This was excellent!! I love how authors can take familiar elements and weave them together into something that feels new and fresh. Erin Connor definitely did that with her debut rom-com, Unromance.

Sawyer is a bestselling romance author who has been dealing with writer’s block since her girlfriend left her. Ironically, she’s also sworn off love, as it only seems to bring complications and pain.

One snowy night, she has a meet-cute with a handsome man in an elevator. Unbeknownst to her, the man is Mason West, a soap opera actor known for his love life as much as his talent. They flirt up a storm and Sawyer decides to go home with him. A one-night stand should do the trick, or it would if they could stop running into each other!

For Mason, running into Sawyer repeatedly is a sign, a sign that they can help each other. He can help Sawyer find inspiration that will lead to her next book, and she can help hopeless romantic Mason become desensitized and stop falling in love with the slightest romantic gesture. And all they have to do is follow two rules: they can’t fall in love with one another, and they can’t have sex. Super easy, no?

Of course, the decision to avoid having sex and/or falling in love never quite goes according to plan. They might not be able to outrun their feelings, and do they really want to?

The chemistry between Sawyer and Mason is off the charts, and so is the steam! I loved the way he treated her in particular, and Sawyer’s take-no- no prisoners attitude was awesome.

Thanks so much to Forever and NetGalley for the advance copy. The book will publish 1/14/2025.

The perfect romance for longtime lovers of the genre, or readers just getting started on their romance journey. A heartfelt, fun, and super sexy ode to romcom books and movies. Such a delight to read!

When I found out that this book was a rom-com about rom-coms, I knew I had to read it. And it truly was a love story written for those of us who live and breathe romance novels. Erin Connor took everything that makes them perfect, all the clichés, joy and angst that we love, and crafted a story that will stay with me for a long time.

Sawyer is a jaded romance novelist suffering from writers block. Mason is an actor and hopeless romantic who had his heart shattered by his co-star. They have a classic meet-cute that ends in a one night stand. A few weeks later they run into each other again, and make a pact where he helps her with her writers block and she ruins romance for him, one classic trope at a time, so he stops getting his heart broken. The rules are no physical intimacy and absolutely no feelings. But as the seeds of friendship are planted, they take root and blossom into so much more.

I was immediately captivated by this book, and fell in love with the main characters. They were written so realistically that I could see them perfectly in my head. I laughed at their antics, cried at their heartbreaks and swooned over their witty banter. Sawyer was skittish about letting anyone get too close, but her personality and love of books endeared her to me. Mason was a perfect cinnamon roll MMC (which Sawyer herself talked about in the book. The rom-com language in this was on point!) Each chapter started with the blurb of a romance trope, which served as foreshadowing, and built excitement and anticipation about what was to come.

If you love romance you will ADORE this book. If you don't think you love it, you will find yourself changing your mind because it was that good! I finished and immediately wanted to pick it up and read it again. I will definitely be buying a physical copy for my shelf when it publishes.

Thank you to netgally and Forever Publishing for the e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.

I loved this book! What a unique concept. I felt it could have been a bit shorter, but overall it was a great romance read!

Ahhhhhhh. This was amaziiiiing. And a debut?! Oh my goodness. Sawyer and Mason are everything. They’re imperfect which makes them perfect. I smiled, grinned, I got all the feels. Their chemistry is so so good. The plot, pace, spice all blended perfectly. The humor, wit, and banter was justtttt ahhhhhh. *chef’s kiss*. This book has everything you’d want in a romcom.

Sawyer is a badass (I mean the name alone - I love it!) She’s funny and sassy. She’s afraid to fall in love, but loves writing about it. Mason. Oh Mason. He’s a hopeless romantic and falls too easily. He gives golden retriever energy. They’re a fantastic pair together, and I truly can’t stop thinking about them.

Listen - the tights scene will live rent free in my mind. IYKYK

🌲 Elevator meet-cute
🌲 One night stand
🌲 Grumpy / sunshine
🌲 Grand gestures
🌲 Grey sweatpants
🌲 An ode to all romcoms
🌲 Holiday vibes
🌲 Bisexual representation

I deeply feel that Erin Connor will be a new auto buy author for me.
Thank you NetGalley and Forever for the arc!

