I wish I could say I liked this book. I wanted SO BADLY to like this book. I gave it so many chances to be good, and it just let me down.

My main issue with this book was that the FMC was absolutely insufferable. Her motivations were so confusing and she was just so insanely frustrating. Why did there have to be TWO breakups??? I truly do not understand why this perfect specimen of an MMC would even want to get back together after the first one, let alone the second. She was a whiney baby with terrible communication skills that made me want to pull all my hair out.

Sad, because I loved the premise of this book! I thought the journey through all of the romance tropes was really fun, and definitely shows enough promise that I would give this author another try. This just defffffffinitely felt like a debut - in a bad way.

Unromance is a delightful and quirky romance that follows the unlikely pairing of Sawyer, a romance writer struggling with inspiration, and Mason, an actor determined to stay away from love after a public breakup. Their chemistry is undeniable, and a no-strings-attached one-night stand quickly turns into something much more complicated when they agree to make a list to ruin romance tropes.

The tension, banter, and steamy moments between Sawyer and Mason are electric, and their relationship is built on a foundation of true friendship before it blooms into love. Sawyer's prickly, chaotic personality makes her the perfect foil to Mason's sweet, cinnamon-roll energy, and watching them navigate their feelings is pure joy. The witty rom-com references and the holiday setting add an extra layer of charm, making this a perfect read for any romance fan.

Despite the predictable third-act breakup, Sawyer's grand gesture makes up for it in the end, leaving you swooning. Erin Connor nails it with this debut romance, and I can't wait to see where she goes next!

This was such a fun read! A romance author who’s in desperate need of inspiration teams up with a heartthrob actor fresh off a breakup in hopes it’ll spark her next idea have so much chemistry that they end up having a steamy and amazing one night together?? I absolutely ate it up!

The story was giving 2000’s rom-com vibes & I loved every second of it. I also loved the tropes list and how Mason & Sawyer were bringing them to life. I thought they had great chemistry & their banter was so good. I’m not the biggest fan of 3rd POV but I didn’t feel it took away from the story, it’s a personal preference. Overall, it was a great read!

This story feels like it was written for romance lovers. The plot follows Sawyer, a romance writer struggling with writer’s block and Mason, a famous actor. After a one-night stand sparked by a chance elevator encounter, they run into each other again and strike a deal: Sawyer will help Mason ruin love by making classic romantic tropes feel unromantic and in the process she’ll find inspiration for her latest book. The setup was really unique with each chapter named after a romance trope that played out within the story, which I thought was such a fun touch for fans of the genre.

I loved the bisexual representation, the witty banter and how the story celebrated romance in such a playful way. I wasn’t expecting the holiday vibes but I really appreciated them—it gave the book a touch of Hallmark-style charm which felt perfect for the story’s tone.

That said, I found Sawyer a bit frustrating at times. Her hesitancy and actions especially around the third-act breakup and how it all unfolded were hard to relate to and I wished she’d been more decisive given how charming and sweet Mason was throughout the story.

Overall, this was the perfect fluffy, funny escapist read. If you’re looking for a lighthearted story to brighten your mood this one is a great pick!

I thought this was a delightfully fun romance, and I loved the chemistry between Mason and Sawyer. I thought the narrators of the audiobook did a great job as well.

Many Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ALC/ARC.

I liked this book. Didn't love it Sometimes the characters were great, and sometimes I didn't really like them at all.

What a debut romance book for Erin Connor! I loved the concept of a hopeless romantic actor and jaded romance author experiencing all the common tropes we see in romance books (Lumberjack included). Mason and Sawyer are the perfect couple. The banter between the two were hilarious as they experienced all of the common tropes, and I could not get enough of these two. I also enjoyed the many spicy scenes throughout this book. Although this was set to be more of a holiday romance, I would recommend this book year-around. I am excited to see what Erin Connor comes up with next.

Unromance is out now!

Thank you to NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing for the opportunity to review Unromance. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A campy, on-the-nose meet cute to open a book about a romance writer who definitely believes in love is just about as scrumptious a cold weekend cozy read I could ask for--and on top of that, set in my sweet home Chicago!

"Chicago winters were a bitch, but that's what whiskey was for!"

Too real. Unromance was an absolute delight. Readers who love reading about reading will love it extra. I loved all the characters, especially our main girl Sawyer, and genuinely wanted to share a beer with them. Erin Connor is going on the list of auto-buys for me--a voicey writer who makes me laugh.

The audio book had consistent and perfectly emphatic narration.

Thanks to MacMillan Audio & Forever Pub for the gifted copies.

