I loved Kelley Armstrong's historical romance series, A Stitch in Time, and was excited to give her first ever romcom a try!

I enjoyed the comedy part of this romcom. The various ways that Zane (aka Chris acting as the author) promotes his "woodsman writer" persona, mostly by accident, were chuckle-worthy.

I did find the romance part of this romcom book not to click as much with me. I think it is partly due to the fact that the male love interest fell so fast--basically immediately upon seeing her--and he had the goal of having a relationship and life with her in a very short amount of time. I love that this book is promoted as the man falls first, but I think more could have been done to convince me as the reader why he was falling and why it was so intense that he was all in for her so quickly. I never got the sense of there being substantial depth behind the main characters' attraction to each other.

I liked reading about the independent female main character creating and enjoying her dream life living in the Yukon. I too have been to and dream about living life as a writer in the Yukon! Also, the lawyer best friend and the publicist were two of my favourite characters because they were so supportive of the main character and understanding of her experience as a woman author; they helped the plot move in different directions by employing their unique skills.

Thankyou netgalley for allowing me to read an early copy of Finding Mr. Write in exchange for an honest review. My opinions in my review are my own.

If you love a romcom with a cinnamon roll MMC (seriously, he's adorably sweet), a wilderness setting, and conflict that arises more from character choices and shortcomings than from miscommunication, you will really enjoy this book.

Daphne is living her dream life. She works as an architect and lives in a lakeside home she designed in the Yukon. The one dream she hasn't managed to bring to fruition is to get her novel published. After a disappointing series of rejections, she decides to make some changes to her query letter to make herself seem more masculine, and lo and behold she receives several offers and ends up with a NYT bestseller. The only problem? She used a male pen name, and she hired an actor to portray her pseudonym to the public.

Chris is an accountant recovering from a bad business partner when he gets invited to pose as the author for Daphne's book. In the beginning, he's only supposed to pose for a press photo or two, but when the book sells like crazy he agrees to take a bigger place in the book's marketing plan. Which is OK with him, because he's already started to fall for Daphne, and he sets out for the Yukon determined to show her that they can be good together.

I loved both Daphne and Chris. They are truly considerate of each others feelings and needs, and you will likely find yourself yelling, "JUST KISS ALREADY!" considering how many times they get interrupted. But they are clearly made for each other, and I enjoyed wandering the ups and downs of their budding relationship with them.

Thank you to Forever and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review!

For the first part, a lot of the main characters' interactions are over text, but you can still get a sense of their personalities. I love Chris! He's very sweet and well-meaning, even when sometimes, his actions don't come off that way.

The author did a good job of exploring the misogyny that could be applied to different industries, not just in the writing industry. It was a very cute and quick read!

Tropes:
Reverse Grumpy/Sunshine romance
He falls first! (and hard!!)
City boy and wilderness/outdoorsy girl
forced proximity
fake relationship
angst/yearning

The perfect hallmark rom com kind of vibes. I love when books are about books, and this one features an author.
I had so much fun with this book and really enjoyed the romance with a dash of spice.

I really enjoyed this rom-com by Kelley Armstrong! She had me in such a chokehold when I was a teenager with her Darkest Powers series and I always wanted to read more (which I'll do ASAP!) from her. So to see a romance coming out from her? I couldn't resit getting myself a copy. This was a slow burn romance, and it hit all the right tropes besides miscommunication. Throughout the book I was excited to see the conflict of publishing under another name being the biggest issue, but then we're given miscommunication between the two. Personally, I didn't love the miscommunication aspect, but it was resolved relatively quickly. I also really liked the last few chapters. In addition, this book is heavily based on publishing a book, book interviews, and book tours. I can see how that can be boring for some, but I enjoyed going on their adventures.

I also appreciated the lack of spice in this romcom as well. We had about one chapter, and that was perfect for me.

I'm hoping people love this romance, even non-romance readers, because I sure did. It's a quick book to read in a day, and Kelley Armstrong makes it hilarious at times.

This book was addicting; I flew through it in one evening. This was a really fun romcom that also deftly tackles the deeper issues regarding women in the workplace being treated unfairly. Daphne is forced to take on a male pseudonym to get her book published, which is a prudent issue of sexism that women face on a daily basis in their careers.

The romantic aspect of the book was sweet with significant build-up and a lot of consent between two well-written characters. Overall a solid 4.5 stars for me.

I was excited to see a new book from Kelley Armstrong, and although it isn't her usual genre, I did enjoy it. Over all, I found it very sweet and wonderfully silly in places.

