DNF @ 25%

I could not move past the fact that he was acting like the biggest jerk ever and instead of having mature adult conversations centering around what she would like him to act like, he just did whatever. And took control over interviews. There's nothing romantic about men being dicks, even if they're just acting like it.

I was really disappointed too, because this premise was so interesting. I just... can't.

Started off rally funny with an interesting premise I hadn't read before. I thought the golden retriever/black cat flip was really cute and pulled me in. However, this DRAGGED majorly.

At one point, I thought they were finally about to get together and I was nearing the end of the book, only to see I was at the 30% mark. Entirely too long and repetitive. I also found Chris to be a little *too* perfect. Man written by a woman in a bad and unconvincing way. Not badly written, but needed another run through the editing machine. Absolutely no reason for this story to be 400 pages long.

We have all heard that it’s hard to break out in the publishing industry, and even harder as a woman. So after continued rejections, Daphne decided to do a test, she took on a masculine pseudonym. Little did she realize how that would change the game, and what it would fully mean for her career. With the book taking off, touring and in person events would be a problem… since she is indeed not a man. So, she hires an actor to play the part, but he may be more than she signed up for! This story has forced proximity, “enemies” to lovers, grumpy/sunshine and more! It was a fun read, and a deviation from what I’m used to reading from Kelley Armstrong. Highly recommend.

**DNF'ed @ 67% ~ review reflects only the portion read**

Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong is a romantic comedy about a writer using a pseudonym and the guy she hires to play the role publicly. Daphne is tired of rejection after rejection so she decides to submit it under a male pseudonym, and soon her book baby becomes the next big hit before it has even released. Now her publisher is wanting her to do a book tour, but they don't know that she is a SHE and not the man she pretended to be. Enter Chris. Chris looks the part of the persona Daphne created for her pseudonym: a survivalist who chops wood and lives off the grid. The only problem is Chris doesn't know how to do any of that. He's an accountant. Hilarity ensues as the two embark on a very public book tour.

I wanted to like this one, and I enjoyed the first half of the book. The banter was spot-on. The funny moments were laugh out loud, and the romance was sweet. It all fell apart for me when they left for the tour, which was over half-way through the book. Suddenly, Daphne acted like she couldn't trust Chris, and Chris was trying really hard for her approval. At some point, I put the book down with the intention of coming back to it, but never did. I lost all interest after they had a cute start and then went their separate ways.

Every once in a while, I find myself utterly enraptured with a romance novel. This doesn’t happen too often, a genre brimming with far too many books to wade through to find those pure diamonds doesn’t exactly make them easy to come across. I am, however, thrilled to report that Kelley Armstrong’s <i>Finding Mr. Write</i> is one such diamond.

Now, while I am full willing to admit that this story may not be a diamond to everyone, I can say with absolute certainty that this book is so up my alley that I was truly just in love with damn near every second of it. I had such a marvelous time getting to know the two main characters and an even better time seeing how their relationship dynamics began, developed, and grew through the course of the novel. Even better, the manner in which conflict arose for them was exceptional near every step of the way—from the truth of Chris’ background to the realistic way in which he held back this information, Daphne’s insecurities and how experiences over time force her to reckon with her much needed growth, and even the external conflict of her scummy neighbor or the literal bear that arrives in the woods!—keeping me engaged, laughing, and just <i>feeling</i> with every turn of page.

This is, unquestionably, what a rom com should be and perhaps one of the best I’ve ever read. And if you follow my reviews and like the books I tend to like, I can almost guarantee that you’ll love this one.

Book was good involves this woman who publishes her book under a guy's name that needs a guy to play the person on her book becomes a big star and then of course it's a great love feast

A cute romance that felt a bit generic. I’m not sure why it felt somewhat dragged out in the beginning and I just wanted to skip to the end but maybe I’m just over romances. It had a promising synopsis but truthfully, it felt like I had read it before.

Absolutely loved the premise of this book! Because yes we are against the patriarchy!!! This was my epitome of rom com. I loved the com part, but the rom could've used some work. I liked the characters separately, I think. It was too pushy and forced and overall a little sloppy. BUT light enough to read and finish.

Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the eARC.

While I have read a lot of books where someone assumes a false identity, this one was really different. Daphne McFadden is an aspiring author, but she hasn't had any luck being published under her own name. One day she gets a brilliant idea to submit a transcript under the name of Zane Remington and to her astonishment someone accepts her book for publishing! The problem arrives when an interview is requested and she has no idea what to do since she's not a man. Nia Paramour, a lawyer and friend of Daphne's has a client who's in needed legal help so she offered him her services if he'd portray the author, Zane. He took her up on her offer.

Fast forward to when he and Daphne meet and all she sees is a Greek god! She's immediately in lust and yet she has to keep it professional. He is Chris Stanton, an accountant who pretends to be an actor. So he introduces himself as Chris Ainsworth. As we all know, a lie, especially one that is perpetuated, always comes out and the truth is discovered. Naturally this eventually happens to Daphne and Chris, aka Zane. What happens and how they deal with it or don't deal with it is a fun reveal.

The story is told in two alternating POV's by both Chris and Daphne so we get to see both sides and it works very well. This is an easy read, a beach read or sit and relax kind of read. I thought it was very cute.

I really enjoyed this one! It was exactly what I hoped it would be, and even more 💕💕💕 I loved getting to know the characters, and I thought the overall story was really fun! It was an easy read, and one that will make me look up more from this author 💕

I Thoroughly enjoyed this not quite-mistaken identity (false identity?) story. The twist of an author in disguise is so easily pictured as an active reader/reviewer. We understand pen names/ alter-egos, and we get it, privacy is an important commodity and one that needs to be weighed heavily when coming out as an author. The fact that we may never escape the idea of this being a “man’s world” has never been more apparent. The thought of a male ‘author’ to sell her book, it is so utterly and completely believable. I loved the playfulness between Daphne & Chris, their chemistry was immediate but the connection grew organically and that made it all the better when they finally embraced it. This story is packed with entertainment and a touch of suspense in whether Daphne will ever step into the limelight, that question kept me coming back for more.

I love this new trail that Kelley Armstrong is going down. This was such a fun romantic comedy full of banter and the challenges that women face as authors. This book was full of laughs and romance with a slow burn, forced proximity vibe. City boy meets country girl - absolutely loved it!!

This is a romance novel by Kelley Armstrong! KELLEY ARMSTRONG! Raise the wicked alarms. Daphne, the MFC, is a writer who struggles to get her book published under her own name. Her sci-fi, adventure novel.

Sounds familiar? It should be, because this happens a lot. So what does she do? She uses a pseudonym and then hires someone to be Zane Remington, author and outdoors person.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and honestly? I cannot wait for Writing Mr. Wrong.

Also, please note if you are Canadian, and reading this, Kelley Armstrong is Canadian, and the link above will lead you to your local independent bookstore to purchase. I gain nothing from putting that link there aside from the knowledge that I am hopefully helping people support their local businesses.

My Thoughts:

There has been romance in Kelley Armstrong’s novels before but as far as my readership of her goes this is one of the first novels I can recall reading from her where romance is the central part of the book.

This one gives love to Canada, which I adore, while also asking the question, “would female writers of certain genres get more attention if they used male pseudonyms?” The answer in this book (and reality) is yes. This is really explored in this novel, both from a point of understanding from a majority of the female characters involved, and with some ignorance from some of the other (mostly male) characters in the background. While maintaining the drama of a romance novel, there is the amazing commentary on how female writers are treated in the industry when they try to differ from their “lane” (queue eye roll here).

Daphne is familiar to me, from the way she acts and writes, to the way she reacts when it comes to being anxious. She is strong, but not always confident, and I love her so much.

Chris genuinely had me laughing out loud a few times, because oh brother, he had plans on plans and they sure were interesting.

These two are super fun together, and yes, they made me laugh but they also filled me with hope, and yes, sometimes a little anxiety.

