This was an enjoyable debut novel. I always enjoy reading books that feature authors as characters, and Sawyer’s writer’s block led to a very interesting premise! Mason felt like her perfect match…they just each had to get out of their own way and let go of their past ideas about romance!

A romance author with writer's block and a Hollywood heartthrob trying to keep a low profile following his breakup, agree to help each other with their professional problems. Mason, the hopeless romantic, promises inspiration for Sawyer, while she sets out to ruin romance for him - one trope at a time.

I knew early on I was going to fall hard for this book. The elevator meet-cute was fun, flirty, and filled with great banter. Not only was I instantly hooked by this tale, but I was instantly hooked on this couple.

Both had baggage from previous relationships and their pasts. Sawyer was still struggling the loss of her college girlfriend. Because of this breakup, she intentionally kept people at arm's length, never allowing herself to form a deep relationship or fall in love. This behavior was taking its toll on her personal and professional life.

Mason was always being left by his partners though he never understood why. He loved hard and wore his heart on his sleeve, but his relationships were failures. I won't lie. I adored Mason. He was so sweet and had this HUGE heart, but his career presented many challenges to him. Though he fell hard for his partners, he still had to keep this barrier up to protect his private life from his public life.

Together, Mason and Sawyer were able to be themselves. There was a comfort they enjoyed in each others presence, and I loved that they could be real with one another. As much I adored them both, I found myself connecting more with Mason. He said this one thing that really resonated with me and even had me shedding some tears, but I am going to keep that to myself.

I would say there was more laughter than tears as I read. Part of the unromance plan was going on these rom-com type outings. They were so much fun, and I loved how Connor leaned into the romance tropes. It was a delight to see pieces of famous rom-coms play out, but mostly, it was wonderful to see the bond between Sawyer and Mason grow, to see Sawyer find her spark again, and to watch them both embracing positive changes in their lives.

I previously mentioned that I knew this was going to be a hit for me. As I read, I kept thinking 4.5 stars, but then the last few chapters happened. OMG! My heart exploded and my face cracked in half from my HUGE smile. It was rom-com perfection. I got teary-eyed and was filled with so much happiness and joy. It was a true treat.

I would love a chance to return to this world, but no matter what Connor has planned for the future, I know I will be reading whatever she writes.

Sawyer is a romance reader, writer and disbeliever. While she loves all that love in fiction, she doesn’t think it’s realistic. It’s making it incredibly hard to power through her writers block, and she’s well overdue on her next romance book

Mason is an actor. He’s freshly dumped, but still an incurable romantic. No matter how many times his heart is crushed, he can’t stop believing in the next time.

If you are a sucker for romance tropes, this one’s for you. They run through a pile of them, her trying to convince him they’re unrealistic, fun but ultimately nonsense. Him trying to inspire her to believe, even if it’s just enough to inspire her next book

Each chapter is started with the name and description of the relevant trope, and I looked forward to seeing how they played out

The third act breakup was not my favorite - I think she massively overreacted to what was in effect just an offer she was in no way being made to accept - but I tend to not be a fan of third act breakups in general, so…ymmv?

Anyway - overall I loved this book, would happily read it again and totally recommend it especially if you’re also a fan of banter and trope exploration!

Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for the arc

OH MY GOODNESS - I’m SHOCKED this is a debut 😍
this was freakin’ phenomenal, I couldn’t put this one down!

⭐️: ♾️
🌶️: open door, a few scenes

💭 overall thoughts:
I loved everything about this, it gave me all the feels 🤭😍🥰😭🥹

Sawyer is an uninspired romance writer, and Mason is a hopeless romantic (and also a famous actor).

After their elevator meet-cute (and a “one night stand”), they create a plan for Sawyer to gain inspiration, with Mason showing her romantic moments, and for him to lose the “hopeless” & show how each trope is just a cliché.

Having the MCs meet in chapter 1 had me IMMEDIATELY invested. The chapter intros lightly mocking each trope were so cute!