I enjoyed the characters, though I share some of the other reviewers opinion that they are a little shallow. There are places where we are told they are a little more, but I didn't feel it, if that makes sense. Even if you take them at face value though, the book is still good and there were several places where I laughed outright.

The plot was interesting but slow in spots. It didn't really have enough meat to go as long as it did, instead it make the story thin and the conclusion a little awkward. Personally, I'm not a fan of poor communication tropes, and I think this book could have accomplished the same conflict without it. That being said, I did enjoy watching the MCs stumble through the messes that seemed to pop up around every corner.

I know my review may seem mostly negative, but I really did enjoy the book. I was actively invested in the characters and cared about what was happening. I did receive an ARC, so some of the kinks might get worked out before publishing. If you like a good romance, you should give this a try.

Thank you NetGalley, my review is shared voluntarily.

such a cute and feel good book. i love a great romantic comedy read, and this certainly did not disappoint!!!!

What an engaging and fun novel! Daphne is an author trying to get her novel published, and spontaneous decides to put a male name on her proposal. Of course her novel is then finally picked up for a significant sum and attention is drawn to the pseudonym. Daphne ends up hiring a supposed actor to play the part, which snowballs to hilarious antics and adventures. I loved the hidden identities, dash of fake dating, and the delicious sexual tension!

Thank you to the publisher Forever and Netgalley for the opportunity to read the book early!

I'm a big fan of Kelley Armstrong, as well as romcoms. Put the two together, fantastic!

With a memorable opening line, this book had me hooked and laughing out loud from the beginning and throughout. I loved the banter between Daphne and Chris, the two main characters. There were also a lot of supporting characters that showed up throughout the book that were also very well written. Overall, this slow burn romcom hit all the Write notes ;)

Thank you to Netgalley & Forever Publishing for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

This was a great book. I enjoyed it a lot but it also made me think. The banter and romance was top tier. The setting is perfect for summer time.

I really enjoyed this story. It had me thinking of what writers (especially female writers) go through. It is fun look into the publishing world. There is a little bit of spice with the romance and a lot of humor and banter.

Daphne is an introverted author. After facing repeated rejection, she drunkenly decides to submit her book again, but with a man’s name. It should come as no surprise that she scored a solid book deal under her male pen name.

She panics asks her lawyer friend, Nia, to help her cover it up and hire an actor for the author photos. Nia brings in Chris, an accountant that’s also in need of her legal services. Chris slips into a role in his interactions with Daphne that he believes is closer to the sort of man she’s described as the author. He’s really running three identities as himself, fake Chris, and Zane Remington.

Daphne is totally turned off by fake Chris and Zane. She’s interested in the bits of real Chris that slip through on occasion, but largely puts up with him just to get through the book’s publication date. There’s a bit of mutual attraction, but neither Daphne nor Real Chris seem to be inclined to do anything until it’s abundantly clear the other person is interested. Chris is supportive and advocates for Daphne when they’re facing television crews and book tour stops. They’re pretty cute together.

I was hesitant to finish this book, because I’d grown to care about Daphne and fully understood all the reasons behind her decision to pretend she was a man. I was worried it’d be really traumatic for her. I’ve been tempted to do the same in a few situations, because too many times I’ll send an email that is wholly disregarded, but if a man says the same thing 20 minutes later the matter is settled. It is infuriating. Luckily, she’d gone through a bit of soul searching by this point and was ready to face the issues head on. In my head it could’ve been much worse, but I’m glad it wasn’t.

Chris is great, but he’s still a straight white man, and he does some stupid things towards the end. The third act conflict between them was set up well and Daphne has realistic reaction to his brief periods of idiocy. They also handled their living situations well—neither of them gave up their job, their home, or sacrificed significant time with each other.

5⭐️

As someone who doesn’t often read the romance genre, Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong was a fun detour into a different genre that made me consider giving romance more of a try. The protagonist, Daphne, and the love interest, Chris, were extremely likable and relatable while staying fleshed-out and flawed. I appreciated that one of their bigger conflicts was a difference in opinion that resulted in a major fight, which pushed them to take a pause and communicate before growing into their relationship.

Throughout the book, Daphne and Chris experienced many moments of sexual and romantic tension, making it incredibly easy to root for them to get together. Their compatibility and chemistry was clear, and their senses of humor had me grinning across multiple chapters. Along with the main duo, the side characters were just as easy to root for and fall in love with. My particular favorite was Sakura and the panelists at the book festival.

While a major focus is the romance, I enjoyed that the book focused on or touched upon other serious topics, such as perceived gender roles, sexism and racism in the publishing industry, and white-centric beauty standards. As a white female author hiring a white male actor to play a male pseudonym, and gaining an unbelievable amount of success because of it, it felt necessary to address not just the sexism but the racism of the situation, which the book does.