Unromance by Erin Connor is absolutely perfect! Sawyer and Mason have a meet cute while briefly stuck in an elevator while he is on his way to get broken up with and she is on her way to put off writing her next book. After both have accomplished their mission they decide to have a one night stand to each avoid thinking about what is going on in their lives. They can't stop thinking about each other and once they run into each other they decide that they should help each other out. Sawyer is a jaded black cat personality desperate for inspiration for her next romance book. Mason is golden retriever hopeless romantic personality that can't stop seeing romance in everything around him and wants to become more jaded. They decide to spend time together in totally not romantic dates where they promise to not fall for each other or hook up again. What could possibly go wrong?

This book is so freaking good that I read it in one sitting this morning. I seriously want every single person to read it. Sawyer is such an absolute mood and Mason is just the absolute best cinnamon roll MMC that I've seen in a minute. So Unromance isn't a fake dating book but it feels very close to that trope if you enjoy that, and I enjoy that trope very much. It does have miscommunication but it is handled very well, same with the third act breakup, it is written so well. Honestly, I thought the entire thing was clever and refreshing. I cannot recommend this book enough because as I said at the start, this book is absolutely perfect!

Tropes: sort of fake dating, miscommunication, one night stand, friends pact

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever (Grand Central Publishing) | Forever, and Erin Connor for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Did this turn me into a romcom girly??

Give me more romance authors that don’t believe in romance anymore & the men that radiate golden retriever energy 🤝

I loved the instant easy banter between Sawyer & Mason!! Seeing these two fall for each other ~even though they agreed not to~ was so fun & something I’ll never get tired of reading with these types of romance books. Everything was just so fun.

I always loving seeing an FMC that is harder to crack (hello it’s me 🤝) and while at times I thought mason deserved better, when she was all in for him, I was like ok mason go get your girl 😩😩

This is the kind of romcom book that had me crying, giggling and laughing! It’s an homage to the cliches and tropes that we all thought we hate, but we secretly love in all romcoms. Reading this book honestly felt like watching a movie, and I fell in love with Mason and Sawyer from the get-go. They’re both incredibly funny and complex characters, and I enjoyed the “unromancing” journey that these two went on.

I’m obsessed and I’d recommend this to anyone who, like me, is a fan of romcoms, but tends to be a little jaded about love in real life.

What didn’t work for me: the premise.. so we have a romance writer who purposefully doesn’t pursue love in her person life and an actor who pursues it maybe too much with rose colored glasses that ends in superficial relationships. They decide to do rom comy trope-y things as friends (after they met in a one night stand and are very mutually attracted to each other).

She’s supposed to “ruin” romance for him but just doesn’t?? They go on thinly veiled dates together and obviously only get closer. Also too much rumination on being a successful published author for me with the FMC, it just wasn’t described in an engaging way imo like it was in All I Want is You by Falon Ballard (proof I can enjoy author MCs lol)

The tropes were a fun meta nod and these two were definitely meant for each other. Also, decent flirting dialogue in this! I’d absolutely try this author again even though this wasn’t quite the vibe for me. Thank you for Forever for the eARC.

This book was so fun. The chemistry between the FMC and MMC were very believable and the author was able to incorporate rom-com movie/book references/tropes in a way that didn't feel forced or too heavy handed. I wish this was in 3rd person (but that's a personal preference) but even in 3rd person this was written in such a way that I sometimes forgot I was reading 3rd person and didn't feel the same distance I feel from the characters in a typical book written in 3rd person. Would definitely check out more books from this author.

firstly, thank you to the publisher for an arc and alc!

ugh! i wish i read this during the holiday season because whewww the romcom christmas vibes were immaculate. i do not say this lightly, because truly nothing can compare to the movie, but unromance reminded me of when harry met sally.

i really enjoyed the narrator for sawyer; the narrator for mason grew on me.

overall, i really enjoyed this romcom! (it could have had less ariana grande mentions though…)

This is a hilarious, confetti bomb of tropes and I loved every moment. Seriously, if there’s a romance trope, it’s either played out on the pages or mentioned in passing. So, much trope-y goodness!

Sawyer is a romance author and has a meet cute (or meet ugly) trapped in an elevator with tv heartthrob Mason.

Then they have a one-night stand and run into each other (at a Christmas market!) and decide to help each other out. Sawyer is a best selling romance author suffering from writer’s block. She hasn’t been into romance because of heartbreak since she and her girlfriend broke up. Mason is the exact opposite. He falls in love at the drop of a hat but always ends up dumped—publically. So they decide to work together and fix each other’s issues.