Sawyer & Mason were both such loveable characters, with her quick wit that had me laughing out loud, and his cinnamon roll gooeyness 🥹
And please - let’s take a moment for THIS COVER - literally the reason I grabbed this arc and just so perfectly fitting for this story 😍

Last thing - I’m going to stop saying “I can’t connect with third person writing” because I DEFINITELY DID with this one!

read if you love:
1️⃣ one night stand
💛 friends to lovers
🌟 bi romance author + famous actor/hopeless romantic
🛗 elevator meet cute
🌦 grumpy sunshine
💙 he falls first
💞 dual 3rd person pov

Thank you to Forever (Grand Central Publishing) & NetGalley for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Romance author Sawyer and gets stuck in an elevator with a handsome stranger which leads to a one night stand before she finds out her mystery man is Mason, a semi-well-known actor. To help Sayer get past her writer’s block the two embark on an adventure of breaking all the romance cliche’s while decidedly not falling in love with each other, though they can’t keep their hands off one another and their new friendship is definitely turning into real feelings.

I found Unromance to be a very enjoyable read. I was first drawn in by the cover (yes it’s still a drawing but it isn’t a flat cartoon) and found myself absolutely loving the characters. Sawyer is a disaster bisexual and Mason is a wonderful cinnamon roll. I greatly appreciated the heat level of this book and that it was a true romance focusing on the pair and their relationship. I was impressed that it was a debut book and look forward to reading Erin’s next book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

5 stars!

What a debut! I cannot wait to see more from this author because this was absolutely fantastic. I've read a few romances that are full of all the tropes or reference a ton of romcom movies but I think this is the best one I have seen. What I found best was each trope was the typical but also not? It was fake dating but not? And dating lessons but almost opposite? All without making fun of the tropes too which is impressive. Mason being such a romantic was precious and you could tell Sawyer was too and just trying to hide it. Calling it now, best debut romance of 2025!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC!!

Sawyer is a jaded romance writer who doesn’t believe in happily ever after; Mason an actor who is a hopeless romantic. However, these two idiots just might figure out how to fall in love.

After a meet cute in a stalled elevator and a one night stand that turns into a sleepover, the two embark on a quest: she will ruin all of the romantic tropes he holds near and dear and he will help break her out of the writer’s block that’s plaguing her.

Just friends, no (more) sex, no feelings. Let me know how that works out for you.

Here are the two most lovable dummies who are too afraid to do anything about the big feelings bursting out of them. Both are struggling with messy past relationships, professional obstacles, and familial baggage - and they are so damn relatable.

The banter in this one is charming and snarky, the spice is spicy, and the yearning is frenetic. But I think what I liked most about Sawyer and Mason is that their love language is laughter and every interaction they share is laced with humor and sideways glances and smirks and joy. They just love being together and it rubs off on you!

Sawyer hides her pain behind sharp retorts as she shys away from commitment so as not to get hurt. And Mason leans so far in to love and romance and all its trappings that he leaves his partner no breathing room.

It’s cathartic to watch these two think and bumble and talk and respect one another as they find their way toward love.

And if you followed my stories this week, you know the chapter headings are hilarious, tongue in cheek jokes about the tropes we love to hate. Just genius.

Lastly, in and of itself, this unromance is an actual love letter to romance and all of the romcom movies we love. From the boombox of Say Anything to IKEA in 500 Days of Summer, it hits ‘em all.

Do not sleep on this one. Immediately get yourself a trophy copy and expect to do a reread every holiday season!

Synopsis: When a romance writer who doesn’t believe in love and a hopeless romantic make a pact to ruin as many romance tropes for each other as possible, what could go wrong?

Thoughts: So this is basically the perfect rom com. Sawyer is a jaded romance writer with a serious case of writer’s block, and Mason is a famous actor who has just been dumped and realizes he falls in love too hard and too fast. They end up trying to help each other by testing out every romance trope they can think it - to inspire Sawyer’s writing and to cure Mason of being a hopeless romantic. With that fun of a premise and some really impressive writing for a debut author, this book is a delight. I genuinely loved both main characters, and their banter and chemistry is great. Go pick up this funny, spicy, swoony romance next Tuesday!

