Showmance by Chad Beguelin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was a fun read filled with memorable, funny characters, lots of heart, and lots of witty sarcasm. I adored this book, and I probably would’ve rated it higher had I not felt so jarred by the ending.

The characters in this one made it. Every one of them were brilliantly created. Their interactions with one another were funny and natural. Noah’s mom was my absolute favorite.

I wished the romance was a little bit more developed. After reading a few romance books, I’ve realized instalove isn’t really my thing, and this one felt pretty instant. I saw so much potential for growth but it seemed to just sweep one issue under the rug and immediately jump to the next.

The ending really didn’t work for me. Or rather how entirely unbelievable it felt. This whole story felt grounded in reality, and I thought the writer did an excellent job of making me feel like these were real people in a real place. The decision to have a certain thing happen pulled me from the reality.

All in all, this was a great lighthearted read. If you love brilliant interactions between characters, book with humor and heart, and community theater, you will love this one.

I absolutely loved the premise for this book, even though it definitely messed around with how theatre (both professional and community) works. That was, unfortunately, all I loved about it. The main character was so dreadfully unlikable that I found it incredibly hard to root for him. He was so mean to his mother! I did not like the "big city guy coming back to his small town" trope here. When Hallmark does it, it's fantastic because they LOVE their small town. Noah absolutely hated everything about Plainview, including all of the people who gave him his start, both in life and career.
And that made me not like him.

Showmance is a cute MM romance, but there is so much more to it. The characters are great and push the story along, and while you want to slap Noah or tell him to pull back, his development is worth it. Not only his. I will say though, Noah did not steal the show for me. It was the cast of supporting characters, and there were more than a few times when I thought it dragged or was a little too much, but that didn't distract too much from the story. 3.5 stars.

Ugh what a fun and fresh story! I loved the characters and I loved the plot line. I will say at certain parts it was a little predictable and formulaic but overall this book just hit all the feels. I loved how each character still stayed true to themselves and didn’t have some dramatic change at the end, especially Noah’s dad. A few things were a little too convenient and the ending definitely didn’t feel long enough. I loved all the broadway background and getting a glimpse behind the current of stage production. I liked the romance with Luke but wish we had a little more about them and some of their dates. It felt a little insta-lovey at times. Overall though, I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend!

I enjoyed this small town M/M romance featuring a down on his luck Broadway playwright, Noah Adams, who returns to his Illinois hometown to help his ailing father and gets roped into producing an off Broadway rendition of his latest musical that was panned by the critics. Full of quirky characters who help show Adam new ways to think about his version of King Lear, this was a fun rivals to lovers, grumpy/sunshine romance that was great on audio narrated by Michael Crouch. Anyone who loves theatre and LGBTQIA+ friendly stories won't want to miss this big-hearted queer romcom debut perfect for fans of authors like Timothy Janovsky and Steven Rowley. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy and @prhaudio for a complimentary ALC in exchange for my honest review!

What a sweet surprise of a novel. It was witty, heartwarming, charming, and funny. This enemies to lovers was unexpected and endearing. This is a closed door romance that does include a few references and some kissing.

Noah, a struggling playwrite, returns home after his Broadway dreams came crashing down. The town comes together to do an amateur rendition of his musical in which he directs. He is reunited with his high-school bully, Luke, and everything changes.

It's such a great read. I highly recommend it.

Thank you, NetGalley and Chad Beguelin, for the E-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Playwright Noah Adams returns to his hometown to escape a disastrous Broadway review, only to find himself staging his flopped musical at the local community theater. As he navigates rehearsals and rekindles his relationship with former high school nemesis Luke, Noah discovers unexpected truths about love, talent, and the importance of home.

This book was SO cute I was audibly sighing, squealing, laughing, and crying. Noah’s personality was so prickly and sarcastic and witty. I was cracking up at his constant quick thinking on his feet. I absolutely adored Noah and wanted to be his friend.