And you’re immediately rooting for them.

Sawyer loves everything about writing but creates in a fugue state. She’s trapped at her keyboard for days and feels like if she were in a relationship, no one would be on the other side. As a reader you feel like she’s, you feel like Sawyer is both in bondage to her writing craft and enamored with it.

Mason is adorable and very … gifted! He’s also going through some emotional things with defying headstrong parents (or a mother and a father who loves her).
They both have to work through their own ish before they can be right together. They do it with an adorable cast of side characters, many of whom tropes apply to as well!
If you want a light, funny, trope-filled love story between people who have love all around them, give this a try!

TW: Homophobia (historical)

Thank you to Forever for this gifted copy!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for this ARC!

Sawyer is a romance writer who’s anti-romance struggling to meet a deadline. Mason is an actor and hopeless romantic whose recent breakup has given him some negative publicity. After running into each other again after a one night stand, the two decide to help each other out by going through different romcom cliches.

This was such a fun and cute read! I loved the dynamic that Mason and Sawyer had with each other. They were so cute. I especially enjoyed getting to see Sawyer grow throughout the book. This was a really solid debut and I’m interested in reading more from this author.

I’m going to go ahead and make a prediction that this is the best debut romance of 2025. Genius. Within sentences, I felt like I “got” Erin Connor’s voice, her sense of humor, and who her characters were. This is a book for lovers of all things romance; grand gestures, ‘80s and ‘90s romcoms, flirty banter, a one night stand, just friends…you name it and this story has successfully encapsulated it all. And that’s really not an easy thing to do!

Sawyer Greene writes romance books, writes being the operative word because she hasn’t written one in quite awhile due to her failure to believe in romance since a hurtful break-up. Heartthrob Mason Alvarez West stars in the Chicago-based show Diagnostics, and is an unflinching romantic at heart who falls hard for every woman he dates. Enter the stuck-in-an-elevator meet cute—the exact thing Sawyer would laugh about happening to her characters, but would roll her eyes at in reality. There’s something intriguing enough about Mason that when he hits on her, she takes him up on it, thinking, “why not”? And this begins the humorous tropey journey that is Unromance.

As fate, aka romance rules, aka great writing would require, Sawyer and Mason DON’T just have a one night stand, but attempt to make a pact and solve each other’s problems via “exposure therapy” (she’ll ruin romance for him and he’ll help get her novel off the ground). To do so, they’ll make a list of all the rom-commy things that happen in movies, but not in real life and explore them together with only two rules in place: 1) No falling in love or catching feelings, and 2) No sex. If I could make a face right here in this review I would, because we all know EXACTLY how that will go. But this is the glorious thing about romance: it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. And Mason and Sawyer’s journey is so fun, so sexy, so emotional, and so real (or very meta because they’re characters trying not to be romcom characters). Erin Connor expertly navigates each and every trope with deftness, pushing the boundaries of my expectations and making me believe that these two “idiots” could become lovers. I. ATE. IT. UP! To which I will add that if this were a movie (Erin you know you want to give up those movie rights 😉) I would watch it again and again and again. Just do yourself a favor and go read this right now. You’ll be so glad you did. I received an early copy from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book! It was highly anticipated for me because one of the tropes, celebrity x normie romance, is a fave. First things first, you won’t find many MMCs better than Mason Alvarez West. He’s such a sweetheart and a romantic, I couldn’t get enough. The chemistry between he and Sawyer was electric. I loved that this started with a bang (literally) and then backtracked to friends. The tension was always there, but their rules to keep things platonic helped them connect on a deeper level. I think their comfort and vulnerability with one another was made possible by having already crossed that physical line.

There is a lot of growth on the part of both individuals by the end of the book. Sawyer realizes she doesn’t need to keep her heart locked away in order to be a successful writer, in fact, it enriches her writing when she opens herself up to love. And Mason comes to accept his tender heart as a gift rather than a curse. They both had to find the right person to give their heart to, the person that would accept them “flaws” and all.

The one thing that kept this from being a 5 was the miscommunication/third act break-up. I just did not agree with Sawyer’s assertion that Mason had done something wrong.

This was such a fun book! I loved all the romance tropes in this. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves reading romance.

Characters: 7
Atmosphere: 7
Writing: 8
Plot: 8
Intrigue: 7
Logic: 7
Enjoyment: 8

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free digital Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for a review.

I really enjoyed this book! Mason and Sawyer were a swoon and stubborn couple. I always enjoy books about authors too. This one made me smile and gave me the warm fuzzies.