Read this if you like:
🍟 rom coms
🍟 romance tropes
🍟 cinnamon roll mmc/grumpy fmc
🍟 one night stand to friends to lovers
🍟 banter

I loved this book, if you romance that feels very "Harry Met Sally" this is the book for you. The sarcastic undertones are fun.

3.75 stars rounded up.

There were things I really liked about this book and other things that just didn't appeal to me, causing me to question is it me? LOL.

Described as a grumpy meets sunshine trope by some reviewers I think it's more a love cynic meets a cinnamon roll. Sawyer is the cynical romance writer, burned by romance and Hollywood's spin on her book turned movie and Mason is the cinnamon roll actor who repeatedly falls in love but can't ever make them stay. When they meet in their own stuck elevator "meet cute" and go on to have a one night stand, neither thinks they'll see the other again. However, another chance meeting at a Christmas market has them making a deal; Sawyer will ruin romance for Mason making him not find romance in the simplest of things so he won't keep falling in love and Mason can serve as her muse so Sawyer can get another book written. The rules are simple. No more sex, no falling in love/catching feelings as Sawyer isn't interested in a relationship and Mason is moving to LA to focus on the next chapter of his career, producing. What could possibly go wrong?

The chapter headings are super cute, each with a common romance trope that Sawyer then tries to ruin for Mason. Of course, with their chemistry they end up having fun regardless of Sawyer's cynical spin. Try as they might they can't seem to keep each other in the friend zone and this is where the conflict lies. It's giving a Nora Ephron, When Harry Met Sally vibe that I approve of.

While I loved the concept of the story, I had some trouble with the character development. Sawyer was hard for me to connect with, mostly because she never seemed to resolve her feelings from her previous breakup...even though it's been 3 years. She's bisexual, estranged from her family (which undoubtedly doesn't help her relationship issues,) intent on being this isolated writer but yet she exudes this chaotic, I'm really an extrovert energy that seems not in tune with the rest of her character. She kind of stressed me out and while her sense of humor made me laugh at times, other times it was just too much, like she was trying too hard.

Mason was almost too perfect. He's understanding, patient, supportive, a good lay (lol) and yet he always gets dumped. The explanation given by one of his exes makes sense, but it was hard not to love him more than Sawyer because he comes off as perfection.

Overall, I think this was a great debut novel. I hope the author incorporates more meaningful dialogue and less internal monologue filler in her future stories as I feel like more dialogue could have taken this from good to outstanding! I'm excited to see where the author goes next.

I loved this book so much! Literally hooked from the beginning! The tension and the banter was everything! I can’t wait to read more from Erin!

Unromance by Erin Connor is perfect for lovers of 90s/00s rom coms and anyone who enjoys romance novels that offer something fresh and just a little bit different. This book pays beautiful homage to How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days, as well as other beloved romantic comedies that we’ve all seen over and over again, whilst still being something unique and new.

These characters! Firstly, I am always a complete sucker for a bisexual main character. I also happen to be a sucker for a main character who is down on their knees deeply in love. Don’t even get me started on what happens to my brain when you take those characters (who are so much more than these surface level descriptions) and make them both best friends and lovers. We have Sawyer, whom I entirely adore and see much of myself in. It’s like a funhouse mirror - the reflection looks a little different but all the same parts are there. The way she is both wounded and warm is one of my many favourite things about her character. We also have Mason, whom is exceptionally and unfairly perfect. Truly written by a woman, crafted by a Hozier song, forged from materials handed down by gods.

This character cast was also very healthy and fully formed. Across the board there was a level of maturity and self-awareness that I don’t feel is often represented in romance books. Because of this, there were very view points of conflict. Yes, this is one of those romance novels that features miscommunication. However, I want to point out that there is not a blatant lack of communication (I feel this is so popular in the genre right now). If anything it was simply due to difficulty finding effective ways to express oneself, which made the characters feel even more real and, for some like myself, relatable. At no point in this book did we see a character compromising their authentic self or sacrificing something that was important to them.

