s Day. Harrison and Hayley had great chemistry with a slow burn, and I loved their banter. The first half was a bit slower, but it definitely picked up half way in and pulled me into the story. I did get very annoyed with Harrison and how completely unwilling he was to accept his feelings and act on them, however I must say that it made the ending so much better this way.

I also really enjoyed the set up for the novella. I thought the screenplay set up tied in well and set the stage differently, but in a good way.

All in all, I really enjoyed this.

Quotes:
“She’s sunshine; you’re rain. The perfect combination”

“Happily ever afters only occurred in fiction because life didn’t end after ‘I love you.’ Real life was messy and complicated and wonderful.”

“‘No energy is everlasting, not even love. So what’s the point?’

‘The point, Harry, is to feel it.’”

Not My Love Story was a 2.5 star read for me.
This novella focuses on screenwriters Kyle and Hayley who are forced to work together to write a romance movie. Kyle, doesn't believe in love, and resists wholeheartedly writing a romance, the opposite of his normal writing style. Kyle and Hayley, who had shared one night together in the past, initially clash heads, but slowly learn to work together.
This novella includes the following tropes: enemies(ish) to lovers, second chance romance, and one bed. This novella follows these two main characters slowly learn to work through their past, Although this book does include some of my favourite tropes the way in which the author uses them, made me cringe in multiple instances. I could have skipped the meet cutes at the beginning, but enjoyed the single bed trope.
Not My Love Story starts with a message that warns of magical things happening that cannot be explained, but appeared to be simply awkward/unlucky circumstances that are extremely unlikely, happening repeatedly throughout the book. I enjoyed watching the characters through their journey of falling in love, but I wish they could have given Hayley more depth.
Overall this was a quick read, but had be wishing for more.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m always happy to read a new Dani McLean title. I think this is 5 for me. Not My Love Story is an enemies to lovers novella about two people writing the script of a romance movie together. I really enjoyed it and look forward to the rest of the series.

Harrison and Hayley are stuck together to write a film. I did enjoy reading this short book, but I felt like there were a few times when I didn't quite get the back story.

Oh how sweet! Sweet is all i can think of when i think of Hayley & Harrison.

This is a super quick read! I enjoyed Harrison’s inner dialogue. I felt like he needed to just get over his feelings and accept how he felt. Hayley & Harrison’s bickering was quite enjoyable too.

I adored Midnight Repeat, one of my favorite reads of this year. While i found this book cute, it didn’t resinate with me as the other novel.

It felt like it was wordy and not believable in some parts, while also lacked details in other. The second half of the book had me hooked and i wished there was more of their interactions after they admitted their feelings.

It’s giving: One bed, forced proximity, second chance romance, and single POV.

Thank you Netgalley and the author for supplying an eARC in exchange for an honest review.