Luke was an unexpected charmer and I was HERE for his golden retriever energy. Yes, please! I loved how he secretly pined for Noah since high school and he was just so sweet and lovely. But also, secretly had a bit of a sexy take-charge attitude in this closed door romance.

I was rooting for these two cuties. I loved how they grew together and how supportive they were. Their vulnerable, open, loving relationship was so lovely.

Not only that - but this book was chock full of beautiful friendship, silly families, and unexpectedly choked up moments. The moment Noah’s dad repeats Noah’s words back to him had me openly weeping on my couch.

I absolutely adored this one so much. And it’s out today so get after it!!!

Lighthearted and fun!

I really laughed a lot reading this one - I loved the rivalry, Noah’s antics. Luke and Noah’s romance developed beautifully. Highly recommend this one.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Showmance" by Chad Beguelin was such a delightful read! As a lover of musical theatre, the Sondheim references made my heart sing. The story had this incredible warmth that just wrapped me up like a cozy blanket. Yes, the protagonist was a bit prickly, but I found myself really connecting with him. And Luke? A sexy farmer type? YES MA'AM!

Now, I won’t lie, I had to suspend my disbelief here and there—it’s almost too perfect, like a Hallmark movie on steroids. But, as a Hallmark fan, that only made me love it more!

And guess what? This heartwarming, feel-good novel is out today, October 1st! If you're in the mood for a story that will make you smile, laugh, and swoon, grab your copy now!

Showmance speaks to the heart of every theater kid! Noah made it all the way to Broadway -- but a bad review caused the show to close. A family emergency separates him from his glamorous NYC life and boyfriend, and brings him back to his rural hometown, where instead of being left alone to sulk and recover, his theater community is celebrating him in a BIG way. Yes, there is a love story here and it's a (closed door, not spicy) romance book, but I absolutely loved the character development, the redemption arc of some high school bullies, and the general all-encompassing love of a theater community. The rural Wisconsin community theater kid in me thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for early access.

I was so excited to get this ARC.
Showmance by Chad Beguelin was simply adorable!
This book has it all; passion, love, charm and an engaging storyline. The characters’ journey was both heartwarming and entertaining.

Thank You NetGalley and Penguin Books for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

First thank you to penguin group and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Synopsis: Noah finally reaches his dream of his broadway play opening but the reviews are not good. A family emergency sends him back home to his small town where he learns his old theater group is going to put it on. However his high school nemesis is the stage manager..

What I liked: this book is great. The banter is top notch and laughed out loud several times. I loved the storyline of Noah who is pretty pretentious learning from his small town theater group. He becomes better with their comments, advice and talent. The cast of characters is so great. It reminded me of Gilmore girls or parks and recs. Of course Noah comes home with a British boyfriend who is very posh. However Luke his high school nemesis has done a lot of growing in the years. I love their interactions and chemistry. I had the best time reading this book and recommend it. I would love to see this made into a movie.

Cute, snarky theater romance.

Noah is a playwright in NY when his show does absolutely terrible and at the same time his father has a medical crisis. He goes home to tend to his father and reevaluate his career. When his high school bully/nemesis seems to be everywhere and loved by everyone. Will he ever get peace?

Tbh the romance stressed me out until about 60% there is a trope in there that you knew was coming but didn’t happen fast enough and gave things a yucky feeling. I loved the characters and the dialogue.

Thanks to netgalley and penguin for eARC

Familiar with this authors work on Broadway I was intrigued to read this book. Showmance may be semi autobiographical, a story of going home after the bright lights of NYC.
Noah Adams,playwright, returns to Plainview, Illinois when his career implodes after a disastrous opening night on Broadway. Backed into a corner he grudgingly agrees to direct his play in this town that his young self couldn’t wait to leave.At first Noah is sarcastic and often snarky, but a lot of what he believed about these people doesn’t seem to be true. Especially Luke, the high school bully who seems to be the kindest and most handsome of the bunch. I have to say, this story took hold and I was all in. Just a heartwarming rom-com of second chances and small town USA. Finished it in one afternoon and I could have read more. Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Books for this story.