Let’s discuss the spice/smut in this novel - yes it does get its own paragraph. I so appreciate a romance novel that includes snapshots of intimacy while demonstrating that the author knows where to draw the line in terms of frequency, language, and overall content. Erin Connor does not depend on explicit scenes to hold the reader’s attention, instead creating a well balanced story with tasteful snapshots of intimacy that add to our view of the character’s relationship and attraction to one another. I wouldn’t necessarily say that this aspect is done conservatively (definitely not the novel for anyone who prefers “closed door”), I simply believe it is well executed and integrated. Honourable mention to the tights scene that dripped perfection.

All in all, Unromance is the result of an interesting and refreshing concept that was so well executed. It even ended just how I hoped it would - probably better honestly.

A huge thank-you to NetGalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing) for the opportunity to read and review this ebook. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

First off, thank you for the arc in exchange for my honest review! I think this one had great potential but missed the mark for me. The concept of going on cheesy dates to ruin romance didn't really make sense, especially if one of the characters is prone to fall in love easily. There were cute moments, but I found myself not paying close attention or having that consuming feeling when reading a book. I did enjoy the focus on romance tropes that set the tone for each chapter though, but something was missing for me overall.

Unromance starts with our main character, Sawyer who is a romance author who is stumped. She's written her bestseller and doesn't know where to go from there. This is in large part due to her previous relationship. Her relationship with her ex-girlfriend was toxic and she's had a constant case of writer's block. In comes Mason who is a beloved TV actor and his love life has become front-page news. No matter what he does, he's always seen as a heartthrob and after being dumped by his co-star, it's clear he's looking for a fresh start. The two end up having a meet-cute in an elevator which seems like the start of a budding romance.

Since Sawyer doesn't do relationships though, it ends up being an early hookup but it's clear the chemistry is there. The two end up forming a friendship which does turn into more but not without that dash of Hollywood drama. Sawyer is trying to overcome her writer's block while Mason is trying to leave his TV show to work at his own production company. These two have a lot going on but somehow, it just works in the story. Erin Connor's writing style is so fun and engaging that you'll immediately fall into the story and won't want to put it down. In a way, her writing style reminds me of fanfiction as it's just so compulsively readable.

The only issue I had with Unromance was the pacing. As soon as I thought the book was wrapping up, things just kept going. Maybe it was my mismanaged expectations, but it felt incredibly distracting. It could be a quirk as a debut author but that was my only real complaint about this book. If you're a romance reader, I think you're going to adore Unromance.

This was truly adorable. I loved the banter and the nods to 80's movies, tropes, music, etc. Fun story and characters with excellent writing.
Thank you to NetGalley for the eArc in exchange for an honest review.

Unromance by Erin Connor ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

All the early praise for this one has been well earned! It was a fun romcom that spun so many cliches on its head. And imagine my delight when How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days (my favorite romcom movie) was shouted out throughout the book.

The characters were lovely. They each were individuals first, which I always love. I loved how they each were self-aware and grew by the end. Seeing their journey gave me warm fuzzies. The plot was delightful. I did feel like it lulled in places, but overall, I was completely invested in the story.

Fans of romcoms, funny banter, and great character growth will enjoy this one.

Thank you so much to Forever for an advance copy of this!

I know it's about a week into the new year but did I already find my favorite book of the year? It's quite possible. I was highly invested in this book from start to finish. I absolutely loved both our FMC and the MMC. And you all know how much I love a celebrity romance.

The book starts off with one of the ultimate meet cutes (or in Mason's case, his worst nightmare): getting stuck in the elevator. Once they are unstuck and go on their merry way, their paths crossed later that night and they decided to have a one night stand. This did end up being an open door romance but I initially got sad because we did not get the full picture of their hook up. They thought they would not see each other again but guess what, they did.