Amusing, witty and a whole lot of fun. I greatly enjoyed this love letter to all things associated with romcoms with a well-written, fascinating duo at its center. Sawyer and Mason's meet-cute turned one-night stand nicely jump starts the book, but fate allowing them to cross paths again so soon afterward provides a wonderful opportunity to thoroughly explore these two characters as their connection slowly transforms and deepens. The pact that they come to an agreement on plays a vital role in the story by giving inspiration to fix Sawyer's long-standing writer's block as well as ruining Mason's hopeless romantic nature for the benefit of his personal life and career, with it also letting Connor incorporate a wide array of romcom clichés in an entertaining manner. I liked seeing how Sawyer and Mason clearly wanted to break a different one of their two established rules, and it was interesting to see how difficult it became for them to stay true to these as they spent so much time together and truly started to understand each other. The pop culture references scattered throughout are very well chosen, the definitions at the beginning of each chapter are a playful way to spotlight specific tropes, the vibrant secondary characters are perfectly employed during the tale at the right moments, and there is a scene featuring tights that will stay seared in my brain for a long time. While the third act conflict isn't unexpected since the seeds are planted for it early on and I understood both points of view regarding everything that unfolded, it felt a little too drawn out and repetitive. However, it served its ultimate purpose in helping push Sawyer to finally confront an issue from her past and heal for the happy ending to completely feel earned and satisfying. Plus, since the events of this book take place from around Thanksgiving until Valentine's Day with multiple festive happenings present surrounding Christmas and the New Year, it could be categorized as a holiday read, which was a nice surprise.

This was such a fantastic novel that had me laughing out loud from the first chapter! I was hooked from the very first second. Sawyer and Mason are the perfect couple. It was also fun to be able to see them as individuals in the story. They did their own thing they came together and it was just a beautiful blend of both.

If anyone struggles reading a third person POV and thinks that maybe this book isn’t for them because of that, please reconsider! This one is VERY VERY GOOD. The descriptions and internal monologues all flowed very well and to be honest I kind of forgot that I was reading a third person POV because it was just that good!

The plot worked, the story made sense and was such a fun story to read! I was rooting for them since the very first page! It’s so hard to believe that this is a debut novel. 5 stars!

Thank you NetGalley and Erin Connor and her publisher for this Advanced Copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

2.5⭐

I really wanted to like this more than I did, but I had a lot of issues with it. Their entire scheme—where Sawyer tries to ruin romance for Mason, a hopeless romantic, by using all the romance tropes and clichés against him—made very little sense to me. When Sawyer says "she was going to become the blueprint for Mason's other half", while Mason falls in love easily just seems like a recipe for disaster.

Mason falls head over heels for Sawyer in just a month, which feels unbelievable—especially for someone known for being a grand romantic gesture type of guy. Their relationship comes across as forced and rushed. I struggled to see why they were supposed to be a good match for each other.

I was not a big fan of Sawyer. She came off as immature and inconsiderate so many times. She also only hears what she wants to hear and she kept making a big deal out of a problem when it was really a minor thing (i.e., Mason and the film rights). There were many times I felt bad for Mason, which is unfortunate in a romance book. We don't see much character growth here. I felt their resolution was quickly brushed over. They didn't really do any work to fix themselves and when they got back together at the end they didn't even talk about what they fought about.

All that said, I think this had great potential! I really enjoyed the definition of each trope at the beginning of every chapter and I loved that this took place near the holidays also. I will be on the look out for the author's next book!

3.7 Stars
One Liner: Has rom and com!

Sawyer Greene is a bestselling romance writer and knows the genre. If only she could get over the writer’s block to create another story for the fast-approaching deadline. She hadn’t been able to write after her girlfriend Sadie broke up with her.
Mason West might be a great actor but he doesn’t seem to be lucky with relationships. After yet another breakup that sends the tabloids into a TRP tizzy, he needs to stop himself from falling in love.
A not-meet-cute between Sawyer and Mason ends up in an unexpected second meeting elsewhere. Maybe they can help each other? Mason wants Sawyer to ruin romance for him while he inspires her to write the next bestseller. If only life was that easy!
The story comes in Sawyer and Mason’s third-person POVs.