So there I was, scrolling through the upcoming queer releases on NetGalley. I stumbled upon this one, and I immediately requested it after seeing it was a story about the writer of a Broadway musical. But then I looked up the author and discovered that I was already extremely familiar with Chad Beguelin's work - just on the stage, not the screen! Beguelin has been nominated for a Tony 6 times in his career, and some of those were for shows I hold near and dear to my heart, like The Prom.

The opening chapters of this story reminded me of The Prom: opening night of a new musical becomes closing night after it gets ripped apart by the critics. But that is where the similarities end. Our writer goes back home to deal with a family emergency and ends up putting together a production of his flop hit. The people from his small town end up helping him rework the show while he works on his relationship with his father and reconnects with someone from his past.

I truly loved this book. It was so funny and had so much heart. Some of the scenes between the main character and his father had me bawling like a baby. My only complaint is that it is a closed door adult romance.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

'Showmance' introduces us to Noah on the precipice of a career success or failure.

We meet him as a nervous writer waiting on reviews of his first Broadway show. It's not a spoiler to say it doesn't go well.

But it helps us understand Noah as an anxious & self conscious man. He's wrapped his self worth into his career, his image with his picture perfect boyfriend. Then it all tumbles down.

He ends up back in his hometown for an extended amount of time and is forced to face some misconceptions he had about his friends and family and himself.

Through the journey there's laughter and tears and of course some romance. It's so fun to go on this journey with Noah (and the colorful supporting cast).

Things can get a little trite and wrap up a little too neat-- but that's any romance for you.

In Showmance, we follow Noah as he works to collect himself from a Broadway failure and produce a musical in his hometown in Illinois. I really did enjoy the beginning, but as it went on, it was clear every character was fairly one dimentional and the relationship building was told to us instead of shown. While Showmance had its moments, overall it fell short of expectations. The chemistry between the leads was lacking and the storyline felt cliché and predictable. The humor also mostly felt forced at times and didn't fully land. Despite some charming moments, it didn't quite deliver the emotional depth or originality that I hoped for. Overall, it was an average romcom that didn't quite live up to my expectations.

Do you like FUN? Do you like LAUGHING?

This was the perfect book to get me out of my end of summer reading slump. I had so much fun reading this! You almost had me in the first half Chad Beguelin because I HATE that trope but I should have known those red flags were accurate.

Thank you for the opportunity to read!!

3.5 stars

I’m familiar with Chad’s work on the Broadway musical Aladdin so I was excited to see that he had written a book! I thought this was a solid debut M/M romance however, it read a bit like a YA novel even though the leads were around 30. Totally fine if you like that but I just wanted a bit more maturity from the leads.

I love that this book is very theater oriented and contains a lot of lingo. However, if you’re not into theater, this book may not resonate as much.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin for the ARC! I look forward to future books from Chad.

Noah Adams’s career pinnacle has turned into a career disaster — his first Broadway musical has been panned. So for the first time, he’s not sad to be back to his hometown of Plainview when he has a family emergency. But Noah is less than excited when he learns that his agent has made arrangements for him to direct his failed musical at the community theater where he got his his start.

He reluctantly agrees to stay in Plainview and leave his life, and boyfriend, behind in New York. To make matters worse, he keeps running into Luke, who was always mean to him in high school but now has turned into the most beloved member of Plainview, including by Noah’s parents. Luke works on Noah’s family farm and is helping to build the sets for the community theater show.

Although he was skeptical, Noah is increasingly impressed by the insights the community theater cast brings to the show he wrote. And he finds that there may be more to Luke than he has expected. Was Noah wrong to write off Plainview — and Luke — all those years ago?

This was a moving story about coming home again. Noah’s journey was touching, as he realizes that he may have underestimated his hometown, it’s inhabitants, and his father all those years. And it is impassible not to root for Noah and Luke and for the success of the hometown production of Noah’s show.

Highly recommended!