I really loved this delightful novel!

A terrific screwball comedy cleverly plotted, gorgeously choreographed, full of verbal pyrotechnics and blessed with a fantastic cast of exquisitely drawn characters, It happened one fight is a beautiful tribute to the Golden Age of Hollywood and a brilliant fictional portrait of America during the 30s!

Highly recommended and to be discovered and enjoyed without any moderation whatsoever!

Many thanks to Sourcebooks and Netgalley for this marvellous ARC!

It was a good book and really enjoyed it all and rooted for this couple to make it. Love it all. read it today you will not be disappointed.

This book was surprising in many ways, mainly that I could simultaneously love it and hate it so so much. I appreciated the non-traditional (at least for me) setting of the 1930s, and the tension and passion between the two stars was delicious. The accidental marriage setup was so fun, plus it was open door!

I’m fond of the occasional black and white film marathon, and this put me majorly in the mood. Plus, I have such a soft spot for this book’s namesake, It Happened One Night! In the book, the movie is referenced, but by a fake name as it starred the two main characters. They even recreated the sheet divider in the bedroom!! I also think I spotted other references to actors and films, but who’s to say.

However, and it’s a BIG however, I absolutely despised the atrocious third act. I knew it was coming because there was still too much of the book left for there not to be something major, but man it was way too much to handle. I’m not built for shit to go that bad because of decisions being made for the COUPLE by only ONE character with no communication. It was just cruel.

*minor spoilers below*

I don’t know how Dash forgave Joan because I sure haven’t. There was too l much forgiveness all around and I simply can’t abide I’m so sorry but absolutely FUCK Leda into next Tuesday. And we didn’t even get a confrontation. What do I hate? Blackmail and self sacrifice, both of which we got in spades. The last 10% just felt so unbelievable.

Aside from the last 35% of the book, I think a critique from other readers will be that it felt super modern and not like the thirties at all. But I never really have an issue with modern historical romances, so it actually worked for me. If this story would’ve actually been set in 2023, wouldn’t have enjoyed it, so I still think the time period worked effectively. I thought the setting was super interesting, and I really loved the celebrity relationship aspect, which I normally don’t like so much.

Like I said, I loved the book until the third act breakup. I’m assuming we’ll get Flynn’s book next? If so, I’m definitely interested, but I’ll need to read reviews to see how that third-act is handled. Because I do have some trust issues now. I didn’t have issues with the pacing and was actually quite riveted (until the third act), so I do think there’s a chance I could really love book two.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5/5 🌶️🌶️.25*/5

*I truly didn’t know what to expect with this one. We got one full open door scene and I really really loved it. It spanned a lot of pages and felt like the perfect climax to their relationship and all that pent up passion. There were a couple later closed door moments that could’ve totally been open door and it would’ve made the payoff a little sweeter. For some reason I expected this to be all closed door, so I’m definitely not complaining.

P.S. I think the characters on the cover look super authentic, but I didn’t feel like they actually reflected the characters in the book. Also I’m sorry but pencil mustaches are disgusting.


Thanks so much to the publisher for an eARC via NetGalley. All opinions are honest and my own.

If you love old timey movies, you're basically obligated to read this book. Playing off of all of our favorite black & white classics and silver screen legends, this romcom is a fun romp through classic Hollywood. I enjoyed how the book got a little meta: the characters are actors and tropes bust in and out between the films they play and their real life.

I always will like a Romance book with an edge. This book has I guaranteed!
While reading this book you will be transported to another era. A time where Hollywood was beginning to rise to what we all know now. All the glamour, the movies, the innovation at its best.
The book follows literally Americas Sweethearts at its best. They both have pasts and they both enjoy acting, just not everything that comes with fame. The story spans over several years with only makes it better. There are small bumps to overcome as well as big unfair ones to overcome. Eventually we have the ending that we love of course.
I enjoyes how they speak with expressions of their time, There are some modern touched but overall you'll be sucked in to Hollywood Golden Era.
I enjoyed this book so much! I liked being in another set of mind and with other standards for the characters,
I appreciate Maureen Lee Lenker, the publisher and NetGalley for this opportunity on the ARC.

I would have thought, having finally crossed the finish line of this insanely drawn out and repetitive novel, that I had just read a 2000 page opus. Nope, sadly, it just felt that way.

very charming, if a bit inside baseball and obviously reliant on the personas of joan crawford and clark gable, the latter of whom has some unsavory, fairly substantiated allegations against him. i dunno if i would've based a book upon him. myrna loy william powell supremacy

I do wanted to love this book but the amount of outside drama was too much. Neither MC was particularly likable.
I was so looking forward to a romance set in this time period but this one just didn’t work for me.

