Delightful story about romance writer Sawyer with writer's block and TV heartthrob Mason recently dumped by
his latest girlfriend. Sawyer agrees to help ruin romance for Mason so he can stop being tabloid news.
Both must deal with scars from the past in order to move forward.
#Unromance #Forever #GrandCentralPublishing #NetGalley

A very strong debut! I was very impressed by Connor's storytelling and I loved the concept of the story/plot, but I never bought fully into it with Sawyer and Mason as MCs. That said, I think the characters were extremely well done, but I didn't feel the chemistry between them. Also, as a lot of this book centers around the Christmas Season and I'm not a Christmas Romance Girlie, I don't think I appreciated any of the tidings of comfort and joy. I am a grinch and I am the problem here, but many readers will not be the problem!

Thank you so much to Forever and NetGalley for the arc!

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for providing this book, with my honest review below.

Unromance was a spicy and funny story, and great for anyone who has a slightly world weary view of love tropes.

Sawyer is an author facing writer’s block (and still struck on her last love) and Mason is an actor facing a new venture with a reputation of a love them and leave them type. After a steamy one night stand the two meet up at random and realize they can help each other. Sawyer needs some inspiration for her book, otherwise she’ll get dropped by her publisher. Mason needs to shake his reputation so that he’s not boxed out of making a new production company a success. Together they embark on a very funny journey of trying out classic love tropes to dispel them for Mason (and hopefully spark an idea for Sawyer). I enjoyed the classic call backs to said tropes and both Sawyer and Mason were delightful characters I could get behind. I could quibble a little on this following some classic formulas, but it’s done so well I can make my peace with that.

Pick this up if you like romances, a comical look at those tropes that can be overdone, and some super spicy love scenes.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 this was a slow burn (sort of?) and my fave idiots to lovers lol. I loved the banter, the use of romance tropes, and how NORMAL this couple felt. I loved their pining and how realistic the FMC struggle with help/love/needs. Everyone should read this! The entire time I was reading this, I can see it transforming into a movie (hilarious with the book context) or a tv series.

I loved this! It was cute, had so many references to rom-com movies I loved as a kid, and I read it in two days. Mason and Sawyer were both likable characters and you could see the growth in them throughout the book. This was a great book and I will be keeping an eye out for any future books by Erin!

I won this ARC in an instagram giveaway and went in not knowing what to expect. (I didn’t even read the back before I started the book)

I also got an eARC from NetGalley so I could read it digitally simultaneously. (You never know when you need to have a book on your phone!)

3⭐️
"Two people getting stuck in an elevator? It's a classic meet-cute, but I didn't think it actually happened."

A cute debut from Erin Connor but this never really pulled me in. I didn't feel a whole lot of chemistry from the main characters, Sawyer and Mason. I'm a fan of the black cat girl/golden retriever boy but here their personalities just didn't seem to mesh

I also found the central plot a bit head-scratching. It's a take on the whole romance trope thing, sort of like in Beach Read when we see the characters purposely doing corny rom-com things. Except here, Sawyer and Mason are going on romantic, rom-com dates in order for him... to stop being a romantic? Like I get that on her part, Sawyer hopes this will inspire her new book. But I don't see how someone who KNOWS he falls too fast thinks that going on these dates with a girl he already can't stop thinking about, will make him fall out of love with love

I also didn't understand the whole to-do with him dating his co-star and how that got blown out of proportion. Like how is him and his co-star breaking up a near career-ending event? This happens all the time, no? Guess not any publicity is good publicity

Thank you to Netgalley and publishing team for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

4.5 ⭐️
2 🌶️

This was sooo good and such a wonderful debut novel by Erin Connor. A rom-com featuring a hopeless romantic MMC and a romance writing FMC who has sworn off love? Perfection!!!!!

Mason and Sawyer were so enjoyable as characters- their chemistry instant and butterfly inducing!! Their inner thoughts were so relatable and without giving too much away, these two end up being made for each other. And while this was told in third person, I enjoyed the dual POV of it all.

Thanks NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for an ARC! Highly recommend to rom-com lovers!

First off, can we get a moment for the cover and title?! Like -> WOW! It's so gorgeous.

Now then, the story.
If you like any of the following, this story is an immediate grab/add to TBR:
*90s/2000s RomComs
*Romance books
*Stories about romance authors that aren't overly cheesy
*Stories about actors that aren't drama filled
*Ex(es) who aren't absolutely horrid
*Redemption type stories
*Grumpy woman who hates love meets man who is obsessed with romance (very specific I know)

There's a ton more I could list, but really I don't want to spoil it. I LOVED this story. I flew through it while also rocking an audiobook and a physical paperback. The others were put on pause because I needed to inject this into my veins. I want to tattoo them on my forehead.

The growth they go through is so beautiful. And ERIN... where are the stories of the other couples in this world?? I need to know Lily's story. Luis's too. They were so perfect with their partners and I could use about 500 pages more in this world. Please and thank you.