Overall, Finding Mr. Write was a smart, funny, and romantic read that made me want to read another story just like it in tone and humor. Thank you NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own!

I’ve been a fan of Kelley Armstrong’s writing since her first novel, Bitten. She’s always had a bit of humour and romance in everything she writes, so I was excited to hear she was writing a romcom.

Finding Mr. Write didn’t disappoint.  I’m always here for the “com” part more than the “rom” and I laughed out loud so many times while reading this.

The story is a wonderfully goofy romcom setup: the heroine, Daphne, has written a zombie novel. She can’t get it published, so one day sends it out under a male name — and suddenly she has an offer.

She decides to hire someone to play her fake author, Zane Remington.  Enter the hero, Chris.

Both leads were charming, funny, and sweet.  I loved Chris’s nerdiness, and Daphne was a badass with relatable self esteem issues.

The first half of the novel was my favourite — set in the Yukon, it involved “Zane” pretending to be a tough mountain man, to great hilarity.  

I missed that aspect in the second half, but appreciated that the couple’s difficulties were based in real issues, not silly misunderstandings.

I really enjoyed this one and am excited for the author’s next romcom.

Thank you to Netgalley and Forever / Grand Central Publishing for my review copy of this book.

Finding Mr. Write was a fun and unique twist on your typical romance novel. Daphne is a strong independent female MC that clearly doesn’t need a man personally (even though she does need one professionally). While the book was centered around Daphne’s story, I felt like Chris’ character stole the show! His witty sense of humor had me laughing out loud, his sweet and loving nature had my heart fluttering, and his determination for the other characters in the book to follow their dreams had me swooning. I absolutely loved this story and would gladly read another rom-com from this author!

Thank you to Net Galley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing an ARC.

Kelley Armstrong wrote a contemporary rom-com. I am elated.

Little backstory, I have enjoyed her writing since Bitten came out. Armstrong is no stranger to different genres or age groups. When I saw she was diving into adult romance, I jumped for joy. The romance in the Otherworld series and Rockton series has been stellar.

I’ve read most of her backlist, and everything has been superb storytelling. This was no exception. The premise is cute and fun. Daphne, a writer, has been getting no bites on her manuscript. With the help of a lot of wine, Daphne submits it as a man with an MFA and gets an agent and a book deal almost immediately. Since she is not a man, her solution is to hire one to pose for the back of her book jacket and do some press.

Enter her love interest, Hot Chris, a loveable accountant who needs the cash fast. Posing as Zane Remington, Chris charms her and the internet. Hijinks and forced proximity ensue. The romance is slow paced and allows room for practical discussion like could long distance between the Yukon and British Columbia work. I bumped a little on the practical as I think romance reasons* can defy any logistics. I finished the book in one night.

Side note: I loved the reference to Remington Steele.

Thank you, Forever (Grand Central Publishing), for the advanced readers copy.

*Shout out to Fated Mates podcast for the term romance reasons

So, so close. I received this book as an ARC and I’m hoping some of the clunkiness gets resolved in editing. The premise is a female author decides on a male pseudonym after her book wasn’t getting picked up with her name. Once she gets a publisher, she leans in further to hire a guy to put on the back cover. The guy, an accountant with legal issues, pretends to be an actor. They meet, catch feelings, etc. My issue is the climax to the ending is very clunky. To the point where I don’t want them to be together and ended up not a fan of either character. This is not a deep book. Characters are very surface level and its hard to know anyones motivation for their actions.
Without edits, at best, this is a library read.

Thank you Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing this book for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I'm not usually one for romcoms but I AM a big fan of Kelley Armstrong's writing... and I was not disappointed! This is a cute romance that follows adorable characters and is a quick read. it's light and fun, and if I'm ever in the mood for something sweet and fast paced I would definitely read it again.

What a fun read…perfect for a weekend break…I’m not usually a romance reader but I do enjoy Kelley Armstrong’s writing regardless what genre she is exploring. I read this as an ARC on my kindle.
By the way, I am also someone who lives beside a Canadian lake and am afraid of the water!
One of my strangest memories is when I appeared at a conference in Europe with my third book, Tales, Rumors and Gossip, and one of the other attendees assumed Gail was the name of a male author and spent some time confusing my husband by gushing praise over “his” research. The gentleman did apologize to me once he realized that indeed a female had written a book about urban legends. Thanks to Kelley’s book, the memory rose to the surface, delighting me all over again.