A beautiful homage to my favorite era of movies, Hollywood's Golden Age. I'm a big Cary Grant fan, and Dash is clearly inspired by him, so that made me so happy! If you love old Hollywood films, this is a great read for you.

This is very old Hollywood, very Golden Age feel. It's obviously set to that time and style, and portrays it's characters as a mixture of a few actors of that time. The book is very cute, and to me read like a movie from that time. it's exciting to see this is a debut author and I cannot wait for whatever other work she will publish.

The premise was so promising, but I was bored by the writing style. Someday, someone will write the snappy Old Hollywood love story that perfectly captures the dialogue of my favorite screwball comedies, but today is not that day.

Maureen Lee Lenker's IT HAPPENED ONE FIGHT is a love letter to the Golden Age of Hollywood, full of sweet homages to real-life celebrities and their renowned films. It's also a swoon-worthy romance between two headstrong, larger-than-life characters: Dash Howard and Joan Davis. Paired up in a variety of films together at the onset of their careers, Dash and Joan became a picture-perfect pair that the public went gaga for -- could you believe they couldn't stand each other? But how they got there—and where they go from there—will keep you turning pages.
Dash and Joan are both complex, flawed, and endearing characters that I found myself rooting for instantly. Their chemistry is incredible, their banter is so much fun!
A series of misunderstandings, an engagement, a whole lot of meddling, "only one bungalow," and a cast of great supporting characters makes for a lively and entertaining read.

Joan Davis and Dash Howard are the perfect couple - only on the big screen. In reality, despite acting in numerous films together, Joan can't stand Dash's arrogant and sassy personality ever since their studio-arranged date went wrong.

But now, set to marry a man who can help boost her reputation, the last thing Joan wants is to find herself accidentally married to Dash, the result of one of his prank gone too far. Stuck working on their latest film together, Dash and Davis must wait 6 weeks for their divorce to be finalized. Until then, the two must try to resist the growing chemistry between them.

The premise of this book grabbed me from the first moment and I had a feeling I couldn't go wrong with this story, said and done! I loved the characters, the super well-sewn plot, the setting in Hollywood in the 1930s, the fears and ambitions so timeless for anyone in the entertainment industry, simply sensational!

Two things I didn't like were: hurting poor Dash when he's still healing from absurd self-doubt and the epilogue not giving me more of Dash and Davis together. The story ends in a satisfying way, but I would have liked to have seen them a little bit in the future.

That said, this story is heartwarming, funny, romantic, with well-placed jokes and a blatant sexual tension (not to mention dual POV!), perfect for those who want a calm reading but with characters that we identify independently of the place or time of life.

This is one of the best books ive read. I loceanything that has to do with old Hollywood. Old movies and the 1930s. So all that wrapped up in one book yes sign.me up wvwrything was well developed to the characters and the premise i need more from this story

Thank you to NetGalley for giving this ARC, and this doesn't influence my review. First of all, I was entranced by the fact that this was going to be an old-timey Hollywood romance book.
Tropes: witty banter, hate to love, rivals to lovers, historical romance,,,, Hollywood style!!!!
The good stuff: The dialogue, styles, everything was just like old-times Hollywood! The cover was interesting.
The bad stuff: MMC was literally only thinking of sex in regards to FMC, like they don't have to be depicted as pigs, please stop. The dual-pov, I did not like at all.
The hate to love was great, but the romance was not interesting and was too fast.

This needs a lot of work. Outlandish, even for being inspired by a screwball comedy. The problem is that the stunts weren’t the problem. There was a lot of wishful thinking about social mores at the time. While the characters were all worried about puritans ruining their careers, they seemed to ride out of every social hiccup in the end.

I wanted to love this one so much, I really did. However, the characters were just not likable and there was so much added drama into the story that it 1. Made it hard to want the two characters to be together and 2. Made it hard to want to keep reading. There was too much outside interference and I was dragging myself through finishing this. However, I did enjoy the times when the characters admitted to being their true selves. It just wasn't enough to make me like it.

DNF. I really liked the premise but the writing did not work for me at all. It wouldn't be fair to the book if I finished reading and gave it a low rating.

I personally didn't enjoy the opening (fake newspaper articles followed by information overload) and stopped at 2% in. Not a book for me. I thought it might go over well in our area with the "old Hollywood" vibe, but I don't think it's fast-paced enough for our usual readers.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for giving me this eArc to review.

This book had a brilliant premise but it didn't quite hit the mark for me and I think that is due to the pacing of the book and the fact that the ending felt a little muddled to me.

I still really enjoyed this book though and I am looking forward to seeing what else the author has to publish. I'm also wanting to read more books set in this time period.