I love their relationship and how much it grows throughout the book. Sawyer talks about her loneliness and found such a friendship with Mason. And Mason was so gone for her and wanted to be there for her in any way he could. I love that they each had their own trials going on in the book which they were able to have one another to lean on through it. Sawyer was struggling with writer's block and feeling the pressure of putting out a quality new book. Mason is starting a production company with his best friend and decided to leave the hit show that he was in for 6 years.

As I mentioned this book is open door and WHEWWWW!!! I remember seeing a review thanking the author for the tights scene and I would also sign off on that thank you. Their flirtatious banter was *chef's kiss* Every moment we got of them together just made me smile so much!

This is a debut book and I'm very excited to see what this author does in the future. I also can't wait to revisit this book via the audiobook.

I highlighted so many sections due to the swoon worthy dialogue between Mason and Sawyer. Their banter was top notch. Here are some of my favorite moments:

"Do not keep making sex jokes or I will fall in love with you"
"Don't you dare."

The falling was fun, yes, but the problem with falling was you eventually hit the ground.

"I'm getting you a present"
"You in that dress and those tights is gift enough."

Everyone had layers, like an onion, but Sawyer was like the coconuts she always smelled of. You had to be fucking determined if you wanted to get to the heart of her.

"I think you might be my favorite person."
"Of course I am, I'm fantastic."

Grumpy romance novelist Sawyer meets romantic (and famous actor) Mason. With their opposite personalities and views on love, Mason thinks Sawyer is the perfect person to cure him of his romantic, over-eager nature so he can finally find love. Sawyer tries to "cure" him of being a romantic by creating a list of all the tropes and romantic things couples do in romance books so she can fix him while she hopes to gather inspiration for her next novel that is waaay overdue. However, after the meet cute that brought them together (getting stuck in an elevator), each anti-romantic romantic event just ends up bringing them closer.

I requested this one after I listened to a @foreverpub zoom call where they went over some of their new releases (I actually ended up requesting 4 titles) and I’m so glad that I got inspiration from them to read this one. The novel was such a cute read with romance tropes aplenty (but in a very obvious and humorous way). With each chapter title being a romantic trope, I enjoyed the tongue in cheek way that the novel addresses what we love and hate about romance novels. This is a debut novel and now I cannot wait to read the next novel by this author - I inhaled this one in a day.

Thank you to Forever Pub and NetGalley for the ARC to review

Thank you to NetGalley, Forever, and Grand Central Publishing for this advanced copy! You can pick up Unromance on January 14, 2025.

I'd like to personally thank Erin Connor for pulling me out of my romance reading slump. I haven't been in the mood to pick up a contemporary romance in weeks, but from the moment I met Sawyer and Mason in that elevator, I was hooked.

Not only does Connor have a unique and compelling voice, but she also crafts such relatable and fleshed-out characters. I literally wanted to laugh and cry with Sawyer and Mason multiple times, and their dynamic was absolutely electric. I love how Mason was so emotionally vulnerable and just a true cinnamon roll of a man, which perfectly complemented Sawyer's acidic exterior and gooey interior. They were truly made for each other, your honor.

I also loved the premise of crushing a hopeless romantic's tendencies while inspiring a jaded romance writer for her next book. The use of epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter was an original way to acknowledge the tropes that the scene would address. It broke the fourth wall in the best way, and while you might expect a book that's all about recreating romance tropes to be cheesey, I actually didn't find it so. Connor perfectly balanced the ridiculousness of the tropes with the real-life emotions and implications behind them.

Lastly, I don't think I've EVER read a more healthy and relatable third-act breakup. It didn't feel silly or contrived to advance the plot, instead ACTUALLY contributing to the MCs' growth.

All in all, this might just be the perfect romance book, and y'all CLEARLY need to pick it up January 14.

This was a super cute romance that really overdid it with the tropes. We get it, you are attempting to flip the typical romance tropes. Being “meta” can be cute but this was overkill.

I liked the characters overall but the premise is actually what I couldn’t get passed. If you want to set up characters for a forced proximity situation it just need to make SOME sense, and this didn’t.