I appreciate the eARC from NetGalley. This review is meant to be an honest opinion given I have no affiliation with Erin or the publisher.

loved this romance about a romance writer and all of the different tropes that she goes through with mason and trying not to fall in love. I loved that he fell for her and that she dealt with a past girlfriend. Loved that she really did the big gesture.

premise: jaded fmc romance writer who needs inspo meets hopeless romantic mmc tv actor who needs to stay single. they become unlikely friends and strike up a deal complete with written contract where they experience couple tropes together to get her writing again and to educate him on how unromantic it is.

this is a book that comes out in january, arguably a holiday story. they do xmas and nye together even spanning to valentine's day. dates include chritmas market, tree farm cutting, ice skating just all of the holiday things.

liked this a bunch. author really jammed this full of tropes and romcom references but subverted to focus on the couple's rapport. each chapter has an omniscient blurb for what romcom trope the chapter covers in a meta-narrative of what our couple plans and it's so tongue-in-cheek delightful. they're both insatiable flirts so if that type of banter is your thing then you'll love this pairing.

Now THIS is a love letter to rom-coms. Specifically the 90s and 00s over the top but right there in-your-feelings rom-com classics. I can’t wait to rave about and recommend this book to anyone out there with a remote interest in the genre. Such a solid debut and I’m excited to read more from this author (and probably re-read this on publication date!).

how cute was this. I love the characters and humor. The cover is cute and in a diner which I love. You whould read this as a quick read

I think this would have been great in first person POV with dual perspective (not the biggest fan of third person), but overall, this was super cute and I enjoyed it.

If I could I would give it 4.5 stars as I would rate it between a 4 and a 5! I really enjoyed this book and it made for an uplifting read. The concept is essentially a story within a story as the characters seek to ruin the romance cliches that we all know and love. Of course that doesn’t go as planned or else it wouldn’t be a romance book. I really liked that the author made the male character the diehard romantic and that they ensured that the book portrayed healthy boundaries in a relationship. It felt plausible to me and the fact that both characters are successful in their careers made it feel more balanced than your typical rich guy/poor girl theme we sometimes see in books.

So thankful I received an ARC copy of this book! I love forever publishing so I knew I would love this book. Sawyer intrigued me from the very beginning and I love that she’s a romance author. Their meet cute was perfect and I knew that Mason was going to fall hard and fast. I loved that they took the time to really think about where they went wrong in the past and used that to make their relationship stronger. So in love with these characters.

Unromance is the perfect holiday season read for the hopeless romantics, those undyingly devoted to the classic romance tropes, and for those that just love a feel good, humor filled read about two characters who do everything in their power to show that they’re not looking for love while simultaneously being perfect for each other.

This was a strangers to friends to lovers story done in a very unique way; Mason and Sawyer may have crossed paths because of an opportune meet cute, but the way we got to see their friendship develop alongside the romance made the story what it was for me.

This entire read felt like a love letter to romance lovers, like an 80’s montage of our very own in a way that felt both nostalgic and modern at the same time (especially with the pop culture callbacks weaved throughout the story). There’s something so meta about a romance author writing her own love story and I really enjoyed getting to see it all unfold! This was a great debut and I can’t wait to see what’s next from Erin ❤️

In this story we have Sawyer, a romance author who doesn’t believe in love and Mason an actor and hopeless romantic who meet in an elevator and have a one-night stand. Sawyer is struggling with writer’s block and is still grieving a bad breakup she had with a girlfriend a few years ago. Mason falls in love too quickly and is getting over some bad publicity after a recent break-up with his last costar. He decides he wants to avoid romance for a while and so they decide to help each other by doing things you would see in a rom-com. They think if Mason recognizes the romance tropes, it will prevent him from falling for them while it will help inspire Sawyer to write again.

I love romcoms so I enjoyed the humor with all of the romance tropes in the story and the funny quotes about them at the beginning of the chapters. The pacing was uneven in spots and I wasn’t sure about the premise but I found myself smiling (and Mason was sweet) so I rounded up to four stars.

When I first saw the cover and synopsis, I was so excited to read this book. I grabbed it as soon as it was 'Read Now' on NetGalley last weekend and dove right in. I absolutely loved both characters and all the rom-com tropes sprinkled throughout. The tension was delicious, and the balance between the right amount of spice and those heartwarming 'falling in love montages" were perfect. Completely adorable—I highly recommend it for anyone who loves a good romance!

I really enjoyed reading this, it had that romance element that I was looking for and had that tv actor and romance novelist that I wanted. It had a great overall story being told and enjoyed the way the characters were written. I didn’t want the book to end as I really enjoyed the way Erin Connor wrote this.

I loved this book! what an amazing fresh debut. it was funny and I loved all the romcom references. loved this one.