My Thoughts:
Well, a book about romance tropes but to ruin them for one character. Who can resist the premise?
The plotline is certainly cute and there’s a lot of humor in this rom-com. There is rom too and the spicy kind. Not all jokes appealed to me but taste is subjective, so you might them more (or less).
Sawyer would be the grump with Mason being a cinnamon roll sweetheart. TBH, he was too good and too sweet. That meant I felt sad for him more than I felt for the FMC.
Of course, as a fellow writer, I could connect with her stress about writer’s block, the frenzy of wanting to work on an idea before it vanishes, and the inherent talent of writing myself into a corner. The only difference is that I am not a bestseller (yet) or have an agent and editor rooting for me (got my darling friends, though).
While the book deals with a few themes (lightly), the central plot is rather loose and thin. The characters also acknowledge this, so I can’t say much. It’s more like they feel attracted to each other and go with a crazy plan.
The spice is close to 4. There’s a scene early in the book, which surprised me. The next one takes some time (small mercies). We get some sexy banter as well.
The FMC is bi (with chaotic bi energy). I confess I’m familiar with that tag but she is a mess. Sometimes, it gets a bit annoying as well. Still, I feel the bi part was done well instead of being an item on the checklist.
I had to wait a long time to read about the dress on the cover. At least, it is in there, though the MMC’s suit colors are not the same.
I wish the themes like parental interference and lack of family support were explored a little more. These have an important role in developing the character arcs and need some extra time.
The pacing is on the slower side, something I didn’t expect. A few scenes were extended for no reason. The third-act breakup was expected. Still, I wish it was better handled. Necessary, yes; but not that way.

To summarize, Unromance is an entertaining debut with a bunch of romance tropes mashed into a series of dates. It is fun but a one-time read.
Thank you, NetGalley and Grand Central Publishing (Forever), for eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

I loved the layers behind this book. I think it was great because I can see myself in both the main characters. I also love the journey we go through reading their story it was beautifully written. I think the author made these characters both lovable and messy with the way they deal with relationships. That’s also what makes the book likable because it shows the humanity of love. If your are looking for a good feeling holiday Christmas read I implore you to read this one.

Thank you to Net Galley for allowing me to read a ARC of this book.

Loved this debut! So fun and tender and I loved the celebrity/author aspects of it, I loved the dynamic of that kind of relationship. I also enjoyed that HE was the hopeless romantic who fell too fast and too hard, it worked out for him in the end though! Love all around!

I am SHOOK that this is Erin’s debut. I loved this book!

The plot was well-paced, the characters were raw, and the spice was balanced.

I flew through this book in less than a day and had a hell of a time.

Big thanks to Forever Publishing and Netgalley for the eARC!

- 𝑼𝒏𝒓𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝑬𝒓𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒓, 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑱𝒂𝒏𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝟏𝟒𝒕𝒉

𝘛𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴:
✰ 𝘨𝘳𝘶𝘮𝘱𝘺 𝘹 𝘴𝘶𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦
✰ 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴
✰ 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥
✰ 𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵
✰ 𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘰

Unromance
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks so much to @readforeverpub for the free eARC!

OKAY LOOK AT THE COVER OF THIS BOOK!!! It is GORGEOUS! It had me intrigued immediately.
This was an enjoyable read. It honestly felt like a movie. It read like a rom-com and I could easily envision this on the big screen someday. The entire plot was so fun, and the beginning of each chapter contains a romance trope description/definition, these enhance the story a lot.
Together the main characters embark on dates that are not dates. We have a romance enthusiast and a romantic cynic. They make quite the duo.
The MMC Mason is a golden retriever. He is just such a sweetheart.
The banter between him and Sawyer was so fun, and again it genuinely felt like a movie.
Speaking of Sawyer she is full of jokes. This next part is my biggest complaint. Sawyer's humor was not for me. It was too immature and I just didn’t vibe with it.
With that being said, this was still a delightful story, and a very impressive debut novel.
You can read Unromance when it comes out on January 14th!