Anyone who knows me knows how big of a fan I am of Kelley Armstrong, just look at my book shelf and you will see that I have 80% of her published books on display. There usually isn't a book she has written that I don't love. As an aspiring author myself, I admire her for not being afraid to write and publish different genres. It is something I plan on doing as I cannot commit to writing just one genre for the rest of my life (Plus it's more fun!). I also admire her efforts in helping other writers achieve their writing goals & dreams through discussions and workshops, to name a few.

With this novel, I am going to be very transparent and state that I did not finish reading the book. I soft DNF'd the book and perhaps it was because I was not in the mood to read a light romance, but at the time I could not finish. I never give up on reading her books and will definitely give this book another try. Let me first mention what I did like:

1. The first page, especially the very first sentence. It made me chuckle while also made me want to read the rest of the scene to know why Daphne said that. This is a great start at grabbing the reader's attention
2. I enjoyed the setting. The Yukon is not a typical location mentioned in any books I've read and as a Canadian myself, I was thrilled to have a bit of Canada's natural beauty be show cased.
3. I also enjoyed the mention of the Globe & Mail reviewing her book as a top reviewer!

The main detail I did not like about the book is how Daphne believed that being a man to publish her novel in today's world, would bring her more success. I understand history has shown that women authors has had to use male pseudonyms, especially in male dominated genres (ie. thrillers) , to obtain traction with sales and success. However in 2025, women authors are dominating the publishing world. I would have loved to have seen a stronger female lead. However, I will be fair to state that because I have not read the rest of the book, there is a chance that Daphne sees her potential and that all along she never needed Chris to pretend to be her to be successful as an author. In the future, if I come back to this novel and finish and change my mind, I will change my rating.

The premise was so great for this- a female author writing as a male, due to the genre, hires an actor for social functions to pose as her pen name and a romance develops. There was some great banter between Daphne and Chris. There were some humorous scenes. The forced proximity trope was well done. The middle seemed to be a bit longer for my liking though-I found that it took me longer to read than most romances. 3.5 stars

I really wanted to like this book more but it just seemed to drag on for me until the end. The beginning of the book was first for me. I like both characters but not when Chris is pretending to be Chris Ainsworth. The end was much better. If I liked the entire book as much I liked the end I’d give it another star. Alas, I did not.

⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 🌶️🌶️ (spicy-ish but not too wild)

Ok so imagine this - our girl Daphne is DONE with publishers rejecting her work, so she does what any reasonable person would do... submits under a dude's name 💀 Then has to hire Chris to pretend to be her fake male author self. As you do.

The first half? Kinda drags ngl. BUT THEN!! It gets good. Like, bear encounters in the Yukon, awkward-turned-cute moments, and these two just falling for each other while trying to keep their mess of lies straight.

The vibes we're working with:
🦋 Fake it till you make it (literally)
🐻 City boy trying not to embarrass himself in the woods
🏕️ Stuck together on a book tour
🎭 Everyone's lying about something
🌲 Fish outta water but make it WILDERNESS

Listen, it's not gonna change your life or anything, but it's a fun time! Perfect for when you want something that'll make you laugh and maybe squeal a little. Plus the whole drama at the end? Actually pretty hilarious. Worth the read if you need something light and fun!

In Finding Mr. Write, Kelley Armstrong delivers a charming and witty romantic comedy with plenty of heart. The story is engaging, with a perfect mix of humor, tension, and romance. The protagonist’s journey toward self-discovery and love feels real and relatable, and Armstrong’s warm writing style pulls you into the characters’ lives effortlessly. Fans of sweet romance and feel-good stories will thoroughly enjoy this heartwarming read.

I want to give this book 3.5 stars, I love our main characters but there was too much miscommunication and in my opinion not enough happening. The plot felt a little drawn out but I really enjoyed the premise- female author finally gets published under a male pen name, hires a male model to act for her. I really enjoyed the last 20% of the book, especially the end! Overall, a very cute read and I did, indeed, tear up at the last chapter.

Reading a book about a book is always fun. These characters have such great banter and they have some funny experiences throughout the story. This really is the best rom-com I’ve read in a while because they have such a great love story but it’s also funny! It has a different plot with an interesting setting I really enjoyed being in. I recommend reading this one if you are in the mood for funny, enjoyable romance with a smart, powerful lead female character. I recommend if you liked The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center.