Read If You Like:
🥤he falls first
🥤get it out of our systems
🥤hopeless romantic + cynic
🥤bi FMC
🥤famous MMC

Loved this one! And the tongue-in-cheek references to the perfect romance. I adore dthe characters , and the writer's pacing kept my interest until the end.

3.5 stars - When Sawyer Greene, a romance author experiencing a serious case of writer's block since her last relationship ended, finds herself stuck in an elevator with the attractive Mason West, she immediately guards herself, and him, from any potential meet-cute feelings. Sawyer is NOT looking for love...but a one-night-stand she can do. Yet when she continues to run into Mason all over the city, she realizes she needs to nip this in the bud, so they make a deal. Sawyer needs inspiration for her new book and Mason needs to stop seeing every remotely romantic moment as a sign, so over a series of friendship dates, Sawyer will do her absolute best to ruin all of the quintessential rom-com tropes so Mason will never fall for them again.

Such a fun holiday romance! I really enjoyed the chemistry between Sawyer and Mason, and loved watching them try to make this ridiculous agreement work, but there were times where I wish they felt a little more fleshed out. Not that the romance wasn't entertaining, but I think I would have also loved to see more of Sawyer and Mason at work, to see those sides of them have a bit more depth. Overall the banter was delightful, the side characters charming, and the romance spicy!

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

DNF. I couldn’t stay engage with this book. I think the story line was great, but it didn’t hold my attention.

What a debut! An easy five star read for this delight of a book that was tailor made for avid romance readers.

Sawyer Greene has been suffering from writer's block since her break-up a few years ago. After she gets stuck in an elevator with a handsome man, she decides to go home with him for a little inspiration. 😉 It turns into something more when they run into each other at a Christmas market. Sawyer needs to get back to writing, and Mason, the ever romantic, needs help ruining romance for him. They create a pact: Sawyer will take him on romantic experiences and ruin them for him in the hopes that experiencing popular rom-com tropes and romantic atmospheres will also bringing back her creative spark.

Because of the details of the pact, each chapter starts with a definition of a romance trope / microtrope. I adored every single one of these - I truly laughed out loud reading some of the definitions and squealed in delight reading some of them - gray sweatpants, I'm talking about you. I looked forward to seeing which trope would appear next and how it would be incorporated into the upcoming chapter. If you read romance or watch rom-coms, you will enjoy this fun touch!

Read this book if you love:
💕 Adorable meet cutes
🤩 Celebrity romance
💕 He falls first
🌶️ Laugh out loud innuendos
💕 Sworn off relationships
🎄 Holiday vibes
💕 Bisexual FMC

I genuinely cannot wait to read more of Erin Connor's work and hope you enjoy Unromance as much as I did! Thank you to NetGalley and Forever for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I will share my review on my instagram @thecozybookgal closer to release date!

Well this book was just the freaking cutest!

The name, the cover, the fact that it’s a holiday romance, and the list of totally romantic things to make unromantic. Literally everything about this book was absolutely adorable! Sawyer and Mason were perfect main characters, and I loved reading their story. They both went from being all tied into their emotions to actually using their minds and expressing their feelings in a healthy way. It made me so happy to actually see good character development and not a cop out of a miscommunication troupe.

Added note: The pop culture references were fantastic! I know some people don’t enjoy them in books, but I really loved them in this one. Also the opening snippets before each chapter were gold! They added so much to the book, and made it more lighthearted.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Read Forever Pub for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Tropes
-Holiday Romance
-Strangers to Friends to Lovers
-Author/Actor

This is a cute romance with some spice. I enjoyed both Mason and Sawyer they were fun and enjoyable characters that you find yourself rooting for. The storyline was fun and somewhat different than other romance books. I recommend this for anyone looking for a sweet lighthearted romance.